Dehumanization Of Love In 1984 By George Orwell

In a world of dehumanization and lack of freedom, what does love really mean? In the novel, 1984, by George Orwell, the idea of love and relationships is seen throughout the main character’s journey. The reader discovers much about his feelings toward his love interest, Julia. As their relationship unfolds, Julia opens up Winston’s eyes to a world of rebellion and freedom. As Winston spends more and more time with Julia, he gains a sense of comfortability that he had never experienced before. This begs the question of whether he truly had feelings for Julia, or if she was simply a gateway to this newfound way of living. Winston was not in love with Julia, but instead with the opportunities of escape from reality and freedom from the Party that

Big Brother watches over the Party and keeps them safe. Throughout most of Winston’s life, this is all he knows. Big Brother is the one and only source of love and he loves everyone. The Party knows that in order to keep everyone safe, Big Brother must watch over them. While everyone is supposed to feel safe, Winston does not. He feels the constant pressure of being watched, and he knows the consequences of doing something wrong under Big Brother’s watchful eye. When he decides to write “Down with Big Brother” in his journal, he simply accepts that he will immediately be caught for thoughtcrime (Orwell, 18). The narrator says that, “ He could not help feeling a twinge of panic. It was absurd, since the writing of those particular words was not more dangerous than the initial act of opening the diary” (Orwell, 18). He is always on edge knowing that he could be captured by the thought police at any given minute for even the slightest acts of rebellion. Being introduced to a place where he can let his guard down and not be watched is like heaven to

When Winston first saw Julia, he had very contradictory feelings about her. When speaking to Julia later on, he recalls that, “I wanted to rape you and murder you afterwards. Two weeks ago I thought of smashing your head in with a cobblestone” (Orwell, 120-121). His lust for Julia became so strong that he forced himself to shut them down with thoughts of violence. After all, because his wife had been so loyal to the Party, he had never felt true sexual desire before. When Winston and Julia first begin having sexual relations, Winston was introduced to a whole new world of freedom that he had never experienced before. This freedom, however, was not simply an act of lust, it was an act of rebellion. Winston recalls their first time being together thinking that, “Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act” (Orwell, 126). In having this freedom to do whatever they pleased with one another, they seized an opportunity to rebel against the Party. They shared the feeling of true intimacy with one another: something the Party was trying to eliminate from