The passage stated from George Orwell’s “1984” makes us re-think everything we know about the human conscience as well making us question certain things that we believed didn’t need to be questioned. Orwell’s use of language in the extract and throughout the Novel is extremely powerful in such a way that the words and descriptions burn pictures in your mind which stay with you. It is for these reasons that it is one of the most significant parts of the entire novel.
How do we know that gravity is real or that two plus two really does equal four? How do we know that is the correct answer? Yes throughout all our lives we have always learned that two plus two equals four, and we never once thought to question it, and why would we ? We have never been told otherwise or had any reason to think it might equal something else and if I pick up a pen, hold it in mid-air and let it drop, I know it will fall straight down. In 1984, people were taught that two plus two equals five. To the majority of people in the novel that’s completely normal, especially the children, because why wouldn’t it equal 5? There is no proof to say that it doesn’t, and they are told by the Party that two plus two equalled 5, and they have no reason whatsoever to question the Party, even those who may have been around before the Party and Big Brother came into being, they either were successfully brain-washed, killed or vaporized. So there was no concrete proof that the things Winston Smith and the others were told are lies. For all we know the past can be changed, if there isn’t evidence to back up that something did happen, any number of forged stories can replace the truth and if there is a way to control minds, then there is a way to control thoughts. What is real and what isn’t?, what’s true, what’s a lie? There’s no real way of knowing. These are the thoughts that haunt Winston in the passage, he does not fear that he would be killed for not believing two and two makes five but as he debates the questions in his mind he fears for his own sanity. “For, after all, how do we know that two and two make four? Or that the force of gravity works? Or that the past is unchangeable? If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind is controllable – what then?” ( Pg. 91-91 Section 1, Chapter 7)
The oppression of freedom is shown to us by the author in a lot of different ways. In this dystopian world he has created, freedom does not exist. There is no such thing a free thought, a world where there is no sense of being whole and consciousness is fragmented, and if by any reason you were not brain-washed like the others, anything from your facial expressions, to being in a place you wouldn’t be expected to be in could give you away. Throughout the novel, were told of how nearly every item, from posters to coins, even children’s books, have a picture of big brother on it. Telescreens everywhere, constantly reminded of how you are always being watched. Orwell shows us the effects of totalitarian government through the figure of Big Brother, who is always watching people’s lives and maintains control over their behaviour. “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”. (Pg. 4-4 Section 1, Chapter 1) George Orwell does not just portray pictures in our minds like any other ordinary writer, he makes us see it as if we were looking at it through our own eyes. Anytime Winston begins describing Big Brother’s eyes on posters, as you’re reading you almost do begin to feel struck with fear, eyes watching you and your mind slowly giving into being controlled against your own will, as the image is described so intensely. “The hypnotic eyes gazed into his own. It was as if some huge force were pressing down upon you – something that penetrated inside your skull, battering against your brain, frightening you out of your beliefs, persuading you, almost, to deny the evidence of your sense” (Pg. 91-91, Section 1, Chapter 7). The theme of rebellion and need for freedom is undeniable throughout the passage and the novel also. Winston’s affair with Julia was his biggest act of rebellion. Their sexual relationship was not an intimate relationship, but a way for Winston to show that he will not be controlled, that he can resist Big Brother and to go against the Party’s slogan. “WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”. (Pg. 6-6, Section 1, Chapter 1)
The stated passage is one of the most important moments of the novel because it’s a real insight into Winston’s mind, someone who hasn’t been corrupted by the Party. Winston is overcome with his desire to counter and defeat Big Brother, losing perspective in the process. He knows in his heart that this is not how life is meant to be and yet when he’s at the height of his one-on-one rebellion with big brother he is betrayed by those who he thought were on his side, Julia and O’Brien. The fact that he is the only one against the whole regime, he seems to be the only person in the entire civilisation who is opposed to big brother, and in the end, he’s broken down into this miserable empty shell, forgetting everything he stood for. “But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.” (Pg. 376, Section 2, Chapter 6)
To conclude, the passage stated above is important to the novel as it shows us a time when Winston knew in his heart how much he hated Big Brother and how afraid he was of the manipulation he contracted. The book “1984” shows us that even the most corrupted minds in the eyes of the Party can be controlled. Orwell’s use of language, words and imagery leave a dark impact and a feeling of sadness like no other novel.
Orwell, G. (2008) Nineteen Eighty-Four. London: Penguin Books.