Examples Of Torture In 1984

Rylie Scales

Mrs. Hoffman

English Language Arts II

March 24, 2023

Confronting Torture Torture is a deliberate act of inflicting pain in an official environment that is used in many ways. These reasons for using torture include retrieving information, a punishment, or intimidating third parties. In 1984, George Orwell uses the torture faced by the main character, Winston, to demonstrate the effectiveness of torture techniques used against prisoners in today's society.

Torture is used around the world and used many ways throughout the novel, 1984. Torture is the act of inflicting pain as a punishment or as a way to get certain types of information out of the one who is being tortured. According to the article, "Torture typically involves inflicting

Torture’s goal is to destroy a sense of community, eliminate leaders, and overall create a climate of fear among the people. The author argues, "Thoughts and actions which, when detected, mean certain death are not formally forbidden, and the endless purgers, arrests, tortures, imprisonments, and vaporizations are not inflicted as punishment for a crime that has actually been committed, but is merely the wiping-out of a person who might perhaps commit a crime at some time in the future” (Orwell 123). In the novel, torture is used as wiping out a person's ideas to never disobey the party in the future. Following, torture can be used as a way to show that someone has power. In addition to that, someone with such power might need to silence those who could potentially disobey them. Bandura suggests that "Here the function of torture is not to solve some mysterious crime, rather torture is used as a hegemonic tool to silence political opponents” (Bandura 1). Torture isn't always used to solve a crime: However, sometimes it can be used as a way to silence political opponents. In addition to silencing political opponents, sometimes torture is generated by the fear of someone losing power. Following, "Torture is usually triggered by the hegemonic crisis of the ruling elite. In order to overcome the fear of the loss of power, the ruling elite usually uses the police and other agencies to

In addition to the purpose of torture, the torturers always have motives themselves. The article adds, "The torturer's personality is so diverse that at one moment they will beat you, yet, at another time they are placidly interacting with co-workers, family members, and others. Their personalities are compartmentalized. Yet, there is one common element among torturers: sadism... Torturers show anger, sometimes they enjoy the role of being an aggressor; sometimes it is an issue of control, power, and authority” (Bandura 1). The following quote shows the relationship between the real-world to and the novel. In the novel, O'Brien uses the feeling of having power to the max. The author states, "The above quote refers to the fact that torture has become a normalized practice in some of the police activities in some countries. It also tells us that practitioners of torture are often intoxicated with power.” (Bandura 1) Along with power, O'Brien puts down his foot with Winston and shows him that anyone like him, after him, is going to be extinct. The novel exemplifies this when it states, "His torturer, O'Brien, tells him "If you are a man, Winston, you are the last man. Your kind is extinct" (Orwell 270). O'Brien turns the once rebellious Winston into another thoughtless drone of the Party, exemplifying the all-powerful nature of the government, and the futility of fighting against it” (Bauer 1). Ultimately, those who torture feel