Destruction of Humanity Caused by a Communist-Like Society
Picture a world where everyone is the same and diversity did not exist. People are forced to hide who they truly are and put on a mask to meet society’s norm. Any type of thought or emotion is considered treason and has dangerous consequences. This is the controlling and disturbed society that consumes George Orwell’s 1984. The citizens of Oceania are given no form of privacy and are forced to obey the government’s every command; this government is known as The Party which is controlled by a mysterious force known as Big Brother. The people of Oceania are monitored during all hours of the day by telescreens that are forced into their homes. The telescreens are monitored by the Thought
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Friendship is one of the most important things in life and in order to have a strong friendship there must be trust. Winston experiences the loss of trust and the feeling of betrayal from his supposed “friends”, O’brien and Mr. Charrington. Winston feels that Mr. Charrington was trustworthy because he has always been kind to Winston in his times of need. Winston assumes that Mr. Charrington has his best interest at heart and cares about his well being, when in reality Mr. Charrington is studying Winston’s every move. “ It occurred to Winston that for the first time in his life he was looking, with knowledge, at a member of the Thought Police,”. ( Orwell 224). Winston experiences his second betrayal from O’brien. O’brien convinces Winston and Julia that he was a member of a secret rebellion group known as “ The Brotherhood”. He feeds them false information, convincing the two that he was loyal to them. In reality, O’brien is an Inner-party member who is collecting information on the two rebels (with reasonable suspicion). “ It was O’brien who was deciding everything. It was he who set the guards onto Winston… He was the tormentor, he was the prosecutor, he was the inquisitor, he was the friend,” (Orwell 243-244) …show more content…
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Identity, in today’s society, is often taken for granted. We have the ability to be anything we wish to be and act in any way we wish to act, but in the novel 1984 by George Orwell, identity is not taken for granted because it does not exist at all. Winston Smith, the narrator, lives in a dystopian society based on the idea of totalitarian government rule. This government is known as Big Brother. In order for Big Brother to stay in power, a few things are necessary: identity cannot exist; everything and everyone must be uniform; the past must be controlled in order to regulate the present; and the people must constantly be practicing the ideas of Newspeak and Doublethink, a form of control the government holds over the people. By enforcing these simple laws and regulations, the government is able to keep a tight grip on its people, with few ever releasing themselves from its grasp. Winston Smith on the other hand, seeks to know the truth behind the government, he is constantly questioning everything and repressing all the ideas forced upon him. Winston “seeks truth and sanity, his only resources being the long denied and repressed processes of selfhood” (Feder 398). All identity is gone in this place called Oceania, and for the sake of Big Brother and its continuous control of the people, it will never exist again. In 1984, the absence of identity strips the people of all creativity and diversity, as well as takes away any chance the society has to advance as a people or in the area of technology.
Especially in 1984, corruption within the political regime runs rampant to a point where only Winston, along with a select handful of others, have the skill to identify governmental manipulation of history and facts. Although objectively correct in his observations against the government’s teachings, Winston’s skill makes him a target for powerful Party men like O’Brian, Winston’s torturer, who have thoroughly conformed to the preachings of Big Brother. When met with the question of why O’Brian is torturing Winston, he replies, “Not merely to extract your confession, not to punish you… To cure you! To make you sane! Will you understand, Winston, that no one whom we bring to this place ever leaves our hands uncured? We are not interested in those stupid crimes that you have committed. The Party is not interested in the overt act: the thought is all we care about. We do not merely destroy our enemies, we change them. Do you understand what I mean by that?” (261). Throughout his numerous torture sessions with Winston, O’Brian makes clear that the Inner Party is almost as corrupted and manipulated by the creation of Big Brother as the remainder of the citizens of Oceania; conformity to the wishes of the highly ranked is the only plausible way for the Party’s
In 1984, George Orwell presents an overly controlled society that is run by Big Brother. The protagonist, Winston, attempts to “stay human” in the face of a dehumanizing, totalitarian regime. Big Brother possesses so much control over these people that even the most natural thoughts such as love and sex are considered taboo and are punishable. Big Brother has taken this society and turned each individual against one another. Parents distrust their own offspring, husband and wife turn on one another, and some people turn on their own selves entirely. The people of Oceania become brainwashed by Big Brother. Punishment for any uprising rebellions is punishable harshly.
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It can be noticed, that in most individuals the struggle to choose between personal desires and complying with the rules of their society is challenging. This could be a result of the greed that our society has developed through the advanced culture we see in our everyday world. More often than not it may be noticed that some individuals within a society experience conflict when debating between pursuing their personal desires and choosing to conform. This idea of confliction between desire and society can be represented by the character of Julia in George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four where she is must fulfill her desires for a physical connection amongst men in secrecy due to the laws within her society; however she finds that she