It distorts. When we look through the glass, whether it be at a dead insect or through glass blocks frosting the space between us and a city. And when we contort or distort what is already perversion of, dissolution of, contorted/distorted our perception is even further removed from being that.
Orwell's 1984 is one of the Totalitarian novels in a series being hosted by Hillsdale College (also available online). The second "episode" in the series gives us a seat at the table with students and the college's president. I joined in after only scoring a 60% on a quiz in between 1 and 2 and forgiving myself because I don't have the books on hand. And because I've been steeping in Passmore's introduction to Fascism. And as the students presented examples from the Literature to jump us into theme and challenges of the work, my mind did indeed present some thickness to imagined totalitarianism.
It was also comforting to hear from an educational expert (Larry Arrn) that education is oft "messy" and "imperfect". That recent years of education have been more about conformity and conditioning and less than performing well to engage thinking citizens growing into participation in a self-governing government such as the United States of America. Education here is supposed to be very different than the way O'Brien "educates"--through torture and brainwashing!
"Orwell builds a world for us to think about," explained president Arrn. Specifically, we're looking at history and language in this focus. And the passages the students brought up were excellent-ly relevant to both outsiders looking into other place, other time, and to us Americans these days. In the book, a regime (that aims to be immortal-ly in power) is influencing human nature by controlling history and contorting language to: limit the range of ideas its subjects can contemplate.
That type of regime seeks to distort the natural tendencies of sentient beings to feel and think and be individuals with free will. That type of regime isolates and tries to convince. That type of regime gives no merit to "soul" and so seeks to eliminate "self". At every turn the fascists involved with Italy's Mussolini and all the fascists/Nazis of Hitler's Germany worked to destroy even the notion of a self that wasn't party/regime. They kept advertising that everything done in day and night should be "for the good of the Overseers, who are going to take care of you."
Orwell's 1984 goes into great detail about the surveillance, propaganda, torture, and abuse at every turn used by such political-forms in constructing their ideal power-over. The characters "bring to life" the elements of human nature wrapped up in all of this societal structuring.
And the students picked up on the themes that are the most private and universal. Like, love, family, one's own mind, and the destruction of rationality. Arrn reminds that part of the power of Literature is an author's ability to show us something, but not suffer the something. And guides the discussion away from scary rabbit hole of feeling overwhelmed and hopeless by reminding, the fact that a thing can be destroyed, doesn't mean the thing is not good, and that no matter what happens there is a permanent-ness to love.
And questioning the extent and kind of love between Winston and Julia gets us diving into story. Is it real? Is it old-fashioned like before the regime head-messed with everyone about everything? Because the characters are in the context of a broader fight, do their betrayals of each other negate what was? Does their love morph over the course of the plot? And, Arrn, adds to the questioning of the material: Isn't it "love" where power-over meets the most resistance?
In that, the discussion circles back to assert that this is so. That Winston finds out completely and totally that tyranny will crush. It will steal, and lie, and lead on, and exploit whatever means something to a natural human. The torturer lets him know, point blank, "I AM here to HURT YOU." No matter how the characters entreat with the totalitarianism, the regime and all its extensions, the pulsing of that kind of power "says" go ahead...resist...fight...try and please...We need you to differ from us, so we can hurt you and MAKE YOU CONFORM.
Not a pleasant relationship. And since even thoughts (of God being in charge, of the natural "niceness" of love and family) can elevate us, tyrants seek to destroy that as well. Tyranny seeks to replace personal thoughts with thinking only of it.
That is why Orwell also gives us the famial characters all bent out of shape to traditional family of the West. And because traditional Western family values stem from ancient and prehistoric days, through generations of survival, and being forged as something universal, the tyrants totally interfere with family in as many ways as they can. Things get "upside down" as parents are fearing their children since all children are promised some day...you'll be us! You'll be the leads in the Party play.
From cradle to grave is the indoctrination, the fusing of humans in a territory to the dominating (human + machines) power-over. The tyranny takes away choice(s) in the matter. It is perpetual loss and grief, trauma and crisis, sublime calm "sugar-coating", and a total erasure and rebuild in the image of themselves.
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