How Does George Orwell Lose Power In 1984

In 1984, George Orwell shows how a totalitarian dystopia can mentally control its citizens through devices such as indoctrination and abuse. The main character, Winston, spends the majority of the book trying to gain power back from the Big Brother, the supposed leader of Oceania and the face of the ruling Party. Despite his best efforts, Winston’s rebellion fails and he ends up back under the control of Big Brother. The Party psychologically oppresses the citizens of Oceania, forcing them to believe in their societal values. All rebellion is rendered void because all the people have become Big Brother’s spies. Through mental repression, power over their lives, and emotional and physical connection, the Party was able to manipulate and destroy

They do not care if the information is wrong, but they want their citizens to fully heartedly believe it. Throughout the book, Orwell repeats the idea that 2+2=5. Although it is incorrect, it shows that the citizens are completely wiped of any sense of their own individual personality other than their love of Big Brother. After Winston is arrested by the Party, O’Brien believes to him, “We are not interested in those stupid crimes that you have committed. The Party is not interested in the overt act: the thought is all we care about. We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them.” (253) Through this quote, Orwell reveals the true intention of the Party: total dominance of the body and mind. Even in the midst of torture, Winston realizes his love for Big Brother. Through the repression of the mind, the Party succeeded in creating an army of mindless

The mixture of the two types of torture strikes terror in the hearts of the citizenry to the extent that they become willing zombies who give up their civil liberties in exchange for state protection. While Winston was being tortured by O’Brien, he thought to himself, ‘Even in his terror it was as though he could feel the pain in his own body … He knew what it was like: the terrible, agonizing pain which was there all the while but could not be suffered yet, because before all else it was necessary to be able to breathe.” (223) By connecting physical torture and mental torture, the Party can manipulate the people’s minds into loving and being loyal to them. Even in the midst of torture, Winston has been conditioned to expect pain and suffering as a consequence for his rebellion. Instead of an evil dictator torturing him, Winston sees this leader trying to save his mind. When the torture ends, Winston is back completely under Big Brother’s control and forgets any desire to rebel, even giving up his lover Julia in the process. His mind was manipulated to such extreme levels that Winston believed he deserved the mental and physical torture he received, causing him to lose his beliefs and himself in the