Nineteen Eighty-Four: "It would be easier for the State to kill Winston. Why does it take the trouble to 'cure' him?"

Nineteen eighty-four by George Orwell is a novel that primarily focuses on the way the State is able to control the minds of party members. The State had taken the trouble to 'cure' Winston Smith because they had the power to dictate the mind and therefore they exploit their power for the sake of being dominant over party members. It is never easy to kill anyone for whatever the reason may be but in the case of Winston, being a Thoughtcriminal, it would have been less time consuming and strenuous to simply kill him. However, the State wishes to cure those members like Winston who posses negative influential thoughts about the Party and Big Brother. This is the process of cleansing the mind of any rebellious thoughts that causes hatred towards Big Brother and ultimately society. Also, any remaining emotional feelings which causes relationships to stimulate rebellion are removed by means of torture and hence 'cures' Winston.

English: Big Brother Orwell "1984" in Donetsk, Ukr...

User big brother 1984

English: Big Brother is watching you! CCTV near Ch...

By curing Winston and releasing him back into society he would be able to influence other Party members into loving Big Brother the way Winston now does. The State has the power to control the thoughts of party members but needs to maintain their power by limiting the capabilities of the mind and this was inflicted upon Winston whose mentality, now, is limited to an extent in which he has no choice but to love Big Brother.

The fact that the Party had taken the time and trouble to cure Winston, when they could have alternatively killed him, meant that the Party inclined not only for Winston to be cleansed of Thoughtcrime but for him to influence other Party members. O'Brien, who was ironically suppose to have been Winston's hope for the Brotherhood, could be seen as an example of...