1984 War Is Peace, Ignorance Is Strength Notes

1984                                                                   Mika Gonzalez

War Is Peace

·      Eurasia consists of Northern Europe and Asia

·      Oceania is made up of the Americas, Atlantic islands, Australia, and southern Africa

·      Eastasia comprises China and countries south of it, Japanese islands, and some parts of Manchuria, Mongolia, and Tibet

·      The regions have been at war for 25 years

·      The ongoing nature of war between the regions continue going for no explainable reason, not one of them ever winning or coming close to it.

·      War affects citizens in each region, suffering from food and good shortages and the occasional air raid. Each is heavily protected and not separated by any set of beliefs.

·      Each region is protected enough so that conquering is unlikely

·      The superstates fight a war for labor power, trying to win over as many densely populated areas as possible

·      Powers controlling equatorial Africa, the Middle East, or Southern India use the cheap labor to expend oil and coal, and these millions of workers are fought by the fluctuating borders of each region

·      The major goal of the warfare is to “use up the products of the machine without raising the general standard of living” (188). Uses doublethink to try to accomplish this

·      Before the Revolution, people dreamed of a world “unbelievably rich, leisured, orderly and efficient” (189) with the development of science and technology. Once the regime took hold, all these visions perished mainly due to the prohibition of free thought.

·      The machine came to dislike the happiness and comfort of the people and the disappearance of a hierarchal society. Therefore, they managed to think up a way to keep the most esteemed members of the machine rich as all the rest remained with little: to keep the poor ignorant and illiterate, unable to think for themselves and therefore rebel.

·      They also wanted to restrict the majority of the population without having to restrict output of goods, thus not distributing goods but only producing them in a state of constant warfare.

·      The people living under the regime are expected to be living as if in warfare: industrious, somewhat intelligent, frightened, angry, and triumphant. All are forced to believe the Party will win the war and that the war exists with the process of doublethink.

·      The Party wants to be able to know what everyone is thinking in order to control thought, and kill millions of people without warning

·      There has been little development in the three powers concerning weapons that are not already created by each of them. The atomic bomb is not used, but owned.

·      Citizens are prohibited to come in contact with foreigners, with fear that the illusion of their evil will be destroyed

·      The fact that the war does not actually involve danger of conquest makes the people live in a false reality and therefore owned by Ingsoc.

·      The goal of the war is to keep the established society intact

·      “A peace that was truly permanent would be the same as a permanent war” (199).

Ignorance is Strength

·      The normal society consists of the High, the Middle, and the Low: the High stay the way they are, the Middle try to become High, and the Low want an equal society. The High is sometimes taken over by the Middle due to poor leadership, and the Middle breaks the promise of helping the Low and leaves them as they were before. The High then becomes the emerging Middle. The Low, throughout history, does not change.

·      Unfreedom and inequality used stop progress and history, therefore making the High group able to keep their position as the top of society. Human equality becomes a danger to be avoided due to the destruction of social and economic levels.

·      With the invention of print, and therefore of radio, film, and television, manipulation of the opinions of the pubic became easier. With the television, now arose the destruction of citizen privacy, now with the police’s ability to watch those needed to be watched at all times.

·      There are four ways for the Party to lose power: “it is conquered from without, or it govern so inefficiently that the masses are stirred to revolt, or it allows a strong and discontented Middle Group to come into being, or it loses its self-confidence and willingness to govern” (207). The first is unlikely, since all three superstates are unconquerable. The second can be avoided by the Party’s ability to keep the masses from having a comparison to other lifestyles and therefore living unaware of their oppression.

·      Big Brother is the mascot of the Party, a being that is seen everywhere on posters, who takes credit for all glories of the Party and stirs inspiration and leadership. The people make him the object of their human emotions.

·      The High is the Inner Party, the Middle is the Outer Party, and the Low are the proletarians. Entrance into each section is not hereditary, as long as the structure remains the same.

