A Dystopian Society In 1984, By George Orwell

1984, by George Orwell, is about a dystopian society that is a concept for a society that may be a reality in the future. The story covers Oceania ran by a party called INGSOC that control its people through education, economy, and social interactions. The society has three classes. These classes have different task, that keep Oceania in order. In this paper, I will discuss different sociological concepts that are found in 1984, tie in Symbolic Interactionist Theory, and compare and contrast the society in 1984 to modern day US.
Authority, “is defined and supported by the norms of a social system and generally accepted as legitimate by those who participate in it” (Crossman). The government of Oceania imposes the radical mantra of, “BIG BROTHER
The Party ran society in a war time state, “The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labor” (Orwell 241). This was an instrument of leadership because the party made society run on this premise because it was a good distraction.
Organizational Structure, “is tasks that are divided, grouped, and coordinated in organizations” (McLaughlin). The society in 1984 run on this structure to keep the country running, “All the beliefs, habits, tastes, emotions, mental attitudes that characterize our time are really designed to sustain the mystique of the Party and prevent the true nature of present-day society from being perceived” (Orwell 265). The Party runs this illusion because the society needs to be pacified to realize it. This false perception gives the party full control.
Gender Inequality is unequal treatment of people based on their gender. The Party was very objective in its goals this can be seen in porn industry of Oceania. The objectives were to make sex centered around procreation then fun, “The theory was that men, whose sex instincts were less controllable than those of women, were in greater danger of being corrupted by the filth they handled” (Orwell 165). The party knew the nurture of the two genders and uses that to separate duties based off of it. Women were seen as more fair in creating porn for man that was
Structure is needed in any society to prolong it. To create social structure, you need separation, “The splitting of the intelligence which the Party requires of its members, and which is more easily achieved in an atmosphere of war, is now almost universal, but the higher up the ranks one goes, the more marked it becomes” (Orwell 243). The Party splits Oceania socially on the principle of intelligence. The ideas created by the party cannot be uncovered, so the party isolates the population based on