O 'Brien has been monitoring Winston for seven years, luring him into a deadly trap. The likes of O 'Brien are very intelligent, but they are also mad, for how can one believe two contrary things without using doublethink. "O 'Brien knew everything. [...] He had understood it all, weighed it all, and it made no difference: all was justified by the ultimate purpose. What could you do, thought Winston, against the lunatic who [...] gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy?" (Orwell 275). O 'Brien knows that Winston 's truths are logical, but since they contradict the beliefs of the Party, he considers them false and strives to make that known to Winston as well. O 'Brien also takes an interest in torturing the rebels to the point where their thoughts have been altered in ways that the Party desires, which further proves his deranged personality. "His voice had grown almost dreamy. [...] The lunatic enthusiasm, was still in his face. He is not pretending, thought Winston; he is not a hypocrite; he believes every word he says" (Orwell 268). O 'Brien is a lunatic because not only does he torture men and women who oppose the Party to the point where they are only shells of themselves, but he also finds it very touching …show more content…
To ensure that the rest of the people do not follow in the path of the rebels, the captured insurgents must be humiliated and ridiculed for their ideas so that those who share the same perspective begin to question their views as well. "Our task is not only to destroy you physically, but also to smash you morally before the eyes of society" (Makowiecki). A Stalinist interrogator at the Office of Public Security explained to a prisoner in 1948. The previous dictators knew that that to have complete control over the people, they need to remove the disobedient ones. To wipe out the opposition and their ideas, is to have complete control over the people, instill fear in the hearts of insurgents, and love in the hearts of followers. Love and fear are strong emotions that govern the thoughts and actions of a society. In the novel, the Party knows of the two emotions that keeps people in check. O 'Brien, who is a symbol of the system uses love and fear accordingly to prove both the superiority and the power he holds over Winston 's fate. "You are a flaw in the pattern, Winston. You are a stain that must be wiped out" (Orwell 267). By stating this passage, O 'Brien creates angst in Winston about what he will have to endure to be cured. Yet, he erases the fright by showing his love towards the protagonist. He depicts himself as a guardian angel, help sent to Winston in his time of need.