Part Three
of the novel covers the time from 's awareness that he has arrived under arrest at the Ministry
of Love to the end of the novel.
and the state release Winston from prison
because they believe they have completely broken him. He is, as far as they are concerned, a
mere shell of a man, with no spark of humanity left, mindlessly and abjectly devoted to Big
Brother. Is this true? What evidence is there at the end, especially in Winston's memory of
playing Snakes and Ladders with his mother, that he has kept part of his humanity intact? Does
this qualify him as still human? Or did his betrayal oftruly break him?
Second, the novel posits the idea, beloved of totalitarians and later discussed by
Hannah Arendt in her book On Totalitarianism, that power determines truth.
If the state has enough power, O'Brien argues, it can make anything it wants the truth. We see
this demonstrated when O"Brien makes Winston really believe two plus two equals five.
However, does power really determine truth? If so, then why do absolutist or totalitarian
governments have a track record of failure?
Third, O'Brien tells Winston that
power is forcing a person to do something he doesn't want to do. He calls the vision of the
Party a boot stamping down on a human face. What might this tell us about O'Brien's limits? Are
there other forms of power? Althoughwas not a Christian, and in fact, despised the way
Christianity tried to control people, he was brought up in a Christian tradition. Christianity
argues that love is the most powerful force in the universe and will triumph over hate. Could
Winston be right when he looks at the simple bonds of love and family that the proles have
maintained and says that will defeat the Party? Or do events in the novel prove him
wrong?
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