1984 Final Response

O'brien proclaims that Winston failed in humility and self discipline because of all the things that he did in the past that went against the way of the party. Winston was in fact the only sane one because he followed what he knew, and felt was right instead of being insane and following what the Party was planting in everyone else's mind. O'brien told Winston that he was by himself but he was just the only to get caught. Winston gave himself away by leaving evidence of his deceitfulness. But he has the right as a person to be himself, he has the right to be a leader instead of a follower. He has the right to use his brain, and not just follow the trend because someone else thinks that their way is better and that everyone has to follow them. Winston was told that reality is what is in the human mind, not in an individuals mind. But reality is your perception of what you see and know to be real. Winston knew that the things that the Party was feeding to everyone was a fraud so he didn't follow. I believe that as a human being Winston was right for doing what he did. He was stupid for being caught but he was right for sticking to his beliefs and not letting people continue to dictate his behavior and thoughts.
O'brien told Winston that whatever the party says is true is the truth. Winston was under the impression that the things that he remembered were true instead. He was brainwashed by the party to believe what they told him was the truth and what he second guessed himself about. Winston knew that the war they were in was for a totally different reason that the Party led everyone else to believe. Winston was smart to believe in himself, and to get fed up with the Party putting things into his mind that he knew were false. Winston didn’t believe the Party so he followed his instincts. O'brien told Winston that his only way of survival was to follow the rulles that were set for him to follow. He is to follow the Party and support it, or else he is a traitor and is an enemy to the party. If Winston doesn't follow the Party he will be erased. O’brien wants Winston to follow suit because if he doesn’t then the way of the Party would be in jeopardy. The Party is doing the things they are doing to look out for the people, supposedly. And if Winston continues to be the one who is constantly against them then there’s no point to the rules if they make an exception.

Response to Orwell

In 1984 the thing that really stood out to me was the fact that the people seemed to be brainwashed. This was really strange to me because of the fact that they would second guess the things they were told about everything that they knew. Winston, for example, would think about a different time when people weren't forced to be married to someone that they weren't physically attracted to. He seemed to hate the way that society was controlled but he was scared that he would be erased so he followed everything that he knew was wrong. How does brain washing people help them to live better lives? If they know that some of the things that Big Brother is telling them is false, but are too scared to comment on it, wouldn't that harm them in the end?
Winston was scared to write in his journal, but he decided to write in it as an act of rebellion. It seems as though his journal is his only escape from a day of second guessing himself. All day everyday he would be thinking about people who may or may not be feeling the same way as he was. But there was no way to know unless he asked which he can't do because he is constantly being watched. The fact that these people are being watched 24/7 can be tiring, but Big Brother sees it as a way of protecting the people, when in the long run it is setting the people up for distruction.