Blog post 6

 WINSTON BROKE?

Kind of. 

He betrays Julia, which I know a lot of people were hoping for-- I didn’t think their love was strong enough to handle all that physical and psychological torture either, it was just a matter of time.

What I found most interesting about this reading is that at one point, Winston WANTS to succumb. He wants to give up and believe whatever O’Brien says. He goes through different stages of feelings with him too-- he loves him, idolizes him, etc. But no matter how much he tries and how much he wants to believe what O’Brien tells him, he can’t. The idea that people can’t just like and betray their inner values for their convenience is something that isn’t unique to this novel. There’s so many real life examples-- religious wars, genocide, etc. where people refused the option of denouncing their values and morals in exchange for mercy.

When I was little, I always thought it was so simple and logical to do whatever you needed to do to be safe. But this chapter really captures the complexity of a situation like that, the dissonance from having to lie to yourself almost.

What did you think about Winston’s reaction to O’Brien’s torturing throughout these chapters?