Hierarchy and Control in the State
After being introduced to the Inner Party and the Outer Party in Book 1, by Book 2 we get to know the 3rd and final group of people on Airstrip One: the Proles. The interactions between groups are very orderly and form the society we learn about through the novel. The primary goals of the people in the inner state are to control members of the outer state. Since the members of the outer state are generally more educated and more likely to revolt than the proles, extra attention must be given to them to determine they do not rebel. While some out party members are completely brainwashed, some are smart enough (Syme) or freethinking enough (Winston) to pose a threat. The primary job of the other party, meanwhile, is to help the inner state control each other but also to control the proles. The best-case scenario for the inner party would for there to only be 2 castes in the society: the party and the proles. However, there are not enough people in the inner party to be able to control the proles. They need to enlist the help of Outer Party members to do things like developing Newspeak and editing speeches/news articles to keep control over the proles, a sign the party is struggling to some extent to mainly control, or at least isn't able to structure society in completely the ideal way to maintain control.
I never thought about it that way before! But you're right- in "perfect" dystopias, there are only two classes of people: the government elites and the people. Maybe this is a sign that the party is struggling!
ReplyDeleteOne of the most terrifying things about this power structure (besides, well, the torture and brainwashing and erasure of history) is the fact that it actually incorporates rebellion into itself. Big Brother needs Goldstein, it needs war, it needs an element of chaos so that it can constantly exert its power. Scary stuff.
ReplyDeleteRight. The Party uses constant war to take its people's focus off of their subpar living conditions. It controls people by channeling their hate away from itself and toward Goldstein and the other superstates.
Deletei like the idea of the party struggling to gain total control, which could be why O'Brien is so adamant about Winston believing altered reality through torture. By ensuring that the possibly smart-enough-to-escape people are controlled, the party can distribute the power some and make sure the proles are under some portion of their reign, through using some of their more educated (now brainwashed) members.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think of how the outer party was used like that to help control the proles. It's kind of like a chain where the inner party controls the outer party which helps control the proles so if one fails, then their government system is kind of ruined.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think the tension between outer and inner party members is definitely significant to the societal structure in 1984, and I think the inner party recognizes that. The proles will just follow the crowds, and so they are easy to control. The majority of the surveillance efforts are focused on keeping the outer party under control.
ReplyDeleteI like how you imply a sort of duality between society's complex and simple aspects; societal structure and class rank are very cut and dry but the lengths taken to maintain that structure are brutal and chaotic.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting and something I hadn't thought about before. If the outer party is keeping the proles in check and the inner party is watching the outer party, who is watching the inner party? I want to know how they make sure that the inner party members are actually loyal, because if an inner party member were to be part of the Brotherhood, it would give them a huge advantage.
ReplyDeletevery interesting analysis. well done. i'd also like to add how this kind of party separation maybe manifests itself in our real life, you know? and is the highest party for us also struggling?
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting. It makes me question why they left the proles alone. With all the bombings and the war it would seemingly be easy for the proles to be wiped out but then I think the outer party could become more rebellious. If the outer party doesn't have any power they may want to rise up so maybe they have three levels to keep the outer party from rebelling through the illusion that they have power.
ReplyDeleteThis is fair, they don't seem to be ideally structured to maintain control, but since that is the Party's one and only goal they can do a lot of other (coincidentally terrible) things to better their non-ideal three-class structure.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that they have the outer party to control the proles could be a sign that the inner party is struggling or maybe they have the outer party to have a larger and better selection of people to choose from when they want to add people to the inner party.
ReplyDeleteThis "tiered" system does seem pretty un-ideal. However, since the Inner Party enjoys the triumph over an enemy and the pain they can inflict, I think the Inner-Outer Party tension does end up being beneficial to them in some respects--they utilize the labor of the brainwashed Outer Party members, and the non-brainwashed Outer Party members become like enemies whose faces they can stamp on.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of features that makes this society a bit unideal in terms of organization and dependent branches of the Party. Just having the outer party in the first place suggests weakness in the other sectors.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting idea, and I definitely agree that the party doesn't have complete control over the citizens. Winston and Julia acting how they did is a perfect example of this.
ReplyDelete