Proles- The Only Hope...?

[Blasphemy]

I have a question for everyone here, probably a simple one seeing some others in this forum. But here it goes..

Orwell writes "The only hope for the future lies within the proles." but why doesn't the government see them as a threat? Its quite obvious they largely outnumber the upper classes.

My Honours English class discussed this earlier today. I'm curious as to what you think about this. We came up with a few things such as being easily controlled through their own ignorance and fear, the obvious money difference between the proles and the government. But what else is there to make them seem as if they are no harm?

[The Atheist]

I have a question for everyone here, probably a simple one seeing some others in this forum. But here it goes..

Orwell writes "The only hope for the future lies within the proles." but why doesn't the government see them as a threat? Its quite obvious they largely outnumber the upper classes.

My Honours English class discussed this earlier today. I'm curious as to what you think about this. We came up with a few things such as being easily controlled through their own ignorance and fear, the obvious money difference between the proles and the government. But what else is there to make them seem as if they are no harm?

They're cattle.

They do as they're told, any of them looking to have enough brains to start any trouble is eliminated; there's just no way they can be a threat. The "riot" Winston hears is a classic example - the proles are kept so short of commodities that even a few saucepans give them some excitement.

[soccergirl6]

The proles aren't a threat because they're not intelligent enough to know how to change things. They completely believe in Big Brother, and they are so brainwashed that they don't realize that there was ever a different way of life. They would rather spend their energy on a fight about pots and pans than to reform their lifes. The government even lets them continue to have sexual relationships because they don't pose a threat. They are like young children, if you tell them something with force, that becomes true to them. You say 2+2=5, and to them it always will.

[Gladys]

The proles aren't a threat because they're not intelligent enough to know how to change things.

Why then do the Thought Police regularly assassinate Prole dissenters?

[small_m1]

I have a question for everyone here, probably a simple one seeing some others in this forum. But here it goes..

Orwell writes "The only hope for the future lies within the proles." but why doesn't the government see them as a threat? Its quite obvious they largely outnumber the upper classes.

My Honours English class discussed this earlier today. I'm curious as to what you think about this. We came up with a few things such as being easily controlled through their own ignorance and fear, the obvious money difference between the proles and the government. But what else is there to make them seem as if they are no harm?

They're considered to be the only hope due to their numbers. According to the novel, they make up 85% of the population. Winston thinks that since they can be easily manipulated into thinking anything, they will be able to control the future due to their numbers, along with their ability to follow what they are told. If they would stop fighting about the unimportant, inadequate things and focus on the major problems of the present, they would easily bring change and hope to the future.

[swimmer444d]

i think that the prols are just to stupid to realize how much power they have. they fight over pots and pans when their "human rights" as we would call them, are constantly being violated. you say that they look at them like they arn't a threat because in reality, their just to ignorant to rally together for one unified cause and do something as a group and i think the party knows this.

[Austispomonti]

Why then do the Thought Police regularly assassinate Prole dissenters?

The proles although thick-headed and care more about the lottery and pots and pans rather than their government, still need to be kept in line. A singular prole dying is meaningless to the Party, so they can use that and say the reason the person was killed was because they were commiting a thought crime. In which, other citizens (including outer party members and proles) would be then kept in line and obedient in fear of being killed themself.

[6FOOTER]

The government is not threatened by the proles because the proles don't realizes how much of an advantage they have.Their too distacted by the little things to be worried about anything else.The government basically takes away their humanity by providing them with these distractions and the proles get caught up in it.Thats why the government provided pornosec, it gets their attention and dehumanizes them so thats all they care about.