Psychological Lens Essay On 1984 By George Orwell

1984 was written by George Orwell in the year 1949 and was finished four years after the end of the World War 2. Before the war broke out, there was a serie of events which had made tensions rise in Europe. Similarly, before America joined the war there were policies and talk of joining for a couple years. In the beginning of the novel, Winston Smith has purchased a notebook and as an act of rebellion, he writes different entries in it throughout the novel. He also begins an affair with a woman named Julia, an affair of which is strictly forbidden. These acts are subsequently followed by a clear stream of conscious thought about when he gets caught. This fatalism is a keynote in Winston Smith’s character. Using the psychological lens, it is

clear that Orwell is pointing out that humans all know where the world is headed, but many of us choose to ignore. Orwell thinks our fatalistic attitude is going to be the lead cause of our demise.

Throughout most of the novel, Winston writes in his diary of sorts. This is a massive rebellion of Big Brother. He will write things like: Down With Big Brother (Orwell 18). However, his rebellious spirit is immediately followed with a hopeless, prescient musing. On page 19, Winston rambles how “The Thought Police would get him just the same.” (Orwell 19). This act is not unlike a person who continually throws trash on the ground, knowing full well that eventually the trash will destroy the world. The difference, however, is that Winstons small actions are not leading to the end of his world or government. Rather, it leads to the end of Winston Smith almost entirely. He is aware that each small action is enough to be his ultimate demise. Yet, the reward seems to outweigh the deadly outcome. Winston tries to find love and beauty in his dreary grey world; his affair with Julia and often the light he sees in O’Brien and others. However, Orwell does not let that love endure, showing us once again “fate” taking its course. Fatalism, to him, is much more than just accepting the consequences. It is about accepting the means as well as the end; complacency is the true killer.

Orwell couldn’t have predicted the world we live in today, but his message remains unwavering for a reason, he was right.

When people accept an outcome, the chance that anything different happens becomes slim. Orwell’s world was thrown upside down by totalitarian governments and mass genocides. Is the world today really any different? Have humans just accepted that war and oppression is part of life? If that really is true, our future continuously looks darker. Winston’s world he notes has “always been at war with Eurasia.” (Orwell 182). Violence appears in even the most pacifistic places and Orwell seems to see this. At the time of publishing, the world had just suffered through the second World War. The death tolls of both World Wars was unlike anything the world had ever seen. Orwell’s pessiistic views are not all together to shocking; the world he lived in had been devastated twice in a short time period. Many people today live in extreme poverty and oppression, there are still genocides taking place everyday, and mass numbers don’t even have clean water to drink. All of these things are happening today, people are suffering right now and we do nothing. Wars, genocides, poverty are all things created by humans, but they can be stopped by humans too. Orwell writes 1984 as a message to the masses; to the people who can rise together and do something to change the problems. The problems need to be solved by all of us

united.

Many hero novels like to show the main character as the straw that broke the camel’s back. One person taking down an entire oppressive system. Winston Smith is not this person. Orwell doesn’t paint the picture of a traditional hero. Instead, he realistically frames Winston as another one of the masses. Winston dreams that the proles or the working class will rise up and fight their oppression. However, his fatalistic outlook stops him again, when he notes that “Any kind of organized revolt against the Party, which was bound to be a failure.” (Orwell 131). George Orwell, prior to becoming an author, had seen the devastation of a totalitarian government with the British colonial rule in Burma and was a war veteran. These factors combined illuminate his motives behind his writings in 1984. He believes everyone is at fault for the mindless violence and oppression. Just as Winston Smith wished the proles would take back control of society in the novel, Orwell wishes civilians would be responsible for the oppression they allow. He feels that ignorance is no excuse for complacency.

The psychological lens shows us that Orwell believes fatalism is humanity’s ultimate demise. He thinks that every action, no matter how small, is done with a conscious understanding of the end results. People have just accepted violence as necessary and normal, this was no different in Orwell’s day. However, George Orwell doesn’t believe in the power of one person to overthrow the system. His pessimistic views on the world are not unlike his fatalistic character Winston Smith.