Book Three: Chapters 1-3

"And once- Winston could not remember whether it was in drugged sleep, or in normal sleep, or even in a moment of wakefulness- a voice murmured in his ear: 'Don't worry, Winston; you are in my keeping. For seven years I have watched over you. Now the turning point has come. I shall save you, I shall make you perfect.' He was not sure whether it was O'Brien's voice; but it was the same voice that had said to him, 'We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness,' in that other dream, seven years ago." (pg 201)

Here it's as if O'Brien sees himself as Winston's savior. O'Brien is acting as if Winston is not perfect the way he is. The Party has the citizens so under control, that if someone does something the Party says is wrong, they are seen as not perfect. The only way O'Brien thinks he is able to make Winston "perfect" is by changing his beliefs by torturing him. Winston begins to agree with the ideas that O'Brien presents him, or rather O'Brien tortures him to believe. Winston was scared, he was hurt, he couldn't take the pain anymore so he just took whatever he was told. He was tortured so much he didn't have resistance and strength to not believe what he was told. Here, O'Brien is molding Winston to fit the government's beliefs, just how he was previously molded.

This reminds me of Peeta Mellark in Mockingjay, part of The Hunger Games Series. In the Hunger Games series both Peeta and Katniss are trying to rebel against the Capitol's beliefs which includes the annual Hunger Games (first act of rebellion was during the 74th annual games), which relates to 1984 because O'Brien was rebelling against the government. O'Brien tells Winston that the Party had gotten him a long time ago, implying that he had thoughts similar to Winston's and previously been in his position. O'Brien relates to Peeta because Peeta is also captured by the Capitol and molded to fit and follow the governments orders. The Capitol tortured and beat Peeta. Peeta is instilled with doubt and fear, used as a weapon against Katniss. This relates to O'Brien because he is now being used as a weapon against those who try to rebel against the Party.


Comments

  1. Lindsay LongNovember 21, 2017 at 10:04 PM

    I really like the connection you made between Peeta and Winston. I also think it would be interesting to draw the comparison even further, and note that Peeta grew up where he knew he was being mistreated and revolution was already lingering, while Winston grew up where the general consensus is the perfection of the society, and the public representation matched. The capitol in a way faltered from taking perceived innocent lives as opposed to the Party where everyone would agree people were guilty.

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  2. PMontanoMiddleCollegeNovember 22, 2017 at 3:56 PM

    I really love how you are able to thoroughly explain what is going in the quote and then relate it back very nicely to the Hunger Games. I completely agree with the fact that like Peeta, Winstons is tortured very horribly till the point that he no longer has the strength to fight back and just gives into what O'Brien is telling him instead of fighting back. And like Lindsay I also agree that Winston is like Peeta is completely aware of the the oppresive society they are in and that I think is very important because this self-awareness gives them the I believe more of that drive to fight back until they are so beaten and tired until they just give in. I think relating it to the Hunger Games makes it more simple to understand!! It is really great!

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  3. UnknownNovember 22, 2017 at 9:58 PM

    Your connection between Peeta and Winston was very well thought out. The connection made it easier to understand because the Hunger games is something that is relatable to me. I agree that they are very much alike. I also agree with Lindsay and Priscila because like Peeta, Winston is aware of how bad his society is. He is aware that they are oppressive and this awareness helps them both to fight back against their society. Although, it does lead to Winston's death.

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  4. UnknownDecember 10, 2017 at 6:13 PM

    The torture that Winston had to go through because of his beliefs was terrible. I'm glad you chose this quote to point that out and talking about the Hunger Games made this even better!

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