It had been a long time since I read this - maybe even since middle school. What struck me was that the threat from Big Brother and The Party actually only seemed to affect party members, while the proles (proletariat) seem somewhat outside of the system entirely. I was struck by the insistence on the mental violence being perpetrated, which crosses over into physical violence in the later parts. I was unconvinced that power for powers sake was so encompassing. The question which struck me was: what is the purpose of ruling over people like those Winston becomes? I do not think Orwell provides a suitable answer.
