“This was not
illegal (nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws), but if
detected it was reasonably certain that it would be punished by death, or at
least by twenty-five years in a forced-labor camp” (Orwell 6).
Winston is about
to open the diary, and before he does these thoughts begin to race in his head.
This quotation illustrates the type of society that Winston is living in
because there are not any laws, yet he is still scared of breaking the rules
that the government has put into place. Winston is scared to break these rules
because he knows he will eventually be punished for opening the diary. These
thoughts illustrate the presence that the government has in Winston’s every
day, and the fact that government officials do not constantly have to say they
are watching everyone, but people know because the slogans are posted
everywhere, and people fear the thought police are going to be behind them.
These are all examples of how a totalitarian government stays control and why
they do not need laws, because people know what actions the government might
see as wrong.
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