George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four

In Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell’s use of language helps convey the qualities of a bildungsroman, showcased by a narrator’s rise in self-confidence in the face of a repressive and egregious state propagandized as a utopia. The narrator’s resistance to the erosion of his individuality by said state is developed by Orwell as a main motif. The narrator, Winston Smith, is initially shown to be loosening from the grasp of leader Big Brother and the Party, which he gradually rebels against by pondering about socially taboo subjects, writing in his journal, and acting on his lust, concluding with his diabolical torture at the hands of the Party, after which he reverts back to a pawn. Smith is showcased within the usage of symbolism, allusion,

Immediately, the reader can infer that Winston lives in decrepit conditions once he reveals that, “The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats ... ,” (Orwell, ###). The inclusion of the cabbage within English literature is traditionally a sign of economic hardship, one which immediately debunks the notion of a perfect utopia existing in Oceania. However, the Party wants their constituents, including Winston, to think that they do live in a prosperous and happy place. The Party’s imposition on the state of affairs not only carries on through the dissemination of propaganda, but also by criminalizing any subversive thoughts that arise within anyone’s mind. Winston states, “... the essential crime that contained all others in itself. Thoughtcrime, they called it ... you might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were bound to get you,” (Orwell, ###). The neologistic phrase “thoughtcrime” was introduced by Orwell into the novel in order to show how the Party used surveillance and mental monitoring in order to weed out any dissidents who may act against the Party’s interests. The reason that the Party forcibly disappeared anyone who thought differently from what was the ‘norm’ was in order to eliminate any competition--- by preventing the rise of the divide and conquer method of revolution, the Party’s aims to subvert any disturbance could only be done by systemic and sustained conditioning. However, Winston Smith saw through the Party’s dubious ways and commits one of the more serious crimes--- he moves out of the sight of the telescreen into a nook and journals his treasonous thoughts. Winston writes, five times in all capital letters, “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER,” (Orwell, ###). Winston triumphed over the fear of committing one of the most heinous crimes that a citizen of Oceania can commit. By setting pen to paper, Orwell