Summary and Analysis Part 3: Chapters 2-3
Summary
Winston Smith is lying on a camp bed, where he has been for many days, being tortured almost constantly. O'Brien oversees Winston's "treatment." Finally, O'Brien personally takes over, torturing Winston when he does not give the correct answer to the questions O'Brien asks, many of which have to do with memory and objective truth.
O'Brien finally answers Winston's primary question, the question that has haunted him throughout the story: the why of the Party's behavior. Winston also learns that he is thought to be insane, and O'Brien, who acts strangely like Winston's friend, says that he will cure him. O'Brien allows Winston to ask him whatever he wants, and O'Brien seems to answer honestly.
In Chapter 3, Winston enters the second stage of his "reintegration," understanding. Here, in his conversations with O'Brien, Winston learns about the Party's ideology and debates with O'Brien about the spirit of Man. Winston is able to look at himself in the mirror, a ruined, crushed human being, for which O'Brien mocks him. Winston discovers that Julia has betrayed him, but he has not yet betrayed Julia. Finally, O'Brien tells Winston what he knew all along — that he will eventually be shot — but is ambiguous about when.
Analysis
Winston's horrors and fear are brought to light in these chapters: He is betrayed by Julia and O'Brien, he is tortured and ruined, and every hope he had for a future without the Party is destroyed. Winston learns that Goldstein's book was written partially by O'Brien and that Big Brother exists just as the Party exists, eternal and omnipotent.
These chapters function much like the chapters of "the book," which Winston read earlier in the story; both serve to answer unanswered questions about the Party and its ideology. However, these chapters are more revealing and shed light on many of the things Winston has wondered about throughout the novel. He always understood how the Party wielded its power, but he never understood why; O'Brien explains to him that the Party seeks power solely for the sake of power, ironically like the bird or the prole woman singing just to sing, as Julia had observed earlier.
O'Brien tries to make Winston understand and employ the concept of doublethink; doing so will be Winston's only salvation, but Winston finds mustering the mental strength to do so difficult. This unwillingness to use doublethink has been Winston's downfall from the beginning and ultimately proves to be his breaking point.
Again the theme of the importance of objective truth returns. Here, Winston takes the position that memory and objective truth must win out over falsehood because the Party cannot destroy memory. O'Brien is set on proving Winston wrong in this case. O'Brien tells Winston that the Party is far superior to Nazi Germany or the Russian Communists because, unlike those other regimes whose enemies were eventually turned into martyrs, the Party refuses to let a stray thought get through. Controlling all thought is the Party's power, a power that will remain timeless.
Here Orwell takes totalitarianism a step further — into the mind. The equation that Winston writes in his diary, 2 + 2 = 4, comes back to haunt him; it is the one objective truth that Winston cannot give up. The equation is the sticking-point between Winston and O'Brien and ultimately becomes the proof of Winston's reintegration. If Winston can believe that 2 + 2 = 5, then the Party has gotten inside of him.
O'Brien knows about every "criminal" activity that Winston has engaged in to this point — even something as "minor" as Winston's memory of the photograph of Aaronson, Jones, and Rutherford upon which he had been basing much of his evidence that the Party was deliberately changing history. Even without the physical photograph, the image still exists in Winston's memory, and O'Brien uses this image as an example of Winston's inability to want to change for the better — the better of the Party.
O'Brien tells Winston that Julia has betrayed him, but there is no evidence in this chapter to prove that it is true. Winston has not betrayed Julia, and that fact is the only thing that keeps him from being "reintegrated" — the only thing keeping him human.
FAQs
What is the central idea of Chapters 2-3? A. Eliezer and the other Jews of Sighet endure a horrific train ride to Auschwitz where many are sent to the crematorium and the rest become prisoners in the concentration camp.
What happens at the end of the chapter 2 which is particularly horrifying? ›
why is it so terrifying? At the end of the chapter the boy with the mulberry-coloured birthmark goes missing when, and during, the fire starts to go out of control. Afterwords the same boy isn't seen for the rest of the novel.
What three horrors did they learn upon entering Auschwitz? ›
The horror that prisoners encountered upon entering Auschwitz included seeing babies thrown into the fire, smelling burning flesh, and witnessing men in stripes beating them.
