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George Orwell's Room 101 In Nineteen Eighty-Four

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More than a century ago, the horror fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft uttered: “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown” (BrainyQuote). One can infer that the late writer was portraying the idea that individuals, are pushed to find knowledge in order to conquer their fears however, the true terror that dwells within everyone is the outcome when no knowledge has been acquired. The idea of Room 101 in Nineteen Eighty-Four represents a concept of a dystopian existence where an individual’s subconscious meets the physical reality of suppression and horror.

Throughout history, dating back to the 1300’s, rats have been looked down upon as they were the main carriers of the …show more content…

However, to Winston, mystery surrounds the room as the uncertainty and the fear of the unknown causes him to question the contents within. The idea of Winston not having any awareness of what lies within Room 101 has a strong correlation with the philosophical field of epistemology. Since epistemology is the study of knowledge and what it means “to know”, the lack of knowledge Winston has while locked up in the “place where there is no darkness” causes his mind to wander and think about the endless possibilities that may exist within that space. With no tangible information to grasp, Winston resorts to using him subconscious which causes him to imagine a world different from reality and question the outcomes of events as suggest by O’Brien. “You know what is in Room 101, Winston. Everyone knows what is in Room 101” (Orwell 273). This evidence suggests Winston deep in his mind already understand what awaits him within the torture chamber and by O’Brien expressing this to Winston, it causes Winston to continue seeking for answers. When seeking for answers, individuals stray from what they fear the most naturally, without thinking about it because the human subconscious attempts to keep peace and comfort within the mind. However, when Winston finally gains the crucial information of what lies in Room 101 when

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