1984 And Anthem Essay

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The Consequences of Love in Dystopian Societies Among the novels studied this year were 1984 and Anthem. Both novels center around fictional dystopian societies where citizens are heavily controlled by entities (The Party and The Council, respectively) not only physically but emotionally­­making feelings such as love and lust forbidden. In a Romeo and Juliet­esque storyline both protagonists in each novel are ignorant to the known consequences and find their feelings of love for other humans ultimately lead to their downfall­­ignoring the societal restrictions that have been set in place, for their own safety, lead to their removal from the comfort of their respective societies. In 1984’s Oceania, citizens are tied down and kept quiet by the fear of committing what is known …show more content…

In both 1984 and Anthem we have two major plotlines that mirror each other: a man and a woman actively defying the rules set in place by their societies in order to love each other. 1984 sees Winston and Julia pursue a secretive relationship and engage in thoughtcrime unlike anything their Party has ever seen, leading to their persecution and eventual death (though worst of all, they do not know when they will die). Anthem sees Equality and Liberty (later “Prometheus” and “Gaea”), both of whom are already rebellious, also engage in a secretive relationship that culminates in both of them running away from the comfort of their society to evade persecution. Both relationships mirror each other in that they end badly for each party. Both 1984 and Anthem are set in societies where citizens go about their daily lives under heavy control by a higher power in how they think, feel, and interact with others. Due to this control, feelings such as love are forbidden, with punishments as severe as death and torture

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