Part 3: Chapters 3 & 4
There was really a lot of material to cover in these chapters. To be honest I'm not really sure where to start, but I think starting with O' Brian's logic is a decent place to begin. On pages 264 to 266 O' Brian describes what the Party believes. He says that everything that happens in the world happens because the Party wills it, and that it can all change if the Party wishes it. When O' Brian says, "The earth is as old as we are, no older. How could it be older? Nothing exists except through human consciousness," I can't help but think how close minded that is. I know that in 1984's world that only what the Party says is true, and most people don't believe in anything but what the Party say. But, it's just so hard for me to wrap my head around the thought of someone actually believing that the world is only as old as humans. If people are taught that the world is only as old as humans, then those people have know reason not to believe it. I've been taught that the world is older then the existence of humans, and I honestly have never questioned that logic, until maybe now.
In addition, when O' Brian says the line, "The earth is the center of the universe. The sun and the stars go round it," I think of the ancient people and how they believed this to be true because they were ignorant. I guess that is the whole point of the Party though; to keep the people stupid. O' Brian then goes on to say, "For certain purposes, of course, that is not true... The stars can be near or distant, according as we need them... Have you forgotten doublethink?" I really don't get how people can think one thing and then just switch on a whim to something completely contradictory. I know thats what a good part of this book is about, the irony of everything, but it just doesn't work for my brain. It really doesn't, I don't understand how a person could be so gullible to just except that change in events with no questions. If one day someone told me that the moon is the sun I would not just except that. If I understand the way Party logic works, then the Prols would believe the moon was the sun without question. That to me crazy -- insanity.
The way O' Brian and the Party see things in a way that is so close minded I don't know how they can function, and I can understand why Winston is losing his mind. The Party sees no bigger picture, because a broader perspective brings more questions. More questions bering more thoughts, and thought can lead to rebellion. If the Party keeps the minds of the people closed, then the Party really can be immortal. Immortal in the sense that they will never be questioned as to what is really reality and what is the Party's reality.
It doesn't make sense to you because you are using logic. What if fear and intimidation were used instead? What if everyone else BELIEVED the opposite of what you believed? Wouldn't you eventually question what is or isn't? When logic is lost, what else is there? When the ability to reason is squelched or abandoned, what else is there?
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