Question about Orwell's 1984

[Boojatta]

Winston asks, "Does the Brotherhood exist?"

O'Brien says, "That, Winston, you will never know. If we choose to set you free when we have finished with you, and if you live to be ninety years old, still you will never learn whether the answer to that question is Yes or No. As long as you live it will be an unsolved riddle in your mind."

In the story, do you think that the Brotherhood exists? In other words, in the story, do you think there is a secret organization working against Big Brother?

[pinto]

1. Mmmmm. That's one point of the book. Nice one, no?

[uppityperson]

2. there will always be an underground movement

[GOPBasher]

3. No, I don't think so. At that point, no one had enough

knowledge to have ideas of anything remotely like freedom and democracy. The fascist state was so complete that they literally made everyone way to stupid to revolt. But they keep the idea of the Brotherhood around to spark animosity toward the "enemy."

[zeemike]

4. That was a clever ploy by Orwell

To make it an unknowable. It only added to the hopelessness of the situation for both Winston and the reader.
He created an emotional response with words.
He was a genius with words.

[jwirr]

5. I think you are right about the ploy because I remember the

feelings I had when reading that part. I wanted to be part of the underground movement. I think that the author was trying to create that urge to rebel against a totalitarian government in the reader. I read it in the early 1970s and it was probably my first anti-war understanding.

[niallmac]

6. Al Queda will ALWAYS exist in reality and otherwise.

It is the glue of the endless republican theocracy. How could the Brotherhood or Al Queda not exist? You can't kill thinking. Big Brother means there must be an opposition.
An opposition helps rationalize Big Brother. They need each other.

[Boojatta]

10. Al Qaeda members are in the habit of thinking?

Do you mean more so than the typical reader of MAD magazine?

[catnhatnh]

7. I think the idea was to realize...

...that there is ALWAYS a 'brotherhood" both within AND without.In spite swings of history and society, we often believe in both permanance and a state of societal stasis and then ALWAYS the pendulum has swung....In his presented face of imperturbable control and permanance is the HOPE of history continuing,as always to alter our "facts"....IMHO....

[Democrats_win]

8. No. Big brother used it to entrap people who might consider rebelling.

Totalitarian in this book means TOTAL control of everything including the opposition. We´re witnessing this today.

On 4-20 people gathered to smoke pot at the University of Colorado. Several days later Big Brother set up a website with pictures of pot smokers/trespassers that had been taken using a hidden video camera on a spy. The website offers $50 to anyone who identifies the "opposition." This is not quite entrapment, but remember the Dan Rather AWOL bush story?

There have been two alcohol-related deaths on campus but no pot related deaths.

[Enthusiast]

11. I am so with you on this......nt

[freesqueeze]

9. I believe the brotherhood existed...

This was my reaction at the end, when he says, "I love big brother."

I said to myself, "I love Goldstein"

However, I don't think the image they used of Goldstein during the hate was accurate.

[pitohui]

12. "in the story" no there is no brotherhood

everyone betrays everyone, under the spreading chestnut tree i sold you and you sold me, he betrays even julia

the story was meant to create a mood of horror and disgust against totalitarian society, not to hold out any oprah moment of hope

my opinion anyway

in real life i believe there is always a brotherhood however faint, however unlikely you are to meet your brother (or sister), there is always some chance of connection

but part of the story of 1984 was to create a feeling of horror...

on edit, oh brother, just noticed this was a bump from 2006 so perhaps you've tired of pondering the question by now