It is clear from Chapter
7 in Book I that the proles enjoy considerably more freedom than those in the outer party, such
as . This is because, as he explains, that the proles are not viewed as a threat by the Thought
Police in the same way as members of the Party are. There is a link that can be made between the
working class and the proles. The main problem is of course that the proles do not have an
awareness of a comprehension of the bigger structural injustices that go on around them. They
are far too caught up in their own individual lives and the struggle to survive in the
difficulties that they face. Note the following description:
The great majority of proles did not even have telescreens in their homes. Even the
civil police interfered with them very little. There was a vast amount of criminality in
London... but since it all happened among the proles themselves, it was of no importance. In all
questions of morals they were allowed to follow their ancestral code. The sexual puritanism of
the Party was not imposed upon them.
The difference in
the attitude of the Party to the proles is expressed in the rather ambiguous slogan,
"Proles and animals are free," and this slogan lies at the heart of the reason for the
different treatment between the proles. Because the proles are, in the Party's eyes, on the same
level as animals, they are not seen as a threat and therefore do not need the same kind of
attention and heavy supervision that the outer Party members do. Ironically, the proles enjoy a
far greater level of freedom than Winston ever has.
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