Third 1984 Reading Journal

As we read the final part of 1984, we come to realize that Big Brother has both succeeded and failed. His overall intention was a failure, but the outcome of his ideas and processes was a success. Big Brother and the Party are trying to gain and access complete control people's minds. However, they do not succeed in this with the fact that Winston and Julia (as well as others, I would assume) had thoughts to rebel and go against the Party's wishes. This shows acts of defiance, thus proving that the government was not able to control the thoughts going through their minds. Even with thoughtcrimes, the telescreens, the 2 minute hate, etc., the government was unable to completely corrupt the minds of the people. However, at the end of the book, the government succeeds to break Julia and Winston through the torture they are put through. The government gains access to all of Julia and Winston's secrets and actions and proceeds to corrupt their minds to the point that they will not rebel or act against the government in any way. The way a One State could be brought down is displayed by Orwell when it is said, "If there was hope, it must lie in the proles, because only there in those swarming disregarded masses, 85 percent of the population of Oceania, could the force to destroy the Party ever be generated" (40). This is the only way One State could be brought down because it is explained throughout the book that all hope lies with the proles. I believe that Winston Smith has truly been brainwashed. This was a surprising twist because the first two parts of the book set the plot up so that we think Winston will beat Big Brother, but in fact he is eventually corrupted by the Party. Reading Part 3 showed us the torturous events Winston was put through, and his final test in Room 101 was the one that finally broke him. When Winston says, "Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don't care what you do to her. Tear her face off, strip her to the bones. Not me! Julia! Not me!" (Orwell 242), we see that he finally betrayed the one thing he loved and cared about. The last four words of the book end with "He loved Big Brother" (Orwell 265). This proves that Winston has been broken, he has been brainwashed, and he finally believes what he is being told by the government.