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The primary aim of modern warfare (in accordance with the principles of DOUBLETHINK, this aim is simultaneously recognized and not recognized by the directing brains of the Inner Party) is to use up the products of the machine without raising the general standard of living. Ever since the end of the nineteenth century, the problem of what to do with the surplus of consumption goods has been latent in industrial society. At present, when few human beings even have enough to eat, this problem is obviously not urgent, and it might not have become so, even if no artificial processes of destruction had been at work. The world of today is a bare, hungry, dilapidated place compared with the world that existed before 1914, and still more so if compared with the imaginary future to which the people of that period looked forward. In the early twentieth century, the vision of a future society unbelievably rich, leisured, orderly, and efficient—a glittering antiseptic world of glass and steel and snow-white concrete—was part of the consciousness of nearly every literate person. Science and technology were developing at a prodigious speed, and it seemed natural to assume that they would go on developing. This failed to happen, partly because of the impoverishment caused by a long series of wars and revolutions, partly because scientific and technical progress depended on the empirical habit of thought, which could not survive in a strictly regimented society. As a whole the world is more primitive today than it was fifty years ago. Certain backward areas have advanced, and various devices, always in some way connected with warfare and police espionage, have been developed, but experiment and invention have largely stopped, and the ravages of the atomic war of the nineteen-fifties have never been fully repaired.

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This extract shows a broken world in the novel, where war is used to waste things and keep people poor in order to have them in control . Science no longer helps people. The party controls everything and stops progress. Life is very hard, and the future that people once imagined is gone and will only have failure and oppresion as their only path

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How many fingers am I holding up, Winston?’ ‘I don’t know. I don’t know. You will kill me if you do that again. Four, five, six—in all honesty I don’t know.’ ‘Better,’ said O’Brien. A needle slid into Winston’s arm. Almost in the same instant a blissful, healing warmth spread all through his body. The pain was already half-forgotten. He opened his eyes and looked up gratefully at O’Brien. At sight of the heavy, lined face, so ugly and so intelligent, his heart seemed to turn over. If he could have moved he would have stretched out a hand and laid it on O’Brien’s arm. He had never loved him so deeply as at this moment, and not merely because he had stopped the pain. The old feeling, that at bottom it did not matter whether O’Brien was a friend or an enemy, had come back. O’Brien was a person who could be talked to. Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood. O’Brien had tortured him to the edge of lunacy, and in a little while, it was certain, he would send him to his death. It made no difference. In some sense that went deeper than friendship, they were intimates: somewhere or other, although the actual words might never be spoken, there was a place where they could meet and talk. O’Brien was looking down at him with an expression which suggested that the same thought might be in his own mind When he spoke it was in an easy, conversational tone. ‘Do you know where you are, Winston?’ he said. ‘I don’t know. I can guess. In the Ministry of Love.’ ‘Do you know how long you have been here?’ ‘I don’t know. Days, weeks, months—I think it is months.’ ‘And why do you imagine that we bring people to this place?’ ‘To make them confess.’ ‘No, that is not the reason. Try again.’ ‘To punish them.’ ‘No!’ exclaimed O’Brien. His voice had changed extraordinarily, and his face had suddenly become both stern and animated. ‘No! Not merely to extract your confession, not to punish you. Shall I tell you why we have brought you here? To cure you! To make you sane!

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This extract shows three main themes.the first one is the control that the government keeps people poor and stops them from thinking or living better. The other one war and is used to waste things and keep power, not to win. Finally, is all the presented lost progress with the ideas that science and new ideas have stopped, so life is worse than before.

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In the extract they use symbols to show big ideas to portray them in simpler words. They use war as a symbol of control and waste and the machines show what could help people but are used badly to make the situation worse . Finally the broken world is like the lost hope and the failure of human progress and freedom.

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The pain flowed into Winston’s body. The needle must be at seventy, seventy-five. He had shut his eyes this time. He knew that the fingers were still there, and still four. All that mattered was somehow to stay alive until the spasm was over. He had ceased to notice whether he was crying out or not. The pain lessened again. He opened his eyes. O’Brien had drawn back the lever. ‘How many fingers, Winston?’ ‘Four. I suppose there are four. I would see five if I could. I am trying to see five.’ ‘Which do you wish: to persuade me that you see five, or really to see them?’ ‘Really to see them.’ ‘Again,’ said O’Brien. Perhaps the needle was eighty — ninety. Winston could not intermittently remember why the pain was happening. Behind his screwed-up eyelids a forest of fingers seemed to be moving in a sort of dance, weaving in and out, disappearing behind one another and reappearing again. He was trying to count them, he could not remember why. He knew only that it was impossible to count them, and that this was somehow due to the mysterious identity between five and four. The pain died down again. When he opened his eyes it was to find that he was still seeing the same thing. Innumerable fingers, like moving trees, were still streaming past in either direction, crossing and recrossing. He shut his eyes again. ‘How many fingers am I holding up, Winston?’ ‘I don’t know. I don’t know. You will kill me if you do that again. Four, five, six — in all honesty I don’t know.’ ‘Better,’ said O’Brien. A needle slid into Winston’s arm. Almost in the same instant a blissful, healing warmth spread all through his body. The pain was already half-forgotten. He opened his eyes and looked up gratefully at O’Brien. At sight of the heavy, lined face, so ugly and so intelligent, his heart seemed to turn over. If he could have moved he would have stretched out a hand and laid it on O’Brien’s arm. He had never loved him so deeply as at this moment, and not merely because he had stopped the pain. The old feeling, that at bottom it did not matter whether O’Brien was a friend or an enemy, had come back. O’Brien was a person who could be talked to. Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood. O’Brien had tortured him to the edge of lunacy, and in a little while, it was certain, he would send him to his death. It made no difference. In some sense that went deeper than friendship, they were intimates: somewhere or other, although the actual words might never be spoken,

