Lessons from Big Brother

As a way of summarizing the main themes of the book, I decided to make a list of the five most important bits of information that Big Brother wants you to know. Essentially, if you reverse what these lessons say, then you will find something useful. That's because everything in this society is practically backwards. Each of these covers a different aspect of the society and leads us to themes about the book as a whole.


1) Two plus two equals five

No, not four. Five. I don't care what the logic in your head tells you after you put two sets of two fingers together. Two and two makes five. Learn it.


2) War maintains social structure

By staying at war, we are essentially at peace, because everything stays orderly and productive. No one has free time to contemplate thoughts of rebellion or ideas of innovation. This is the way it shall remain in order to keep everyone in their proper place.


3) The past can be altered

The past only exists through memories and records. By deleting old records and forgetting certain memories, the past no longer exists. It can be rewritten and changed for the better or worse, depending on what we want it to be or convey.


4) Suffering leads to conformity

Suffering is enough to bring a person to obedience. When in extreme pain, a person's survival instincts kick in and they are willing to do most anything to stay alive. Therefore, in order to control even the most stubborn non-conformists, physical torture is a necessity.


5) Thinking is a crime

Thinking leads to individualism which counter's our very goals. We strive to make sure all people are the same for they are much easier to control when uniform. If anyone commits the crime of thinking they will be punished severely and publicly to make the consequences clear to others as well.


Takeaway
From these we can see how integral violence and mind control are to the society. By making everyone the same, there is no one that has the knowledge or capability to rebel. This becomes cyclical and destroys all hope of the society ever changing. What we can learn from this is to recognize similar patterns in our own society. Is there constant war that people claim is the "answer"? Is there a follow-the-crowd mentality that everyone is blindly following and not bothering to question? These are the questions that 1984 teaches us to ask. We cannot be a society full of gullibile, over-accepting people or else we run the risk of being taken over. We must maintain a sense of love and unity, while still viewing the world with a critical eye. Furthermore, we must use the past as a window to the future, for if we do not learn from our mistakes we are destined to repeat them. Therefore, even though this book seems extreme and far from today's society, it has elements that could become reality if we do not pay attention and stay informed citizens. Take this book as a guide and use it as a warning for the future, so we do not end up under the rule of our own Big Brother.