The Bomb

When Winston was walking in the prole section, the bomb that was set off stirs many questions for me. First who set the bomb off, was it Eurasia or Oceania? If it was Oceania, why would Big Brother and the party do that to it's people? If it was Oceania, I believe it would be a way of "uniting" the people through fear and hatred. Furthermore when the hand flies out and lands by Winston how his initial reaction is to kick it away, what point does this prove? That the people are emotionally cold?

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I do believe that Oceania is killing the Proles, in attempt to mimic a more corrupt version of Bismarck's "Blood and Iron." Using a common enemy to unite a group of people is extremely powerful and it directs the hatred from each other and the government towards another country. In the case of 1984, Oceania's enemy is equal to them and they end up in eternal warfare, further strengthening the people and forcing them to grow closer to the Party. The people's ignorance, fueled by their poverty and constant manipulation by the state, simply adds to this bond. The Proles and Outer Party members are too busy hating Eurasia or Eastasia to realize how corrupt Oceania is and how much better their life could be.

I 100% believe it's Oceania dropping the bombs, however I don't believe it's their way of uniting the people. Big Brother doesn't want the people to have any tie to one another, standing together would create a relationship. As for Winston's reaction to the hand, my best guess is that they've been desensitized. Something like that doesn't bother him, or anyone else for that matter because they grew up with no emotional ties, they don't feel compassion towards others, so it wouldn't bug Winston to see a severed hand. Big Brothers motive is because if the people are compassionate, they are more likely to rebel, so they keep control by raising the young to have the emotions of a robot.