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Psychological Manipulation: O’Brien twists Winston’s mind until he cannot trust his senses.
“Four, five, six—in all honesty I don’t know.”

Sanity and Insanity: The Party redefines sanity as obedience.
“To cure you! To make you sane!”

Power and Control: Torture is not used for confessions, but domination.
“We bring you here to cure you.”

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MOTIFS:

Broken Identity – Winston’s repeated “I don’t know” shows his destroyed self.

Conflict between Pain and Love: Winston feels affection for his tormentor.
“He had never loved him so deeply as at this moment.”

Submission – Winston equates pain relief with connection

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🪞SYMBOLS

The Needle – Symbolizes the violent submission and control.
“A needle slid into Winston’s arm.”

Fingers – Represents the manipulation of truth.
“How many fingers am I holding up?”

O'Brien – A symbol of the regime’s brutality, both torturer and “savior”

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👤 Character Traits:

Winston: Vulnerable, desperate, wanta connection.

O’Brien: Cold, controlling, philosophical, persuasive.

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✒️ Literary Devices

Irony – Winston feels love for the man torturing him.

Repetition – “I don’t know” -> mental collapse.

Tone – Calm yet horrifying and lunatic,  Orwell’s tone reflects the cruelty of the party´s “logic.”

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I chose this passage because it encapsulates the most disturbing and psychologically complex aspects of 1984. The moment when the love, pain, obedience, and identity dissolve under authoritarian control. Winston’s confession that he does not know how many fingers are being held up represents the absolute power the Party , not only over truth, but over perception itself. Orwell uses this moment to show that totalitarian regimes do not simply demand obedience, they aim to reprogram reality inside the minds of their subjects.

This passage is central to the novel’s most powerful theme of  the destruction of individual autonomy and thought. O’Brien, as the voice of the Party, calmly tells Winston that the purpose of torture is not punishment or confession but “to cure” and “to make you sane.” The irony is chilling. Sanity, in this world, is defined by complete submission to the Party’s version of truth.

Winston’s emotional response to O’Brien, a man he actually fears, loves, and admires. demonstrates Orwell’s insight into how power can corrupt even the most intimate emotions. The passage invites us to question the nature of reality, the fragility of perception, and the horrifying effectiveness of psychological control. It’s not just a scene about torture, it’s about the destruction of the being, which is why it remains one of the novel’s most creepy moments.

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This scene take place during the torture that O’Brien to Winston in the ministry of love. reveals the physiological control, Winston is not only physically tortured he’s also broken down to the point where he doubts his own reality as i quote for the book “how many fingers are there?” showing the party real aims that they don't want to punish them only they want to dominate thought.

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To what extent the oppresion of the party reflects on the characters?

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Reality vs. Perception: When O'Brien asks Winston not just to say that he sees five fingers, but to actually see them — showing how the Party wants to reshape truth itself.

Power and Control can be seen as The Party’s ultimate power is not just over bodies, but over minds and beliefs.

Isolation and Longing for Connection Even while being tortured, Winston feels a twisted affection for O’Brien. Why? Because O’Brien “understands” him. It shows Winston’s desperation for human connection — even if it comes from his torturer.

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I chose the passage because this shows how the government controls people wiht the poverty, war, and stopping progress. This connects to what I see in history about Stalin’s oppression, where he used fear, control, and lies to keep power.

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The fingers are symbol of control over reality. It’s not about what’s real, but what the Party says is real.

The Irony of Winston when he says that he loved O'Brien, the man that was torturing him.

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🧐 If someone can change what you see, feel, and believe....do you still own your mind?

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I choose this passage because is a important moment in 1984, showing the devastating psychological impact of the party's control over the individual in this case Winston , through Winston's torture, Orwell shows how the party true power lies not in physical violence, but in its ability no manipulate the individual reality. O'Brien does not simply want Winston to say that he sees five fingers, he wants to change his perspective of reality to really believe that there are 5 fingers and it all depends on what the party says it is. The passage also explores the theme of identity loss as I quote "I don’t know. Four, five, six-in all honesty I don’t know" shows the collapse of his confidence of what he really believes. The fact that he ends up feeling gratitude and affection for O’Brien — the very person torturing him.”  So the author use this scene to show us that the authoritarian governments don't punish disobedience, they rewrite the thoughts,  match the ability to think in a free way. This extract show that power controls everything as truth becomes a tool of oppression and the the citizens mind didn’t have place to hide of them.

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if truth can be changed, what do you know what to believe?