Title: Explain the war between Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia in 1984. Who is Oceania actually battling? Is there even a war? - eNotes.com
Headings: Explain the war between Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia in
1984
. Who is Oceania actually battling? Is there even a war?

1984
Explain the war between Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia in 1984. Who is Oceania actually battling? Is there even a war?
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Content: So the party continues to vilify Eastasia by encouraging public hatred of the country and by executing its war criminals. Suddenly, in the middle of Hate Week, an event designed to encourage hatred of Eastasia, Oceania switches its enemy. This happens without any warning and, all of a sudden, Oceania is at war with Eurasia and the war with Eastasia never existed. This happens in Part 2, Chapter 9, and brings the realisation to Winston that the entire history of the last five years will need to be rewritten. But, as Julia notes in Part 1, Chapter 5, the enemy is not really significant: " It's always one bloody war after another, and one knows the news is all lies anyway." In other words, it's not the enemy who matters but rather the fact that Oceania is constantly at war. Whether the war is even happening is another non-issue: again, it is the fact that the party maintains a constant state of war that is truly significant. As Goldstein comments in his book in Part 2, Chapter 9, by keeping the people in this constant state, the party is able to perpetuate an unequal distribution of wealth.