·      Rebellion is not possible. The prolitarians live their lives unaware of a life that could be different due to lack of education. Those living in the Party are constantly watched by the Though Police, without freedom of choice, but there is no law. A Party member must have good instincts.

·      The word crimestop, meaning the instinct to stop before thinking too far into a dangerous thought, keeps the people in a state of “protected stupidity” (212).

·      Blackwhite refers to believing that black is white despite other facts, whether out of loyalty or impudence. This requires the alteration of the past with doublethink. This readjustment occurs when the Party constantly rewrites history to make the predictions facts and the results what the Party wants to see and be believed.

·      Past only exists in written word and memories, therefore whatever the Party means to make it. This power has made their power able to last.

·      “The greater the understanding, the greater the delusion: the more intelligent, the less sane” (215)

·      Linking of opposites shows the contradictions, the doublethink, rejecting principles from the pre-revolutionary days of Socialism while also preaching Socialism.

·      Ministry of Peace deals with war, Ministry of Truth with lies, Ministry of Love with torture, and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. Doublethink. The High keep their position, and the minds of everyone continue to be controlled.

1984 #3, 4

              In the series of events that occur in the latter part of Part One of the novel, the reader comes to the conclusion that Winston is starting to show signs of wanting to do what he can to investigate the truth of the quality of life before the Revolution and making his statement to the future of London. He continues to write in his diary, each time confessing more dangerous subjects, such as his encounter with a prostitute. He makes an attempt to talk to an old man about his experiences before the war and Big Brother, but with little luck. He then makes the risky move of entering the antique shop where he purchased his diary, and even at one point imagines himself living in the upstairs room, without a telescreen and with more freedoms in life. His loosening up indicates to the reader the importance of the diary and the depth of rebellion Winston will reach, if successful, by the end of the novel.
               Similarly, Winston is able to assess the qualities in a Party member that are sought after by Big Brother: "Orthodoxy is unconsciousness" (53). With the steady decline of words in the Newspeak dictionary, Syme adds that "'In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it'"(52). He gives the example of the word 'good'. Because Newspeak uses 'plusgood' and 'superplusgood' to mean anything exceptional or fantastic, and anything bad as 'ungood', the people are left with only the adjective 'good'. Every other word used in Oldspeak is made permanently nonexistent. Newspeak acts as the ultimate control method used by Big Brother on the people, for eventually there will be so few words known to all that expression is difficult, practically rendering them speechless.
              Therefore, Winston feels the need to fulfill his own quota of protest by writing his diary. He must leave behind a portion of the reality before even his mind is consumed with lies. He also writes: "If there is hope it lies in the proles" (69). He realizes they hold the most thought and action freedom, and have the potential to overthrow the dictatorship. Before the end of the novel, Winston will have somehow managed to make some sort of anti-Party statement.

1984 #2

          In the next two sections of the first book of 1984, protagonist Winston begins to question truly how much influence Big Brother and the Ingsoc regime has had on his memory and ability to think for himself. In Part III, he tries to remember what life was like before the Party took absolute control, and he emphasizes how, "if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed--if all records told the same tale--then the lie passed into history and because truth" (34) and "you could prove nothing. There was never any evidence" (36). Those living under the rule of Big Brother and the ruthless Party have no way of referencing events from the past because the past has been dominated and altered by the government. This further shows how everyone living this way, unable to experience any joys or freedoms, are also stripped from the truth of the past. Even if one wanted to rebel or reach out to other lands, they would find their inability to recall facts from the past way of the world. The ultimate power belonging to the regime is so great and terrifying, the people having been so minimized in their abilities through fear and lies. They are faced with doublethink, a never-ending puzzle of trying to figure out the truth: "Whatever was true now was true from everlasting to everlasting. It was quite simple. All that was needed was an unending series of victories over your own memory. 'Reality control,' they called it" (35). Those having their minds controlled by the regime have very little chance of having the ability to break the spell needed for a government overthrowing.

