6th chapter 1984 by George Orwell '' Big Brother is watching you "

This week’s post is about a part of the 6th chapter of 1984 by George Orwell. It will mainly focus on the internal fight that Winston is going through, especially his ambiguous feelings and memories. The post will also discuss the impact of the situation of the country on the protagonist, and how it affected his life.

The whole fragment of the text is happening at the Chesnut Tree Cafe. Winston Smith is being tormented by his memories and feelings while drinking his usual Gin and playing chess. He is being interrupted numerous times by propaganda announcements on the television about the outcome of the war and will finally feel excited and accept the fact that he accepts the party. He concludes that he finished being confused and discovers that he loves Big Brother.

Winston is thinking about how he became an ally to the Party, and how he abandoned his revolutionary thoughts and decided to become like every other citizen. After being tortured for a certain period of time, he finally discovered that if he wants to be happy, he needs to become part of the masses and accept facts and decisions imposed by the Party.  We conclude that in this situation, the system is more powerful than liberty and won over critical thinking, and it’s illustrated when Winston wrote on the dust of the table: 2+2=5. The brainwash and torture were successful in changing who he was.

Although he is clearly determined and convinced of his new life, he is constantly having an internal fight in his mind, because of some memories that keeps haunting him. The gin that he keeps drinking may be involved in the apparition of these thoughts, because it shows the real personality of the character. A main thing that he remembers is an old meeting with Julia, his old love. He recalls how torture changed her physical appearance, by becoming thin, undesirable and totally undesirable. He discovers that their betrayal was mutual, when they were interrogated in the rooms of the ministry of love. The way their discussion is going shows that they both became indoctrinated by the system; especially when they repeated each other’s words just like robots.

One party ruling: When there is only one party that represents the authority in a country, this can lead to a absolute totalitarianism, as it enables this party to rule over the masses by channels that are available to the party . In the story the party was watching the citizens from their TVs, which we can relate to today governments as they use technology to control over their citizen "mind" . For instance , they can use social media to expose the people to certain kind of messages, so they can be mislead and directed towards what the government's wants . When one party rules, the individuality of each citizen can be effected by that, as the party wants everyone's to see with the eye of the party. In other words, there's no need for you think because we think for you . In the same sense, such way of limiting ones freedom will by time cause some rebellious acts, such as what Winston did ! Those who are willing to think for their selfs and see things different from the government's point of view, surely will face two options: either to learn to love big brother or die fighting against big brother.

The drama continues and memories keep showing up in Winston’s mind. One other thing that he remembers is an event of his childhood. The scene is describing how he was playing with his mother and sister at home and how he was truly overjoyed. But he quickly changes his mind and convinces himself that these are false memories and that he shouldn’t think about it. One main thing that influences the antagonist is the propaganda diffused on television about the Party and what’s happening in the war between Oceania and Eurasia. In the end, the ultimate news that impacts him is the announcement of victory. Winston feels excitement and joy, and thinks that he is now done being confused about his position: He now loves Big Brother once and for all.

 This text illustrates how mind control can have a strong effect over a person as we see the effect of the news on us, they can change our point of view and make us believe whatever we are told. The power of mind control and the ways a message can be delivered are unlimited, everyone’s judgment can be changed and played with, indeed a mind is a toy, if its weak it will break and will be easily malleable.