Thoughtcrime In 1984

Summary: In George Orwell’s novel 1984, the main character, Winston Smith, finds himself in the superstate of Oceania which is controlled by the Party and the Thought Police. Although a member of the Party, Winston harbors a hate for the Party’s leader, Big Brother, along with the telescreens, the Thought Police, and the Party overall. In Oceania, members of the Party are to feel love, admiration, hope, and thanks towards Big Brother only. Many people vanish from existence without explanation and are seemingly forgotten, as though they never existed. In the beginning of the novel, Winston purchases a diary, which he uses to write about his thoughtcrime and hate towards Big Brother. He knows that sooner or later this will be the reason for his

death, but goes through with it away. Winston then discovers a girl has been following him around and believes she is a spy or member of the Thought Police. One day she, Julia, gives him a note that says she loves him and they begin to meet secretly with one another. Winston believes that a man named O’Brien is against the Party, like he is, based on a moment of eye contact they both shared. O’Brien tells Winston that he has an edition of the newest Newspeak dictionary that he believes Winston would like to look at and gives him his address. Winston knows the interaction is not about a dictionary, but instead something much more important. He arranges to meet O’Brien with Julia, believing that O’Brien is a member of the Brotherhood. O’Brien later shows his true colors as a member of the Thought Police. He tortures Winston until he loses those thoughts and feeling that make him human, and then sends him off to live as a broken soul.

Literary Criticism: Within the first few chapters of 1984 by George Orwell, readers take note of the totalitarian government and leadership of Big Brother, most likely connecting the treatment of Oceanic Party members to the treatment that citizens of the Soviet Union endured during Stalin’s rule from the 1920s to 1953. The allegory between Stalin’s rule and Big Brother’s influence are greatly alike. In both the Soviet Union and the fictional setting of Oceania, the government was in close control of every detail of its people’s lives. The people living in the Soviet Union had a limited number of resources distributed among them and were forced to live in poor conditions while those in Oceania endure similar struggles. Citizens were made to worship their leader and agree with what they said as are citizens of Oceania. Like the Thought Police in 1984, secret police under control of the government also existed in the Soviet Union. Both of these police forces worked to take down anyone who was or may have become a threat to the dictator by spying on them, threatening them, and sometimes even hurting or killing them without concrete reason to do so. Orwell’s work not only relates to a theme that will never age but also draws from the past an issue that today’s world must not ignore.
Two of the themes of the novel include the damage of totalitarian reigns and the nature of humanity (the belief that to be called human a person must think their own thoughts, control their own feelings, and be an individual).

From the beginning, the audience can feel the oppression within Oceania. Telescreens that monitor all activity can be found in the homes of party members while posters reading “Big Brother is watching you” are posted along every wall. Party members have no privacy, must live with the everyday household items that they can get their hands on, and are not to think, do, or say anything that could possibly convey harm or show discontent towards Big Brother or the Party. There is no freedom and people go through life often unhopeful of what life the next day might hold. 1984 greatly expresses the damages that totalitarian reign, also known as communism, causes people; such authority results in broken souls, lost freedom, and suffering of people who have little control over their own

lives.
The totalitarian power of the government steals the Party members’ individuality.

Human qualities, such as the sex instinct and natural thought process, are destroyed and mutilated by the government. People are not allowed to hold their own thoughts; they are taught to get by on a process called doublethink, which allows someone to accept two or more contrary beliefs or opinions at the same time. In this way, the citizens are taught to think paradoxically. While this development of thought has no logic, it stands as a great governmental tool, allowing the controlling powers of Oceania to rewrite history, as the people accept the lies delivered to them through use of doublethink. A person cannot think for themselves, feel emotions freely, or exhibit noticeable differences in comparison to those around them. The government forces Party members to think alike, act alike, and live as though they are copy of another perfect

citizen.
For a while, the main character of the novel, Winston, who hates the Party and Big Brother, believes he has finally found another person who may also be against the government. This belief arose from eye contact, which lasted longer than necessary, between Winston and Mr. O’Brien. Although O’Brien pretends to be a party of the Brotherhood, an uprising against Big Brother, he is actually a member of the Thought Police who uses his status to trick Winston. O’Brien appears as a foil of Winston. While Winston is against the government, believes he is a part of the Brotherhood, knows that the government cannot change the past, and still has some humanity (feelings of his own) left, O’Brien works for the government, is a part of the Thought Police, loves Big Brother, insists that whoever controls the present controls the past, and has no humanity left within him. The drastic contrast and opposition between the two characters ensure that O’Brien is a foil of Winston and vice versa.
Near the end of the novel, when O’Brien is attempting to brainwash Winston, many non-sequiturs appear. First of all, O’Brien tries to get Winston to accept that two plus two equals five if the Party says so, but since the rules of math do not bend that way, Winston is unable to accept such a claim. O’Brien explains that the Party is set up on a civilization based on hatred and cruelty, he recites the Party slogan, “War is peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is strength.” The unique aspect of the slogan is that each piece contains a paradox. All truths of the Party are lies, while all the lies of the Party are truth. Everything is backwards. The pursuit of the Party is to eliminate humanity from within the hearts of humans. While nothing is logical, many people of Oceania follow the rules of the Party. Some loyally support the Party, while others merely go through the motions in order to survive.
Overall, 1984 shows the fall of what little humanity remains in a world full of inhuman humans. It’s a tragedy following the crash of Winston as he suffers under the conditions of the communist rule of Oceania. Winston’s tragic flaw, humanity, is ironic because it is something all people share. He is human, yet the Party wants to destroy his humanity, his human tendencies, and turn him into a follower of Big Brother with thoughts and opinions directed by that of the government. Winston’s flaw (his humanity) is the only truth maintained throughout the story, yet the truth costs him his soul, which O’Brien breaks as he tortures Winston. The novel can be viewed as a tragedy because although Winston is not killed at the end of the novel, his soul dies.

Reaction: If it were my choice, I would not read a work by George Orwell again. 1984 was difficult to read because of the values held by the Party and their attempt to tear apart humanity. The basic storyline was uncomplicated to follow, but simply trying to think, while reading about a world that places great emphasis on the process known as “doublethink,” became frustrating. This book is on the AP list because it defies logic, through the process of “doublethink,” which allows one to accept contrary beliefs at the same time. 1984 also uses words from the Oceanic language of Newspeak, such as “crimethink” and “duckspeak,” that violate the rules of English, adding to the effect of the novel and its uniqueness. I will remember most when O’Brien was trying to force Winston to believe things that had no logic behind them, trying to claim things had not occurred when Winston knew they had. It was frustrating to continue reading as O’Brien went in circles of illogical thought, attempting to brainwash Winston and strip him of his humanity. The circle of lies that O’Brien leads Winston through represents a relatable struggle to which most people can relate. At some point in everyone’s life, every individual has come to face something who tries to contradict all that they know, in an attempt to tear them and their understanding to pieces.