Although I must say I enjoy this book very much the reaction to violence is alarming! The idea that the people find the death of children funny is utterly confusing. Also, after the bomb when Winston kicks the arm/hand out of his way is insane. I'm not entirely sure what Orwell is getting at here?
Orwell's talking about Humanity here. Throughout the book Orwell depicts the inhumanity of the citizens of Oceania- and he's kind of "ringing the bell" here. In the very beginning of "1984" when Winston first starts writing his diary, he tells of a scene in a flick which showed a woman and a small child getting obliterated by a helicopter which the entire theater applauded. Later in the book Winston eventually realizes that the Inner and Outer Parties have been basically stripped of their humanity, and the Proles are the most human out of the entire country. Orwell's showing how numb society can become; unfortunately, our modern society's views on violence aren't very far off from those of Oceania's.
Hope this helps!
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