1984 #3

In 1984, by George Orwell, the confusion of the distopian society is exemplified by the fragile border between life and death by the Though Police. In such a word as the one Winston lives in, any dislike towards the government is a death sentence. Those who know too much, those who think too much, and those who are suspicious of Big Brother are doomed to "vaporization". Winston considers himself as one of these people set for ultimate termination. While eating lunch at the Ministry, Winston ponders those who will likely perish. He thinks,

"Mrs Parsons would be vaporized. Syme would be vaporized. Winston would be vaporized. O’Brien would be vaporized. Parsons, on the other hand, would never be vaporized. The eyeless creature with the quacking voice would never be vaporized. The little beetle-like men who scuttle so nimbly through the labyrinthine corridors of Ministries they, too, would never be vaporized. And the girl with dark hair, the girl from the Fiction Department — she would never be vaporized either. It seemed to him that he knew instinctively who would survive and who would perish: though just what it was that made for survival, it was not easy to say" (61).

While it is easy for Winston to distinguish who will be killed, it is extremely difficult for him to figure out why. Winston cannot determine what traits allow for survivability and this shows the corrupt nature of the society he is in. Any wrongdoings lead to being killed, however not all wrongdoings are set in stone. The laws that Big Brother has put in place only account for so many things; the Thought Police prosecute those who break unwritten laws as well. The thin line between lawful and unlawful shows the true distopian nature of 1984's London. There is no way to dertermine true right from wrong.