1984 pages 260 - END Week 8

This section begins with Winston still strapped to the bed being questioned by O'brien. He is told that he is on the second step of reintigration, which is understanding. Because of that, the bonds that hold him to the bed are looser. However, just because the bonds are looser does not mean that Winston is under any less control - this is just one of the many ways that the Party manipulates its prisoners.

One of the first things O'brien explains is the book that Winston was to read. In that book it explains that there will always be potential for the Proles to rebell. But O'brien, who wrote it, believes other wise, that the Proles will never rebell. I myself would like to believe that they will rebell at some point in life. But why should they? They are not under the same constrictions as Party members; they can sing and have their own thoughts and that may just be enough for them.

Finally, O'brien asks Winston why the Party rules the way they do. Winston ponders this for quite some time before giving the answer he thinks O'brien will find the most satisfactory. His reply: "You are ruling over us for our own good." This sets off a spark within O'brien and he pulls the lever, releasing pain on Winston. Then he is quick to correct stating that the Party controls people for their own sake. The people of the Party wish to be immortal throughout time. As I was reading this, I thought it was fairly selfish, but I was unsurprised. Why else would one afflict such oppression on others? One thing I find very hypocritical about O'brien would be that he says he is not involved with the Party for wealth or luxury, but he lives in one of the most amazing houses in Oceania. He also has the food of the past...If he was as uninterested in luxury as he says, he wouldn't be living an opulent lifestyle.

The next part of the section was almost frightening to me. Winston is looking up at O'brien and thinking of how old he looks when O'brien actually reads his thoughts and states it back to him. Is he trained that well in the art of thought that he knows what Winston is thinking? Or is it the machine that he's hooked up to? Either way, the thought of somebody knowing my every thought is quite terrifying.

From here, O'brien goes into this whole harangue about how the individual is only a cell and how nothing can be done unless multiple people are involved. I strongly disagree with this because everything has to start with one person. If one person could be brave enough to stand up and get a group to rally against the Party, maybe rebellion could be possible and freedom attained.

The two then go on to argue about the world and life. Winston refuses to believe the Party controls everything because they do not control weather or gravity or pain which I have been thinking this entire time. However, O'brien squashes these thoughts in Winston's and my own mind when he describes how the Party controls everything. If the Party controls the mind and people believe what they are being fed, anything can be anything. If the Party says it's warm at 30 degrees, people will believe it and they will think it is warm. It is sickening and O'brien's words have destroyed a lot of my thoughts that I've had throughout the book because I had not thought that deep into the Party's control.

O'brien goes on to talk about the future which is even scarier than the present time Winston is living in. The way of life he is talking about is meaningless and devolved. There will be no love, no science, no literature, and no feelings. People will not even think to rebell because in the future there will be no remnants of the past. However, if the Party creates a world devoid of any emotion, there will also be no hate and that is what the Party runs on. According to O'brien, power is the ability to make people suffer, but if the people reach a point where they no longer feel they're suffering or hate the government, then they will think nothing of living equally among the inner Party members and a disadvanced balance will be established. So even if a rebellion never occurs, the Partry will eventually fail.

Toward the end of the section, O'brien really plays into Winston's emotions and vulnerability by showing him what he looks like for the first time since he's been in the Ministry. The image that stares back at Winston from the mirror is almost unrecognizable because he is rotting away. He didn't realize the condition he was in, but the depiction of him is quite grotesque. O'brien does this to break Winston down to a point where even his own spirit is irrecognizable, so that rebuilding can begin. Unfortunately, it works and Winston breaks down to a point where he doesn't want to fight anymore. The only thing he has to hope for is death.

When this section starts, time has apparently passed. Winston is in a more comfortable cell being fed regularly and getting stronger. This must mean that he has completed the second phase of the Party. He's gotten to a point where he no longer feels the need for human interaction or emotion because the Party has stripped him of that. The only thing Winston feels is what comes with basic human instict, happiness with being fed and not being beaten. The Party has almost completely gotten to him, but he does still have his loyalty for Julia. Though there is no real love there, he feels an obligation to her and a pride that he has not betrayed her. However, that all changes when he lets loose words about Julia, proclaiming she's his love.

Shortly after his statement, the guards come in and Winston is taken to room 101, which he finds scary, but not as bad as before. However, what O'brien has in mind for Winston at this visit is much worse than any beating. Because he's been watching Winston for years, O'brien knows what his fear is - rats. He threatens Winston with a rat cage designed specifically designed for torture. This is finally what sends Winston over the edge to a point where he loses that loyalty and pride and, not even reluctantly, asks if Julia could take his place. This is the end of his time at the ministry for they feel he has completed the three steps fully and can go on supporting and believing in the Party.

The last section has finally come and we see that Winston was never shot, but instead reintroduced back into Oceania life. He is back to drinking the victory gin, which is still horrible, but he pays no mind to that fact. His life has fallen into a routine where he spends most of his days at the Chestnut Tree restaurant listening to the telescreen, playing chess. It's evident that his life has no meaning, but he believes fully in what the Party tells him. Though he still has faint memories of life before his capture, nothing is complete and, therefore, he is an empty soul.

While he is playing his chess game, he realizes that white always wins over black and he makes the comparisson of good always winning over evil. What I wonder is if it's supposed to symbolize the Proles rebelling in the future over the Party or , since Winston now believes the Party is good, the never-ending rule of the Party. Since he believes the Party is good, does that mean they will always win??

One day, just by chance, Winston actually met Julia in the park. I am surprised that she was still alive because her soul was no more against the Party than Syme's. Her only disagreement with them was that they controlled her femininity and sexuality. There is clearly no love between them when they meet, there never was. But now that the Party has instilled a fear into them and stripped them of their natural urges, they do not feel a need to catch up or show any feeling toward one another. Julia does reveal to Winston that she betrayed him and he isn't angry because he did the same. Only two people who have gone through what they did can understand why they did it - it is only now that they have a bond with each other, but it doesn't matter. They depart and never see each other again.

It is revealed that Winston is no longer being heavily watched by the Party and that there's not even a telescreen with him anymore. He got his wish for freedom, but doesn't know what to do with it - he has no desire to do anything the Party considers illegal. I think that it's because the Party no longer watches him that he's fallen into such a routine, depressing pattern. He is now alone in the world with nobody watching him and nobody interacting with him. Though he wasn't shot, he is virtually dead. In the end, he does come to a point where he loves Big Brother and that is the point where I realize that the Party has vaporized his spirit. That is a fate much worse than a murdersome death.