Why does Piggy continually remind Jack that he Piggy has the conch? ›
4. Why does Piggy continually remind Jack that he (Piggy) has the conch? Piggy continually reminds him because who ever holds the conch may speak but Jack wasn't and he was talking a lot. 5.
What happens in chapter 2 Night? ›
What happened in chapter 2 of "Night?" In Chapter 2, eighty Jews are loaded into a train car, which is nailed shut. Crowded, hot, hungry, and thirsty, they know they cannot escape. Madame Schachter, a woman in her fifties, repeatedly screams about fires.
What happened in chapter 3 Night? ›
The entire chapter follows Elie and his father, after being separated from his mother and sister. Elie describes the horrors of the camp upon arriving, such as seeing babies being thrown into a pit of flames, the selection process, and being tattooed with a number. Elie and his father have become prisoners of the camp.
How did it 2 end? ›
Mike rips out It's heart, which he and the Losers crush with their bare hands, finally killing It. They return to Eddie to find he has died from his injuries, and are forced to leave his body behind as It's cavern implodes, destroying the Neibolt House.
Why is it chapter 2 bad? ›
All of the monster scenes except the ones with Pennywise have terrible CGI. They might be gross and/or startling but you can see them coming and they don't contribute much. About 1/3 to 1/2 of the jokes just kinda fell flat. The constant jump scenes and long running time just make this movie exhausting to watch.
Why was Piggy so upset at the end of Chapter 2? ›
At the word fire, Jack immediately takes over the group, leading a charge up the mountain to start a fire. Ralph attempts to maintain order, but everyone rushes after Jack, so he follows, too. Piggy follows last, angry at the impulsive behavior.
Who was the girl in Auschwitz? ›
This is the powerful true story of Sara Leibovits and the incredible pain and hardships she went through during her time in the death camp. Yet despite the horrors she faced, she always tried to maintain her family's values of courage, faith and kindness to others.
Against all odds, Vrba and his fellow escapee, Fred Wetzler, climbed mountains, crossed rivers, and narrowly missed German bullets until they had smuggled out the first full account of Auschwitz the world had ever seen—a forensically detailed report that eventually reached Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and the ...
Who is Idek in Night? ›
In Night, Idek is one of the Kapos and in charge of the narrator of the book, Eliezer. Idek is a prisoner in charge of a Kommando, or work squad, within the concentration camp. Eliezer falls victim to Idek's fits of uncontrollable rage several times, and so does Eliezer's father.
What does Jack say when he kills Piggy? ›
Roger sends a rock topping over the cliffs and onto Piggy, which kills Piggy and destroys the conch. Jack is not remorseful. Instead, he is further excited, and he says that he "meant that," and he tells Ralph that he no longer has a tribe.
Why does Jack apologize to Piggy? ›
Ralph yells at Jack, and Piggy joins in, resulting in Jack slapping Piggy in the face and breaking his glasses. Eventually Jack admits that he was at fault and apologizes for not keeping the fire going.
What excuse did Jack give for not stabbing the piglet? ›
Final answer: In William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies', Jack's excuse for not stabbing the piglet is that he was waiting for the perfect moment, which is a facade for his underlying hesitation rooted in societal norms.
What is the central idea of Night by Elie? ›
The main idea of the novel involves Eliezer pondering God's existence and nature in the face of the untold brutality of the Holocaust.
What is the purpose of the passage chapter 2 of Night? ›
The purpose of this passage is to describe the uncomfortable and difficult conditions the author and others faced during their travel. The passage comes from Chapter 2 of Night, which is a memoir by Elie Wiesel about his experiences during the Holocaust.
What becomes Elie's main goal in chapter 3 of Night? ›
What is the most important goal for Elie as he enters the camp? His main goal is to stay with his father.
What is the central idea of the coming of Night? ›
The overall theme of Linda Pastan's poem, 'The Coming of Night', is the transient nature of life and the inevitability of death, represented through the symbolic transition from day to night. For instance, the line 'how quickly the day sets' demonstrates the short span of life.
