1984 by George Orwell

            1984 by George Orwell is entertaining and excellently written both in terms of political ideas and plot construction. It does have a few flaws, however. The ending is unsatisfactory and makes quite a tragedy (as far as democratic Americans are concerned). Questions are left unanswered. How could Winston become brainwashed? He so desperately wanted truth to stand. His failure can be attributed to a lack of confidence in his own ability to reason so that his whole intellect broke down in the face of pain, becoming a wasteland just like most of the minds in Oceania. This makes me wonder whether or not I could withstand. I want to say that I could, but under such trauma it is difficult to say. Although Orwell could be using the book make democratic countries thankful for their situation, he is most likely warning us about where our society could end up. To that end, he makes a convincing but dubious argument. The tyrannical control of people’s entire lives and most devastatingly, the complete control of truth appeals primarily to ethos and pathos because his society is illogical. In practice, people do not enjoy power as much as wealth and glory. Power is a means to an end. Rulers throughout the ages have craved power so that they could be respected, worshiped, and paid by their subjects. They would never limit themselves just to get the power. Orwell’s society may seem impregnable, but it could not arise without falling apart due to the greed of men. It is difficult enough for people to share things in a society with ownership, could the members of the Inner Party really strip themselves of all of their wealth and leave no trace of themselves when they die? Orwell’s society would have collapsed before it began. Before the society could become completely oppressive, people would have objected severely to the destruction of truth.