An hour felt like a week in this place.
Room 101. The torture chamber that the Ministry of “Love” throws you in if your actions go against what the party stands for. However, I didn’t do anything. They captured me and took me in to make me an example for everyone else. They want me to confess to espionage; to something that I didn’t do. They want to execute me to show others what would happen if you oppose the party.
“You ready, Rutherford?” said one of the men in the black uniforms, “you ready to confess for what you did?”
“No! I’m not a spy!” I screamed uselessly, “I’m a member of this party; I’m with you!”
I knew that there was no use in begging for my freedom. Once the Party finds any opportunity to intimidate the people into obeying them, they never miss it. It’s happened before with a man named Robert, a very nice gentleman he was. Robert was a member of the Party as well, and had worked for their cause for five years prior to his execution. One day, the Party uncovered a secret he had been keeping: he was in love with a woman. Thinking that his love was a distraction from his work for them, they forced him to confess to sabotage because he wasn’t “focused” enough to properly complete the tasks he was assigned. Now, everyone is scared to show their love for one another .
“Okay, then.” said another man, “Just means you’re going to enjoy some time in the Room.”
I didn’t know what to say anymore because I knew what was coming. I was face to face with the door to the basement; the door to the Room: Room 101.
The second I entered, I felt tears streaming down my face. I saw my mother’s dead body the day that Eurasia bombed us, or was it Eastasia; I could never remember who the enemy was at the time.
Her death was played on repeat. Over and over I saw the bomb land near my mother, and over and over I saw her head fly off of her body. Blood splattered everywhere, my face, my clothes, my shoes, and the ground. I looked around, waiting for someone to tell me this isn’t real. For me to wake up from this nightmare, but it never happened. The people around me were all as horrified as I was.
It felt like they had played death a million times, and I had cried for weeks on end. My eyes were so puffy and bruised I couldn’t see anymore.
I started to go numb. I couldn’t feel anything anymore. There was no use to hold onto this life. It’s not like they are going to release me from this hell. So I asked the man in uniform to tell the Party I was ready to confess for my crimes. Perhaps the life after would be better than this one.
“My name is Rutherford, and I confess to espionage,” I began to say in front of hundreds of people. “I worked undercover for the Eastasian army to find information that could weaken the Oceanian army and win this war.”
As I was confessing, I made eye contact with a man. I think I have seen him before. Regardless of whether I knew him or not, I felt like he knew that this was all unjust. That I was forced to do this. I gave him a reassuring look. I wanted him to know that he’s not wrong.
“Do something,” I wanted to say. “Don’t let fear overpower you.”
Five Element Mountain 
I really liked this pov Nesreen! Why did you decide to kill your character off rather than him becoming brainwashed and still living in society like Winston at the end?
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I felt like killing him off was a better way of showcasing the severity of the injustice in the way that the Party treats its citizens.
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That’s a good point. If you had another blog to do would you show a person after being tortured by the Party?
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Definitely! I think that getting an inside look on the way that the torture messes with their minds is a very interesting point of view, especially since this was provided for us in the book from Winston’s perspective. In a way, it would be more intriguing to experience it from the perspective of someone other than the main character, but I assume the results would be the same: they would also submit to the power that is “Big Brother.”
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this is really good!
how long did it take for him to lose hope? i know he felt the loss but would he also feel angry? (part of the stages of grief or something?)
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Since his mother had already died I feel like the five stages of grief are already done (good point though). I think he’s at a point where remembering his mother’s death only makes him sad and miss her rather than make him angry that it happened.
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good point but how do you think he lost more than just his mother because of the world they live in?
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I forgot the “how long did it take for him to lose hope?” part of your question so here’s my answer (sorry!) I think that not adding a time limit further emphasizes the fact that he didn’t know how much time was passing while he was in Room 101.
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Excellent! I really enjoyed your different take of perspective! How would you relate this unfair treatment to citizens in the real world?
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I’d say that this injustice is seen in the modern world through racism. Specifically when the police kills innocent black men and women.
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@salmajuhani It won’t let me directly reply to you but here’s my answer!! I definitely think that Rutherford lost more than just his mother because there’s more to grief than just sadness. He lost his innocence, his emotional availability, his trust in the sure things in life (such as having his mother by his side), etc. Also keep in mind that the horrors of war aren’t normal, therefore the trauma that he has faced perhaps shaped him into who he is at the “time period” that this short story would have occurred: a time when Rutherford is grown and wants to get back at the enemy through being a member of the Party. However, in the POV, we see that the thing that was supposed to help him with his revenge is the very thing that betrayed him. Just another thing he had lost.
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…that’s deep.
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