In George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, does The Brotherhood actually exist?
After Winston Smith is captured and asks undercover Thought Police agent O'Brien if the underground resistance movement against Big Brother truly exists, O'Brien doesn't give him an answer. Instead, he tells Winston he will never know the answer to that and will always be left wondering for the rest of his life. Indeed, throughout the remainder of the story, the reader is never given a clear answer if The Brotherhood or even its purported leader Emmanuel Goldstein exists. It may beg the question for readers to wonder if The Brotherhood does actually exist in the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four.
But the answer is that it doesn't matter. The protagonist Winston is nobody special and is just some guy. He can hardly be the only one who can see the true corrupt and oppressive face of the society they're living in and he certainly can't be the only one who wants to do something about it. But by the end of the novel, we're shown just what happens to those who dare try to rebel against Big Brother. Is there a Brotherhood or some clandestine resistance movement plotting a revolution against Big Brother? Possibly, but it doesn't matter because they're just going to meet the same fate as Winston and Julia.
It's basically made clear from the beginning of the story: "Big Brother is watching you." No matter how secretive one may be in plotting against him, they will be snuffed out. Even if they do somehow manage to slip under the radar, for every genuine "thought-criminal", there will be a hundred other people ready to turn them in, either out of blind devotion or fear of the consequences if they don't. Any attempt at overthrowing Big Brother is hopeless, he’s already won. It's bleak as hell, but that's the reality of the dystopian world of Nineteen Eighty-Four.
But the answer is that it doesn't matter. The protagonist Winston is nobody special and is just some guy. He can hardly be the only one who can see the true corrupt and oppressive face of the society they're living in and he certainly can't be the only one who wants to do something about it. But by the end of the novel, we're shown just what happens to those who dare try to rebel against Big Brother. Is there a Brotherhood or some clandestine resistance movement plotting a revolution against Big Brother? Possibly, but it doesn't matter because they're just going to meet the same fate as Winston and Julia.
It's basically made clear from the beginning of the story: "Big Brother is watching you." No matter how secretive one may be in plotting against him, they will be snuffed out. Even if they do somehow manage to slip under the radar, for every genuine "thought-criminal", there will be a hundred other people ready to turn them in, either out of blind devotion or fear of the consequences if they don't. Any attempt at overthrowing Big Brother is hopeless, he’s already won. It's bleak as hell, but that's the reality of the dystopian world of Nineteen Eighty-Four.
