Friday, July 25, 2014

Explain this quote by Winston: "In this game that we're playing, we can't win."

In 1984, the game of rebellion is
unwinnable against Big Brother because it's the state versus the individual.   It's
hundreds of people with millions of dollars of resources against one person.  It's an
army with bombs and bullets and tanks against one defenseless person.  It's a million
eyes and spies against one.


See the
mismatch?


Not only that, but the individual has no idea who
he's fighting.  Winston thinks there's a Big Brother, but there's not.  He thinks
there's a Goldstein, but there's not.  He thinks the proles will rise up, but they
won't.  He thinks the state is fighting the Eurasians, but they're not.  He thinks
Charrington is a sweet old man, but he's not.  He thinks O'Brien is a rebel, but he's
not.  Winston is so isolated, weak, and without resources that he doesn't stand a
chance.


Not only that, but there's torture.  Winston has
his body summarily broken.  He is starved.   His head is put in a cage with rats.  His
teeth are pulled out.  He is psychologically broken: O'Brien convinces him that 2 + 2 =
5.


The odds of a rebellion of one beating a state-sponsored
war machine are astronomical.  It's not even a game.  A game has rules.  A game has two
sides playing.  This dystopia is completely one-sided.

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