1984+Essay

Dear Boethius, I read your book describing how the mind is free. Where I live this is not how I live. I live in a place that is the exact opposite of your idea. Some major things include, telescreens, thought police, curing your mind and how Big Brother changes the past and how you think.

The telescreens and thought police are a big part in how Big Brother sees us all the time and makes sure nothing bad happens. "Winston kept his back to the telescreen. It was safer. As he well known, even a back can be revealing."Pg.5 The telescreens have cameras facing you all the time and are in almost every area you go, the only areas they are not in, are in forests and far away places. The thought police come in the night and take you to the Ministry of Love. This is not a happy place, it is where the curing of your mind happens.

If you are a thought criminal, you are taken to the Ministry of Love, inside there are cells where you are held in until you are finally sent to Room 101. But while you are in the Ministry of Love you must confess to everything you have done. Also you can never tell if it is dark or light outside so you never know how long you've been there. "This demands a continuous alternation of the past, made possible by the system of thought which really embraces all the rest, and which is known in Newspeak as doublethink."Pg 232. While you are being cured, they teach you to always use doublethink. One example is that they make you think 2+2=5, or 3. You can never trust anyone because of use of doublethink.

After you are cured, you are released under a new name and life. Your past life is deleted. This is how Big Brother controls people. He gets in your mind and makes you think certain ways. Also he has pain as a consequence. "Pain is not always enough. There are occasion when a human being will stand out against the pain." Pg 311. The Thought Police, telescreens, Ministry of Love are all there to watch you and show things to be afraid of. When you are caught, pain will be given to you.

In Oceania, there is no way around this society. There will always be Big Brother there to stop you, some try to revolt or form an underground group against Big Brother. But you can never tell if its real or not because of doublethink. In this world we can't control our minds, Big Brother controls it.