1984 Power Analysis

Dan Simmons in his book Carrion Comfort writes “All violence flows from the same source… the need for power. Power is the true morality… the only deathless god, and the appetite for violence is its only commandment.” This saying describes the pure element of power. When a system of government adopts this mentality, a Machiavellian attitude emerges. The idea that as a leader it is better to be feared than loved, because people will betray the ones they love but not who they fear. The totalitarian regime in George Orwell’s novel 1984 exemplify a government who maintains sole power with violence that is so deeply rooted into the society. The brutality is industrialized into a complete organization which amplifies its terror. In the novel, the

Winston undergoes different torture procedures to become Big Brother’s slave. Smith realizes the power of physical pain when a guard strikes him in the elbow with a truncheon. He thinks to himself, “Nothing in the world was as bad as physical pain. In the face of pain there are no heroes, no heroes” (239). No one can win against the physical torture, even Winston, a determined man full of rebellion, falls into compliance. For this reason, The Party can easily control and twist any human being into utter submission. Winston is introduced to the three step process of integration: learning, understanding, and acceptance. Smith is forced to confess to fake crimes of espionage, sabotage, and murder during the pain. The guards use their feet, fists, boots, truncheons, and steel rods to cripple every inch of Winston’s body. Unsuccessfully, Winston attempts to hold back certain confessions during the rain of blows, but he is no match against the brutal torture (240). Once he shouts for mercy and confesses to every imaginable crime at the sight of a fist, the beginning step of “humiliat[ing] him and destroy[ing] his power of arguing and reasoning” has been completed. (PAGE NUMBER) The once rebellious spirt is now contorted and squeezed dry of any insurgence; the power of external pain on the human body and mentality is evident. The threat of terror never ceases; these scenes expose the potential

The questioners in the Ministry of Love ask hundreds of questions, one after another “tripping [Winston] up, laying traps for him, twisting everything he said, convicting him at every step of lies and self-contradiction” until he weeps from the mental drainage and nervous fatigue (241-242). Hallucinogens are used to break down his mind and dissect it piece by piece. Afterwards, O’Brien takes over the torture procedure himself. The terrifying electrical dial jolts Winston as punishment for each of his hundreds of incorrect answers. Throughout this process, Smith desperately attempts to see five fingers not four to become “sane” and overcome his mental fallacies (241-242). Because the party controls the perceivable reality in the mind, they, by default, control the objective reality (Polivick, Lisa. "1984 Discussion." Lecture). In this world, Big Brother controls the citizens’ perception of reality, because he controls the mind. Orwell warns his readers about the effect of organized violence on the population to the point where the “goo between your ears” does not belong to the individual. After facing his greatest fear, rats, in Room 101, Winston Smith has finally betrayed his love for Julia; this marks the end for Winston’s humanity. The last drops of human emotion and connection are scorched dry. The process of “reintegration”: learning, understanding, and acceptance is now complete. Winston is left