The Game Has Lost Its Fun

                Maya Angelou's lyrical poem "Harlem Hopscotch" uses the powerful symbol of a game of hopscotch to reflect the hardships experienced by black children living in a time of brutal racism and the twisted game of life she must complete without giving in to defeat. From the start, the mood of the piece is hauntingly highlighted: "Another jump, now to the left. / Everybody for hisself" (3-4). Angelou captures the innocence of the children playing with the rhythmic enjambment, and by the next line, outlines the fear experienced as well. From one hop to the next, danger emerges and the players must try to escape without the help of the others. Through the dire situation, they continue playing, as if in an effort to grasp whatever enjoyment from life they can get while trying to keep their sanity. They persist and play until the end of the hopscotch path: "Hold for three, then twist and jerk. / Cross the line, they count you out. / That's what hopping's all about" (10-12). The final struggle proves to be the one fought for the most, but there is no reward, the finishing goes unnoticed and unrecognized. Though the speaker has fought for their rights and has tried to make it through alive and strong, society does not grant the rights promised. However, there is some reward: "Both feet flat, the game is done. / They think I lost. I think I won" (13-14). Though the oppressed race has not been made equal to the oppressing whites, there is a victory. The symbol of finishing the game shows persistence and overcoming of struggle. The speaker is able to prove her ability to stand her ground and do whatever is in her power to stay there, making a bold statement towards white society of her capabilities.

Lies are Forbidden...Except When They're Not

                    There lies the deepest contradiction in Marlow's opinion compared to his actions regarding lies. Marlow makes it clear pretty early on in the story that

"I hate, detest, and can't bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it appalls me. There is a taint of death, a flavour of mortality in lies--what is exactly what I hate and detest in the world--what I want to forget" (94)

Marlow despises the hypocrisy and the lies involved with the imperialist efforts of the time, and honors Kurtz for admitting his madness and being blunt about his efforts. For example, he concludes his report with "'Exterminate all the brutes!'" (123), not hiding behind any facade or false image of morality.
                     Escaping the possibility of becoming similar to Kurtz's transformed self, without the guidance of society and morality to keep him from losing control, Marlow decides to escape the imperialist effort and return to England. He then decides to visit Kurtz's wife-to-be to give her some of her husband's papers and belongings, while also to comfort the widow. At one point, she asks Marlow what Kurtz's last words were, and he hesitates. He realizes her lasting image of him is still that of the honorable man, untouched by insanity or the prospect of ivory obsession, and makes the decision to forever keep this image intact. Therefore, instead of mentioning Kurtz's true last words, "'The horror, the horror!'" (153), he assures her that her name as being those last spoken.
                     Reflecting on this decision, Marlow to mentally justify his lie:

"The heavens do not fall for such a trifle. Would they have fallen, I wonder, if I had rendered Kurtz that justice which was his due? Hadn't he said he wanted only justice? But I couldn't. I could not tell her. It would have been too dark--too dark altogether" (157).      

The reader is left with this confusing decision and contradiction of moral beliefs. Marlow believes there is nothing worse than a lie, but he makes the decision to lie on behalf of Kurtz's fiance, though what he admired about Kurtz was his moral choice to be truthful. In this instance, Marlow makes an exception to his rule. He realizes the darkness that can sometimes accompany the lie more than the truth. If he had chosen to speak the absolute truth to the widow, her image of her loving husband would be forever distorted, causing her even more grief, realizing the man she admired and cared for had disappeared long before his death. Telling her what she wants to hear is easier for Marlow to do, for he knows it will keep her the closest to sane possible. The deception practiced here greatly differs that practiced in the Company and imperialistic efforts of the time, where cruel acts were committed under a false mission, the atrocities hidden to those who had not experienced them. In a way, Marlow does similarly, not wishing Kurtz's fiance to experience the unfortunate transformation of Kurts from man to savage, but here, emotions are involved and complicate the morality of telling the complete truth. Therefore, in the end, Marlow does continue Kurtz's justice, because keeping his fiance sane is what he would have wanted.