1984 Section Three, Part II Analysis (pp. 239-260)
by George Orwell

This section deals with Winston's torture. Though he wants to maintain his beliefs, and he is convinced the Party can't make him believe anything he doesn't want to, O'Brien is highly adept at converting Winston with a combination of torture and verbal manipulation. O'Brien promises he will not kill Winston until he is cured—an experience that piques at the end of the novel when Winston feels love for Big Brother (implying his execution will soon follow). O'Brien uses the example of a basic math equation to convert Winston, and Winston, earlier in the novel, took solace in math solutions always being the same and thus real. Also, Orwell reminds the reader of the existence of Room 101 to further build suspense about it.