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Summary of totalitarianism in 1984
Define identity in literature
Summary of totalitarianism in 1984
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Identity in today society, is often taken for granted. In today’s society, we have the ability act any way we want and be anything we desire to be, but for Winston that is not the case. In “1984” by George Orwell, dreams and memories are an important factor for Winston Smith to remain sane while living in totalitarianism.
Winton lives in a society where Big Brother has complete control over the mind and Winston cannot fight the government. Big Brother has power of the city because they create rules like: identity cannot exist, the past must be controlled in order to regulate the present, and people must accept the idea of Newspeak and Doublethink. By enforcing these laws, Big Brother have a tight grip on its people and brain wash them to accept everything the government says. All identity is stripped away from a person, it takes away any chance the society has to advance. In order to maintain his human nature, he uses dreams to strengthen his identity and
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Since Winston is a man, he cannot be told what he thinks. O’Brian hands are tied, so he argues that if Winston claims to be man, then he is the last man standing on earth since independency is evidence of insanity. After being tortured and brain washed by O’Brien, Winston still remains to hold on to his humanity. As a result of the torturing, Winston claims he has learned to accepts the idea of the government, but no matter how many times he tries to agree, deep down he does not fully agree with their ideas and laws. Winton has one final dream where he remembers when he was happy playing games with his mother and sister, the dream changes towards the end. Winston no longer dreams of compassion and love, this shows his change in alliance. He finally learns to accepts and loves Big Brother. With each flashback and the ultimate love for Big Brother towards the end, Orwell demonstrates how dreams can reinforce and guide one’ s personal
He purchased a small journal from a shop and began to write in it out of view of the telescreen in his house, which allows anything in front of it to potentially be seen or heard. At first he had some difficulties as he could only manage to write jumbles of some of his memories, but then he began to write things like “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER (Orwell, page 18).” He later had an encounter with one of his fellow coworkers, O’Brien, which got him thinking that there might be others out in the world who see things the way he does, including O’Brien himself. Winston eventually decides that his diary will become a sort of letter to O’Brien, and to a future or past where things might have been different. In these diary entries he wrote things such as, “To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free, when men are different from one another and do not live alone—to a time when truth exists and what is done cannot be undone…(Orwell, page 28).” This refers to how citizens think and act the same and previous events are not written as they happened, but altered to Big Brother’s benefit. He also wrote, “Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime IS death (Orwell, page 28).” This can be further explained by Winston’s previous thought, “The consequences of every act are included in the act itself (Orwell, page 28).” Winston
George Orwell creates a dark, depressing and pessimistic world where the government has full control over the masses in the novel 1984. The protagonist, Winston, is low-level Party member who has grown to resent the society that he lives in. Orwell portrays him as a individual that begins to lose his sanity due to the constrictions of society. There are only two possible outcomes, either he becomes more effectively assimilated or he brings about the change he desires. Winston starts a journey towards his own self-destruction. His first defiant act is the diary where he writes “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER.” But he goes further by having an affair with Julia, another party member, renting a room over Mr. Carrington’s antique shop where Winston conducts this affair with Julia, and by following O’Brien who claims to have connections with the Brotherhood, the anti-Party movement led my Emmanuel Goldstein. Winston and Julia are both eventually arrested by the Thought Police when Mr. Carrington turns out to be a undercover officer. They both eventually betray each other when O’Brien conducts torture upon them at the Ministry of Love. Orwell conveys the limitations of the individual when it comes to doing something monumental like overthrowing the established hierarchy which is seen through the futility of Winston Smith’s actions that end with his failure instead of the end of Big Brother. Winston’s goal of liberating himself turns out to be hopeless when the people he trusted end up betraying him and how he was arbitrarily manipulated. It can be perceived that Winston was in fact concerned more about his own sanity and physical well-being because he gives into Big Brother after he is tortured and becomes content to live in the society he hated so much. Winston witnesses the weakness within the prole community because of their inability to understand the Party’s workings but he himself embodies weakness by sabotaging himself by associating with all the wrong people and by simply falling into the arms of Big Brother. Orwell created a world where there is no use but to assimilate from Winston’s perspective making his struggle utterly hopeless.
“He has finally learned to love big brother” was how George Orwell in his novel 1984 described Winston, conversion to the party are represented by big brother at the end of the novel. It is easy to believe that at this instance, after torturous reeducation that Winston has endured, he has lost free will and no longer be able to freely choose to love big brother but was forced to, against hiss will. Therefore Winston was never free to love big brother, and in fact not free at all after his “reeducation.” But if we are to accept a definition of free will that stipulates that we are able to produce and act on our own volitions we must accept that Winston has retained and has chosen to love big brother out of his own free will.
