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The party just gets scarier doesn't it. So Winston was caught and sent to detention and he is starting to see the other side of this rebellious phase he was going through. Until now, Winston can only imagine what the party does to people when they are caught committing thought crime. The horrors of the reality of all the people caught committing thought crime caught both Winston and I off guard. All we had really known was that they were most likely vaporized. But in truth, what they did to you was nothing short of torture, and an extreme level of torture at that.
So the party apparently doesn't like to simply kill these criminals. Especially those that are convicted of thought crime have to go through multiple measures as part of their torture process. One thing that is certain is that they will surely be killed after the whole process. Something that O'Brien mentions however is that the party does not just kill these defiant citizens. First, they make sure that they are once again loyal to the party and that the definitely LOVE Big Brother.
Winston although started to accept that he had lost didn't quite yet love Big Brother. In fact, he hated him. This is where Room 101 came in. The reaction of people to the simple mention of this place is extremely dramatic. All O'Brien had told Winston about Room 101 is that he already knows what is in there. In order to finally and completely subdue Winston's slightest thoughts of opposition, O'Brien decided to completely destroy Winston's will. Room 101 presents to each individual, their greatest fears. In Winston's case, that was rats as shown during his time with Julia in their 'safe place'. This fear finally broke him and although he had stayed loyal to and loved Julia until this point, he finally broke. He finally gave in. Room 101 is the highest form of torture. There is no one that can stand face to face with the one thing they fear the most and walk away the same. What is your greatest fear? Do you think it is enough to completely break you?
This passage definitely shows how powerful the Party is because they do not simply execute the criminals or allow them to serve their time in jail, all of the criminals are tortured so that the Party will receive the information that they want to hear. Room 101 is absolutely petrifying, prisoners even offer for their family to be killed instead of them going to Room 101. Overall, the Party's power just gets worse and scarier.
ReplyDeleteI share the same interpretation as you Bemi. When I read these chapters, I found it really interesting that O'Brien connected the Party's torture to history and how he explained that they break and convert before they kill. In these chapters, your really see the power that the Party has. They are a relentless force to be reckoned with.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Bemi, the methods and ways they used to torture Winston caught my by surprise as well. I never expected them to use such force against a human. You can really see what the party is made of on these chapters.
ReplyDeleteHey Bemi! I really liked your interpretation of the text because I completely agree with everything you said. The Party really shows how much power they have through these chapters. It makes sense that the Party wouldn't just kill the citizens that commit thought crime because it's like okay you committed the crime and know it's all over. That is not what the Party wants because they want to keep and establish their power that is made from the fear of the citizens, which means instilling fear into these "criminals" by torturing them. It's crazy to think that this society just gets worse as the book goes along.
ReplyDeleteThe methods of torture the party uses are truly horrifying. Even if death is inevitable for the criminal, they will still torture them as if they were doing for the sense of pride they have for such system.
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