Theme Of Loneliness In George Orwell's Dystopian Novel '

Throughout the world, failures seem to occur all around. Whether it be in the form of losing oneself or losing the people around the individual, many failures commonly occurs with the accumulation of power. In George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, Winston Smith is a low-ranking government official under the oppressive reign of his leaders, Big Brother. He is just one example of the many characters in written works that will eventually be defeated in one way or another. In British literature, it has become evident that characters affected by tyrannies have ultimately experienced loneliness, paranoia, and defeat.

A tyrant is defined as any person in a position of authority who exercises his or her power oppressively or despotically. To become a tyrant, the person must not only have an absolute need for power, but

also possess the qualities and characteristics to get them to their goal.

Through his or her journey to power, however, may bring the leaders some unexpected and unwanted consequences. For example, loneliness has seemed to become a prevalent theme throughout literature. In John McDonald’s graphic novel version of the play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth’s quest for power left him with no support because of the way he was willing to treat the people closest to him along the way. He had no problem killing his leader, his best friend, and, although indirectly, his wife, which eventually led to him having no one left he could trust. Also, prior to Macbeth killing his leader and cousin, King Duncan, the reader gains a little insight as to how guilty and paranoid Macbeth really is. After a conversation with Lady Macbeth, Macbeth says, “Is this a dagger I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come… let me grip you” (McDonald 2.1). Here, Macbeth shows weakness and allows his guilt to get the best of him. The reader can see that in this moment, he starts developing paranoia before he even commits murder. Derek Russell Davis agrees with this point when he says, “Unable to confide

in her husband, Lady Macbeth's denial of criminality continues until she descends into psychosis. Macbeth is equally isolated. Consequently, his sense of guilt turns to paranoia” (Rosenblum). Rosenblum describes that as a result of his killing spree and loneliness, Macbeth begins to see things and trusts no one by the end of the play. Eventually Macbeth meets his ultimate defeat in a battle between him and one of his “betrayers” MacDuff. Although Macbeth was under the impression he was invincible due to a prophecy he was given earlier in the play, MacDuff find a loophole to the prophecy and finally kills Macbeth.
In George Orwell’s allegorical novel, Animal Farm, the audience is taken through a simplified version of the events that occurred during the time of the Russian Revolution. Like the actually Russian Revolution, the animals of the farm represent the working class decide to overthrow the owner and commence a society of equality and peace. As the rebellion is complete and the animals begin to fend for themselves, this ideal society crumbles and is taken over by the pigs, specifically a pig named Napoleon. Napoleon represents Joseph Stalin in Orwell’s novel and experiences the same undesired consequences as Macbeth did through his hunt for power. After Napoleon gets rid of Snowball, his rise to power immediately picks up and takes a turn for the worst. He and the rest of the pigs willingly isolate themselves from the rest of the animals, breaking one of the seven commandments of Animal Farm. The narrator says, “They were executed immediately, and fresh precautions for Napoleon’s safety were taken. Four dogs guarded his bed at night, one at each corner, and a young pig named Pinkeye was given the task of tasting all his food before he ate it, lest it should be poisoned” (Orwell 36). At this point in the story, Napoleon has just executed three hens for betraying him and had started to realize that some animals may not be open to accepting the murder of their friends. Therefore, he became so paranoid, he made it another pig’s job to eat his food before he did, so he could ensure that he would not die of poisoning. The novel ends with a preview into the Cold War, when Napoleon and a farmer representing Hitler both place the ace of spades, leading the audience to believe that one party was cheating. Although Orwell doesn’t directly touch on the defeat of Napoleon in Animal Farm, the downfall of Russian communism does come in real life. Stalin eventually died and communism soon diminished after that.
Unlike Macbeth and Napoleon, Winston Smith, who appears in George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, is not the tyrant, but only a mere citizen that happened to be greatly affected by the detrimental reign of Big Brother. Winston rejects all ideas of Big Brother and the Party and seems to be the only one that sees through their propaganda. Because of this, Winston is left completely and utterly alone with no one to express his true beliefs to. Big Brother makes it this way one purpose, so everyone is divided and that their first loyalty is not to an individual’s spouse or parents, but to Big Brother. At one point in the story, Winston comes across an antique shop that he had visited only once before. Standing in front of the shop, “A twinge of fear went through him. It had been a sufficiently rash act to buy the book in the beginning, and he had sworn never to come near the place again.” Here, the narrator describes how paranoid Winston is to even enter a store that is affiliated with the past and the diary he purchased years ago. Eventually Winston does meet a girl named Julia that shares the same rebel-like attitude as him. They fall in love, which was the worst crime anyone could commit in the eyes of Big Brother, and choose to involve themselves in a resistance group. The two soon get captured and we then follow Winston as he gets brainwashed into not only believing there is something wrong with himself, but also into genuinely loving Big Brother. Victoria Gaydosik agrees with further explains this point when she says, “In a chilling ending, when he is released back into the world to wear out his days under the anodyne of drink, he is happy to realize that he loves Big Brother” (Gaydosik). She describes that Winston loses himself and everything he believes in, only to become the person he told himself he never would. He is defeated by his worst fear and might as well be dead because he is no longer an individual, but only a member of the Party.
Tyrannies have been known to affect every single person involved, whether it be the citizens being ruled or even the leaders ruling them. Regardless of the character being analyzed, he or she will experience many unfavorable and destructive consequences. Isolation, paranoia, and ultimate defeat have been proven to be themes throughout literature. Winston, Macbeth, and Napoleon all followed the same paths while being negatively affected by extreme desires for power. Authors like Orwell, Shakespeare, and McDonald wrote these literary works to shed light on the history of tyrants and hope that readers do not repeat the wrongful ideologies of the past.