In George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, the main protagonist Winston joins the “Brotherhood,” or a secret society that commands its members to murder, commit suicide, or harm innocents in order to weaken and ultimately destroy the Party. Because of the violence involved with the resistance, and the minimal results that come from it, the “Brotherhood,” is not an effective resistance to the Party, or totalitarianism as a whole.
In this novel, when Winston meets with O’Brien, another member of the Brotherhood, O’Brien asks him a series of questions about how far he would go for the sake of the Brotherhood. One question he asked was, “If, for example, it would somehow serve our interests to throw sulfuric acid in a child’s face-are you prepared to do that?” This question is so cruel and unnecessary that it makes me question the Brohterhood’s true intentions. The phrase, “you can’t fight fire with fire,” comes to mind. Why resist a controlling regime that uses violence and fear tactics by fostering an even more destructive and dangerous environment? Instead of liberating the people suppressed by the Party, all the Brotherhood is doing is putting these innocent people’s lives in danger. The supposed actions of the Brotherhood should not be acceptable and is not an appropriate means of resistance.
Also, the lack of information provided to Winston makes me question the legitimacy of the Brotherhood. O’Brien describes them as the “dead” generation, with which their only purpose is to serve the Brotherhood, get caught by the Party, and die. This only sounds vague and seems like an inefficient way of resistance. Most resistance units biggest goal is to resist without getting caught. Adding to that, Winston receives almost no information about the Brotherhood, for secrecy purposes, but how could Winston be sure it’s not just a ploy? This reason is most likely the reason for such little results, and why it most likely will take years and years to ever accomplish its goal. Without a controlled group of members, with an active communication line, and a clear action plan to accomplish their goal of destroying the Party, the Brotherhood can never truly reach a perfect form of resistance.