Why is the war in 1984 never ending?

In 1984, the endless war enables the ruling class to remain in power while the lower classes
remain powerless. In Goldstein’s manifesto, he observes that a country that is productive will
eventually become prosperous, unless something is done to destroy the fruits of that productivity.
War is the ultimate solution to this problem. War forces the population to be more and more
productive, but all those products are destroyed by the war, so the people never benefit from their
work. The ruling class gains power while the lower classes never benefit from their labor and can
be branded as unpatriotic if they try to resist exploitation. Further, a state of constant war keeps
the population fearful and eager to give up their freedoms for security. Meaningless victories can
be claimed by the Party from time to time in order to stir up patriotism and encourage citizens
that their hard lives are having a positive effect on the war effort.

Why does O’Brien pretend to be part of the Brotherhood?

O’Brien pretends to be part of the Brotherhood because he knows that deceiving Winston and
Julia means that the eventual process of controlling their minds will be all the more powerful.
O’Brien could have had them arrested when they came to his house and pledged allegiance to the
Brotherhood and to taking down Big Brother, but he understood that allowing them to believe
that there is hope for destroying the Party only to yank it away allows him to crush their spirits
more easily.

Even after they are arrested, as Winston waits in a cell in the Ministry of Love, he thinks of
O’Brien “with flickering hope” and wonders if O’Brien would send him a razor blade. O’Brien
physically breaks Winston down in a similar way during his stay in the Ministry of Love for the
purpose of “tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of
your own choosing.”

Why is Newspeak so important?

Newspeak, the language of Oceania, is the Party’s way of controlling its citizens by limiting the
words and ideas they can express. Winston and his peers are still of an age where their main way
of communicating is “Oldspeak.” However, by the time Newspeak is the national language,
“thoughtcrime” will be “literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express
it.” If people do not have the words “Down with Big Brother,” as Winston writes early in the
novel, they cannot feel or express such disloyalty.

Why does Winston keep a diary?

The diary is the first thing that Winston purchases from Mr. Charrington’s shop, and part of its
appeal to Winston is that it is something from another time. Even a pen is “an archaic
instrument” by the time Winston begins his diary, but he finds one “simply because of a feeling
that the beautiful creamy paper deserved to be written on with a real nib instead of being
scratched with an ink pencil.” Also, Winston sees the diary as being beautiful for the sake of
beauty. He writes in the diary to get his thoughts out in the only way he can without immediately
being caught by the Thought Police (although they do eventually find it). For these reasons,
keeping a diary is Winston’s own private way of rebelling against the Party.

How does the Party maintain its power?

The Party maintains its power primarily through language, technology, fear, and isolation. The
language Newspeak allows the Party to control how its citizens think and talk. The telescreens
allow the Party to maintain surveillance on its citizens at all times, forcing citizens to censor their
words and even facial expressions. The unceasing war with either Eurasia or Eastasia keeps
people in a constant state of fear, ensuring that they will stay loyal to Oceania. The Party also
uses people’s worst fears against them in the Ministry of Love. By suppressing intimate
relationships between citizens, the Party prevents “men and women from forming loyalties
which it might not be able to control.”

Who is Emmanuel Goldstein?

Emmanuel Goldstein is said to be the enemy of the Party and is the subject of the daily Two
Minutes Hate ritual. According to the Party, Goldstein was once a leader in the Party until he led
a counterrevolution and disappeared before he could be executed. He is also supposedly the
leader of the Brotherhood. However, like Big Brother, Goldstein is likely a fabrication designed
to be the object of people’s hate and outrage.

What is Room 101?

Room 101, located in the Ministry of Love, is the room where prisoners are sent to be confronted
by their deepest fear. Readers learn early in the novel that Winston is terrified of rats. When he
tells O’Brien that he still hates Big Brother after months of torture, O’Brien sends Winston to
Room 101, where O’Brien begins to put a cage of rats over Winston’s head. Room 101 is the last
phase of torture that eventually forces Winston to turn on Julia and accept Big Brother.

What does the slogan “Ignorance Is Strength” mean?

The Party’s slogan, Ignorance Is Strength, means that by making sure its citizens are unthinking
and do not doubt what the Party says—even when what the Party says is in direct contradiction
to reality—the Party can maintain its power. Perpetuating ignorance allows the Party to
manipulate the past and thus control how people feel and think.

This slogan also requires people to use doublethink, holding the idea in their minds that they can
be ignorant and strong at the same time. However, in doublethink, the ignorance refers to the
people, while the strength refers to the Party.