The novel, 1984, by George Orwell, depicts a dystopian society where no freedom exists; not even the freedom of thought. The scene takes place in Oceania, a society in which the ruling power called “the Party” strictly controls everything people do: from the way they speak, to how they move, to their very own thoughts. Winston Smith, the main character of 1984, struggles through the day to day life of having to blend into the brainwashed citizens of Oceania, where monitors called telescreens record and analyze every little movement. Anyone not showing signs of loyalty and homogeneity become vaporized, or in other words, cease to exist and become deleted from history. Tired of his constricted life, Winston decides
loss, it's to do with futility. For all he did, for all the rules he
The pen is mightier than the sword, and Winston’s artistic mind is stronger than the muscles of a warrior can ever be. In the book 1984 by George Orwell, Winston lives in an oppressive society in the art-deprived world of Oceania, from which he attempts to escape. He must mentally break free from the cage in which Big Brother has trapped him and so many others. Winston lives among rats of the Party, ironically his worst fear. While living amongst some of the rodents who are forever trapped in the enslavement of Big Brother, Winston strives to remain human, to remain conscious of the harsh reality of the world in which he is confined. Winston is an artist attempting to break free from Big Brother’s shackles using his diary, his obsession with
Winston writes, “Down with the Big Brother” (Orwell 19). From the beginning of the novel readers see Winston’s extreme disgust with the government. He expresses the views that no few in the society will. Winston rebels against the government to find meaning in his life. His journey into finding individuality shows his expression of freedom which no one else expressed. As Alex McGuinnis, a professional academic writer part of the Professional Development Collection, discusses the “Allness” language used by Big Brother to control a populous and perpetuate conformity within a society. As McGuinnis states, “Allness thinking is especially dangerous because those who influence our minds most in frequently are the people who are constantly groups using allness” (108). This quotes shows how Big Brother used “Allness” language to control the people in the society. Many times Winston is critical when talking about Big Brother and to show lack of conformity and resistance towards the regime. Tyner continues to show how Winton’s small actions show resistance towards a tyrannical regime. Winston challenges all societal behavior, such as expressing his thoughts in his journal and deciding to have an affair with Julia even though facing punishment by the government. In addition, readers see that “Allness” language is used and taught to younger generations to influence them from early in development. Winston’s change and expressions were miniscule resistance towards the whole society, but it still provides an example of an individual who choices not to conform to societies standards. Orwell express how even though with miniscule resistance towards conformity cannot get rid of it without the help of an entire
In the novel 1984, Orwell produced a social critique on totalitarianism and a future dystopia that made the world pause and think about our past, present and future. When reading this novel we all must take the time to think of the possibility that Orwell's world could come to pass. Orwell presents the concepts of power, marginalization, and resistance through physical, psychological, sexual and political control of the people of Oceania. The reader experiences the emotional ride through the eyes of Winston Smith, who was born into the oppressive life under the rule of Ingsoc. Readers are encouraged through Winston to adopt a negative opinion on the idea of communist rule and the inherent dangers of totalitarianism. The psychological manipulation and physical control are explored through Winston's journey, and with Winston's resistance and ultimate downfall, the reader is able to fully appreciate O'Briens reasoning, "Power is not a means, it is an end."
Through months of torture and debilitating pressure, he was stripped of his individualism and was taught to love big brother (McLaughlin). The pressures of society mixed with the strenuous hours of daily torture took a toll on his weakened brain. This was most evident when O’Brien asked him one last time if he loved Big Brother, and he answered yes. He did not say yes in order to end the torture, rather he said yes because his brain was rendered incapable of independent thought. Orwell does this to show his readers that self expression and independent thought are what ultimately make us human. Without those two things, we are left to live in an impressionistic society, one that urges us to like and believe in certain things- similar to that of Oceania. O’Brien torturing Winston was more than just the climax of the book; it was the solution to Orwell’s underlying question: Can the traits that make us human prevail in the face of turmoil and despair? "You had to live—did live, from habit that became instinct—in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every moment scrutinized” (Orwell 3).The fact that this statement made in the beginning holds true by the end of the novel answers the question that no; humanity would not
George Orwell uses Winston to represent truth in a deceptive world in his novel 1984. In Oceania, Big Brother is the omnipotent and all powerful leader. Everything the government dictates is unquestionably true, regardless of prior knowledge. Even thinking of ideas that go against Big Brother’s regime, or thoughtcrime, is punishable by death. Winston serves as the dystopian hero, longing for freedom and change. Orwell uses Winston to emphasize the importance of individual freedoms, as they give us the ability to fulfillingly lead our respective lives.
