“‘How many fingers am I holding up, Winston?’ ‘Four.’ ‘And if the Party says that it is not four but five—then how many?’ ‘Four.’ The word ended in a gasp of pain....” (206)
In this scene, Orwell emphasizes the controlling nature of the inner-party when O'Brian is trying to make Winston believe he is holding up five fingers, when he is actually holding up four. This seems very extreme to us today, but things like this were an actual concern at the time when 1984 was written. The fear was that the Communists would take over and begin a totalitarian government, like the one in Oceania, controlling everything—people, thoughts, the past, and the future. In fact, there were reasons for this fright. World War II had just ended, so the memories of Hitler’s fascist regime were still on people’s minds. Also, the Cold War had just started and Soviet Russia and the Communists had become a new enemy.
"World War II." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 04 Sept. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II>.
"Cold War." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 04 Sept. 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War>.
check spelling of O'Brian/Brien; Based on when 1984 was written, I'm not sure Orwell was as focused on Soviets and communism as your entry suggests
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