(Book 2: Chapters 7-10): Powerless Rulers
Quote:
"A Party member lives from birth to death under the eye of the Thought Police. Even when he is alone he can never be sure that he is alone. Wherever he may be, asleep or awake, working or resting, in his bath or in bed, he can be inspected without warning and without knowing that he is being inspected. Nothing that he does is indifferent. His friendships, his relaxations, his behaviour towards his wife and children, the expression of his face when he is alone, the words he mutters in sleep, even the characteristic movements of his body, are all jealously scrutinized... any eccentricity, however small, any change of habits, any nervous mannerism that could possibly be the symptom of an inner struggle, is certain to be detected. He has no freedom of choice in any direction whatever." (210-211)
What I Have to Say:
It is interesting to see that the reality of Oceania is that the Inner Party members have truly the least amount of freedom out of the three social classes. Winston himself is able to slip away for hours of time; he spends time with Julia, writes about his disagreement with Big Brother in a journal he isn't even supposed to have, and keeps his small paperweight which is a telling sign of his opposition to the norm. An Inner Party member certainly could never get away with any of these things. Instead, they are subjected to what is essentially around the clock surveillance and have a much greater chance of being vaporized for any sort of infraction.
Despite this, the whole system Oceania runs on is because the High, in this case Inner Party members, want to remain at the top. This is what really captures me. The only real privileges that come with being part of the High is material things. Technically, the High also hold the power because they are the ones running the show; they keep war continuous, they choose what is the official past, they keep the proles stupid and the youth clueless, and of course, they keep the intelligent silenced to ensure the Party continues to appear infallible. However that doesn't really mean they hold the power at all. Even though they can control the lives of those below them, like the Outer Party members and the proles, they themselves are controlled by the principles set forth to keep society in a class-based structure. Their "power" is nearly, if not completely, diminished by their allegiance to the system.
Even though they hold all of the knowledge about the workings of the Party, understand that the other two powers (Eastasia and Eurasia) are doing the same thing yet continuing to wage war, see that the reality they have created is completely false, and know that all of rules they themselves must continue to follow were only created for the sake of continuing this hierarchical system, they are helpless to do anything with it or about it. They, while being the most knowledgeable, have to be the most ignorant, subdued, and suppressed. If anything, their status means they have much worse to deal with. The Outer Party members do not have to be nearly as cautious about their loyalty to the ideals of the Party. The proles hardly have to worry at all; with few restrictions and minimal surveillance, they get to live their lives without worrying about how they portray themselves nor carefully keeping a whole society in place. I can't fathom what is so appealing about being part of the High.
"A Party member lives from birth to death under the eye of the Thought Police. Even when he is alone he can never be sure that he is alone. Wherever he may be, asleep or awake, working or resting, in his bath or in bed, he can be inspected without warning and without knowing that he is being inspected. Nothing that he does is indifferent. His friendships, his relaxations, his behaviour towards his wife and children, the expression of his face when he is alone, the words he mutters in sleep, even the characteristic movements of his body, are all jealously scrutinized... any eccentricity, however small, any change of habits, any nervous mannerism that could possibly be the symptom of an inner struggle, is certain to be detected. He has no freedom of choice in any direction whatever." (210-211)
What I Have to Say:
It is interesting to see that the reality of Oceania is that the Inner Party members have truly the least amount of freedom out of the three social classes. Winston himself is able to slip away for hours of time; he spends time with Julia, writes about his disagreement with Big Brother in a journal he isn't even supposed to have, and keeps his small paperweight which is a telling sign of his opposition to the norm. An Inner Party member certainly could never get away with any of these things. Instead, they are subjected to what is essentially around the clock surveillance and have a much greater chance of being vaporized for any sort of infraction.
Despite this, the whole system Oceania runs on is because the High, in this case Inner Party members, want to remain at the top. This is what really captures me. The only real privileges that come with being part of the High is material things. Technically, the High also hold the power because they are the ones running the show; they keep war continuous, they choose what is the official past, they keep the proles stupid and the youth clueless, and of course, they keep the intelligent silenced to ensure the Party continues to appear infallible. However that doesn't really mean they hold the power at all. Even though they can control the lives of those below them, like the Outer Party members and the proles, they themselves are controlled by the principles set forth to keep society in a class-based structure. Their "power" is nearly, if not completely, diminished by their allegiance to the system.
Even though they hold all of the knowledge about the workings of the Party, understand that the other two powers (Eastasia and Eurasia) are doing the same thing yet continuing to wage war, see that the reality they have created is completely false, and know that all of rules they themselves must continue to follow were only created for the sake of continuing this hierarchical system, they are helpless to do anything with it or about it. They, while being the most knowledgeable, have to be the most ignorant, subdued, and suppressed. If anything, their status means they have much worse to deal with. The Outer Party members do not have to be nearly as cautious about their loyalty to the ideals of the Party. The proles hardly have to worry at all; with few restrictions and minimal surveillance, they get to live their lives without worrying about how they portray themselves nor carefully keeping a whole society in place. I can't fathom what is so appealing about being part of the High.
This is actually a really interesting way of thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteThe ones in the highest positions of power have the least freedom, and fight to keep their power merely for the sake of being powerful. Even though they don't actually have very much power. It's a system that fools itself, and pits member against member for the prize of not dying.
When you look at it this way, Oceania becomes a comedy, and the fact that nearly everyone is truly powerless becomes the punchline.
Thank you for enlightening me!!
Wow! A very insightful comment about the benefits of each social system within Oceania. I agree with what you said about how the higher positions seem to be the most restricted and controlled and the lower class you are placed the more freedom you gain. It crazy to see why you ever want to be in a high position, but I were in the position of the proles I wouldn't know the restricted nature of the Inner and Outer Party member. Like you said the proles remain in a stupid and clueless state, so in a sense they are ignorant about the restricted nature of the Outer and Inner Party and only see the benefit of these positions due to being out of the loop.
ReplyDeleteYour analysis of this was just amazing!! I really like how you are able to see all of this because it is very true I cannot see what is so appealing about being apart of the High since they too are also restricted by the same things with only slight benefits to being in the high rankings. It is very true that since they hold such a high position they have to be more cautious than the rest of the members since they have to show their loyalty to the party for them to be able to keep their rank and stay safe. So it is very hard to imagine why they would want such a high position if it means they are way more restricted especially with all of the knowledge they have. Those in the lower positions are completely unaware of these restictions and it so purposesfully done so because the appeal of being a high position is great that they would want to strive for that and do not know what it really entails what being in such a high position means since it is kept just between the high party members. I really like how you were able to put all of this together, it is great!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely weird how the higher class is extremely restricted while the lower class has less restrictions. Being in a higher class keeps you aware of what is happening which is something I would want but not necessarily something I would need. In 1984, ignorance is really bliss. Great post, very insightful!!
ReplyDelete