Personal Freedom In George Orwell's '1984'

Can the human spirit easily endure pain and suffering, or is it easily corruptible? In 1984 by George Orwell, Winston Smith is broken when he undergoes extreme psychological torture. His pain, however matures him in the sense that he lets go of his idealistic past self and accepts the ideologies of his government, “the party.” In a pivotal moment where winston is forced to believe that 2+2=5, he loses all sense of personal freedom and is at the will of Big Brother, and thus comes into his place as a good party member. In part 1 and 2 of 1984, Winston posses abject hatred for the principles of the party, or INGSOC, and Big Brother. Refusing to completely fall victim the “doublethink” mindset that allows the party to manipulate its citizens, winston constantly checks what he knows to be true and what is government propaganda. He writes in his diary that “freedom is [being able to say] that two plus two makes four.” He thinks this because the party can easily make those who are susceptible to brainwashing let go of logical thought and truly believe whatever they are told by …show more content…
His mind is malleable, and is ready for alteration. In a brief session of respite after weeks of torture, Winston takes it to himself to write “WAR IS PEACE… SLAVERY IS FREEDOM… GOD IS POWER” on a piece of paper. These slogans are two out of three of the main party doctrines. His willingness to write this and believe what he is saying is a testament to how strong of an impact the five finger incident had on Winston’s mind. He is now almost ready to rejoin society, except his devotion for Julia, his lover, is not permitable. This is easily destroyed however in room 101 when, about to be eaten alive by rats, Winston shouts “do it to Julia!” This betrayal would not have been possible before Winston accepted that 2+2 can equal 5 if the government tells him