Power for Its Own Sake

Theme flow on the Party's naked pursuit of power, as revealed by O'Brien.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Riddle of Why

The Riddle of Why The Unanswered Question Winston writes, 'I understand HOW: I do not understand WHY.' He knows the Party destroys the past and controls everything, but he cannot see the ultimate purpose. The Obvious Gains The immediate advantages of falsifying the past are clear: keep the Party infallible, keep the people docile. But the deeper motive remains mysterious. The Search His search for the why leads him to Goldstein's book and finally to O'Brien's confession.

The Confession in the Cell

The Confession in the Cell The Answer O'Brien tells Winston that the Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. Not wealth, not happiness, not even survival, but pure power over the mind. The Rejection of Excuses He distinguishes the Party from the Nazis and the Communists, who pretended power was a means to a better world. The Party knows that power is an end in itself. The Shock Winston is stunned because O'Brien is telling the truth. The Party is honest about its own monstrosity, and that honesty is more terrifying than hypocrisy.

The Boot on the Face

The Boot on the Face The Image O'Brien speaks of a future world of fear, treachery and torment, and he offers an image: a boot stamping on a human face, forever. The Ideal Progress in this world will be progress towards more pain. The only emotions will be fear, rage, triumph and self-abasement. Everything else will be destroyed. The Necessity Power does not require an enemy to be defeated; it requires an enemy to be humiliated forever. The heretic must always exist, so that the boot can forever stamp.

The Individual as a Cell

The Individual as a Cell The Doctrine O'Brien tells Winston that the individual is only a cell in the greater organism. The weariness of the cell is the vigour of the organism. The Submission True power belongs to those who lose their identity in the Party. Only by merging oneself with the immortal whole can one escape the failure of individual death. The Cost For Winston, this means surrendering his last private feeling. The Party's power is absolute because it demands the death of everything human.

Winston's diary and reflections

during the re-education

O'Brien's description of the future

in the same conversation