Room 101 is the most feared place in the Ministry of Truth, which serves as a room to reform criminals. The effectiveness of Room 101 to reform, criminal party members such as Winston was achieved by the use of the anticipated fear, the party member's greatest fear, and the strategic placement of Room 101 as final stage of reform.
When Winston was first brought to the Ministry of Truth, while still in the waiting cell. Winston witnessed many criminals that were ordered to be brought to Room 101 by means of force, every time a person was ordered to go there the prisoner would become frantic with fright trying to avoid being sent. Prisoners would make pleads of offering anything, and begging to be shot or killed, "Shoot me. Hang me. Sentence me to twenty-five years" (pg.248). When Winston saw the reactions of other criminals this created the question, What is Room 101? He assumed that it could not have been a pleasant place to go. When Winston asks O"Brien the question O"Brien answers with, "You know what is in Room 101, Winston. Everyone knows what is in Room 101" (pg. 273). After he was answered he was injected and fell almost instantly a sleep. Seeing the reactions of others and the more puzzling answer of O"Brien to the question, what is Room 101? Creates a world of assumptions and interpretations of Room 101, this causes fear of the unknown and fear from the reactions. The anticipating fear leaves the criminal guessing and ultimately creating your greatest fear and Room 101.
The use of the member's greatest fear was a great technique for the torture and insuring the success rate of reform. When Winston seen that his worst fear was rats kept in a cage, which was connected to a cage around the face. Winston describes it as, "A sort of tremor, a fear of he was not certain what, had passed through Winston" (pg.297). Winston describes it as an unknown fear that is new. The fear was increased to a greater degree of fear because it was anticipated and it was Winston's own personal fear.