Personal identity in first world countries is often taken for granted. We have the ability to act however we please or be whatever we want without any real limitations. In George Orwell's, “1984”, identity is not taken for granted because personal identity does not exist. Orwell illustrates a vision of life where a totalitarian government eradicates individual identity. Winston Smith, the narrator of the novel, lives in a dystopian society where he and every other citizen struggle to maintain their own personal identity. The author suggests that individuals may struggle to maintain personal identity in a totalitarian government due to the lack of diversity this is because identity can only exist if the environment allows it to. Although if
Winston, unlike the rest of the nation realizes the problems with the society. Winston notices the corruption in the government, he notices the indoctrination of the children, he even realizes how much has changed since the world of the past. Unfortunately, Winston realizes he can not act because any action is met with execution, he is also aware that even the thought or act of noticing the problems could get him arrested. In a nation where free thought is illegal, Winston strives to think as freely as possible. However, Winston is more cowardly than a typical hero, he is unwilling to cause a change, because he does not wish to die. Winston is more of an average citizen in a strange and dangerous world than he is a hero in a normal world. Winson fears much, and he even sells out the love of his life, when he is threatened with rats. However, of his many fears; Rats excluded, Winston seems to fear children the
The life that Winston knows prior to his time at the Ministry of Love becomes tainted due to the effects of psychological torture. The pure terror and helplessness that Winston begins to feel during the process of interrogation overwhelms his mental defenses, prompting the complete destruction and reconfiguring of his belief system; the result is the absolute alteration of Winston’s personality. This is due to the fact that once one undergoes a traumatic experience, everything previously known to him or her becomes an unattainable warped reality (Robinnet). This immense pressure takes a momentous toll on Winston, leading him to foster and produce a lifestyle composed of beliefs that are entirely contradictory to his former views. Along with this newly refined ideology, O’Brien effectively strips down Winston’s unique persona, severely fracturing it in the process. A common effect seen in victims of psychological torture is the disintegration of his or her personality (Reyes 600). In Winston’s case, O’Brien provokes feelings of extreme self-condemnation, causing Winston to crave acceptance in the disciplinary society distinguished in 1984. Ultimately, the aftermath in Winston’s mind displays the crucial outcome of psychological torture and its effects. “He remembered contrary things, but those were false memories, products of self-deception (Orwell
Identity, in today’s society, is often taken for granted. We have the ability to be anything we wish to be and act in any way we wish to act, but in the novel 1984 by George Orwell, identity is not taken for granted because it does not exist at all. Winston Smith, the narrator, lives in a dystopian society based on the idea of totalitarian government rule. This government is known as Big Brother. In order for Big Brother to stay in power, a few things are necessary: identity cannot exist; everything and everyone must be uniform; the past must be controlled in order to regulate the present; and the people must constantly be practicing the ideas of Newspeak and Doublethink, a form of control the government holds over the people. By enforcing these simple laws and regulations, the government is able to keep a tight grip on its people, with few ever releasing themselves from its grasp. Winston Smith on the other hand, seeks to know the truth behind the government, he is constantly questioning everything and repressing all the ideas forced upon him. Winston “seeks truth and sanity, his only resources being the long denied and repressed processes of selfhood” (Feder 398). All identity is gone in this place called Oceania, and for the sake of Big Brother and its continuous control of the people, it will never exist again. In 1984, the absence of identity strips the people of all creativity and diversity, as well as takes away any chance the society has to advance as a people or in the area of technology.
The social structure of George Orwell’s 1984 is based on Freud’s map of the mind and the struggles between the id, the ego and the super ego. The minds of these individuals living in this society are trained to think a certain way. Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis can be applied to Orwell’s 1984. Using Freud’s psychoanalytic approach, 1984’s main character Winston Smith is portrayed as the one who goes against the ideas of the Party. In a Freudian point of view, Winston’s character represents a mind where the id is the driving force and where the ego and superego are ill developed in the views of the Party. Freud describes the psychoanalytic process as something that is normally used to treat patients with metal disorders, and in the eyes of the party, Winston is seen as one that has a mental disorder. The procedure that Winston undergoes directly parallels Freud’s psychoanalytic process.