The three
stages of 's integration can be described as, first, outward capitulation to power; second,
inward assimilation of the will of the Party; and finally, betrayal of the one he loves so that
he has no independent loyalty apart from the Party.
Physical torture, or
whatcalls the boot stamping the face, leads Winston to outward obedience and capitulation to the
regime. This is the easiest step in his reassimilation, and it begins from the time of his
arrest, when a rubber truncheon to the elbow brings him to his knees. Under torture by O'Brien,
Winston confesses and physically obeys the Party.
But that's hardly enough
for the Party: they want him to really believe what they tell him, and they also want to own his
soul. The second part of his reintegration, which also involves torture, convinces him to accept
that two plus two equals five. He can't simply say it, he has to
believe it to be true. He has to utterly assimilate the idea that there is
no objective truth...
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