At the very beginning of chapter 7 in part 1, in the very
first sentence, Winston gives at least one of the reasons that he believes the Proles
are the only hope at successful revolution. He mentions that they are at least "85% of
the population," so, they have numbers on their side. Because there are simply so many
of them, they are the only ones that could be a large enough "force to destroy the
Party." He said that rebellion was so difficult under the watchful eye of Big Brother,
but that the Proles who had more freedom from that ever-watchful eye, could simply unite
by "rising up and shaking themselves like a horse shaking off flies." So, by the mere
fact that there are so very many of them, all they would have to do is rebel, and their
numbers alone would ensure success.
Secondly, they aren't
under the oppressive eye of Big Brother as intensely as non-Proles are, so they have
more freedom to move about and form a rebellion without being detected. Because of
this, they are more free; Winston envies that freedom a bit, in fact, and wishes they
would use it to overthrow their oppressors.
Unfortunately,
through very clever and insidious propaganda and constant war-mongering to elicit a fury
of patriotic devotion from the Proles, they never do rebel. They are constantly pitched
to a fever of rallying to the cause of the nation in wars against its enemies, and the
propaganda. The masses are so controlled by this, in fact, that the Party has no
worries whatsoever about the Proles. Their busy workschedules, their exhaustion, and
their being brainwashed into devotion to the cause, all keeps those masses in
check.
I hope that helped; good
luck!
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