Ryan Sanford

April 8, 2014
English 10
1984 In-class essay

There are numerous forms of mind games that people play with,
manipulation, confusion, self-doubt, etc. Mind games have forever been a element
of humanity, whether it is harmless fun with your friends, or excruciating torture
of prisoners. In the book, 1984, the main character, Winston, is held captive while
OBrien repeatedly breaks down his mind. OBrien is very practiced in his
methods, he knows how to make someone think whatever he wants them to think
only after some time. OBriens tactical methods of mind persuasion show the
power that the Party not only has over Winston, but the entirety of their people.
One of OBriens most commonly used methods is a rhetorical question. At
first glance one would not see the need for a rhetorical question because the
speaker already knows the answer; so why ask it. But when you look deeper, it
becomes a mechanism for a more complex inner thought of the person the
question was asked. Even if the speaker and the other person previously knows the
answer, to a malnutritioned, partially deteriorated mind, a rhetorical question can
bring up self-doubt, and it can also force them to rethink their own thoughts,
You are thinking, he said, that since we intend to destroy you utterly, so that
nothing that you say or do can make the smallest difference-in that case, why do
we go to the trouble of interrogating you first? That is what you were thinking,
was it not? (254). When OBrien asks Winston this he already knows that it is
the exact thought moving through his mind, yet by asking him the actual question
it makes Winston think about it even more. By simply stating, you are thinking,
at the beginning of his question, mentally it illustrates the power that OBrien has
over Winston by saying what he is or should be thinking. At the end of this
statement, OBrien says, That is what you were thinking, was it not? gives
Winston the illusion that it was his own individual thought and not just a thought
put into his head. It is used as a mask almost for the Party to contort the mind of
others, yet they believe it is of their own thought.
OBrien also likes to vary his statements from simple to complex. To a
weakened mind this sets confusion into their thought process. Some cannot even
understand the more complex statements and explanations given after the simple
declarative statement. OBrien explains to Winston, you are a flaw in the
pattern, Winston. You are a stain that must be wiped out. Did I not tell you just
now that we are different from the persecutors of the past? We are not content
with negative obedience, not even with the most abject submission. (254). The
simple statement that Winston is a flaw in the pattern, and a stain that must be
removed, is remembered and thought about first and foremost in Winstons head.
At Winstons deteriorated mental state, he is not fully capable of grasping and
understanding the complex sentences thrown at him, so he is forced to hold on to
the simple statements that is given to him from the beginning. This gives OBrien
an upper hand on Winston, because he can essentially control his thought process
at this point. The confusion and inability to comprehend provides OBrien the
chance to control what goes in and out of Winstons head.
OBrien is able to control, break down, and completely change Winstons
mind just through mental contortion. This shows how much power the Party
actually has, because the Party works through other people. The Party holds a
higher power than many believe. It is not until it has been used for one to see how
much power they actually have, because the majority of their power is held in the
mental state of their citizens. Some of it is even unaware to most.