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Examples Of Conformity In George Orwell's '1984'

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Conformity can often be a complicated subject when it’s perceived in relation to individual pursuits and desires. In life, people may frequently experience difficulty when attempting to balance the need to succumb to their desires, and the need to conform to what society deems as acceptable. In George Orwell’s “1984”, the protagonist Winston is used to represent the effects of fear, the influence of others on our decisions, and excessive control over free will is used to convey the inner conflict experienced when a person has to choose between two oppositional ideas; personal desire and conformity.

Firstly, it would be fairly logical to make the assumption that a person has free will over their identity and the choices they make, however …show more content…

When involved with other people, actions and desires can be influenced easily. In this case, this phenomenon is demonstrated when Winston comes into contact with Julia, a distant coworker. Winston had suppressed the desire for love and romance, but as soon as Julia provided the opportunity to live out his personal desires, he decided to choose them over conformity and safety. They proceeded to engage in an emotional love affair, seemingly avoiding any suspicion. As they became more comfortable and reinforced each other's individual interests, the fear they felt slightly subsided, and felt less important to them as their feelings took the reign over their priorities. This feeling is described in the novel, “so long as they were actually in this room, they both felt, no harm could come to them.” (p. 158). Even in the case that desires are deeply repressed, if somebody shows support and shares similar ideas, enough of a push may be provided for the secret feelings to rise to the surface. Julia gave Winston the outlet and bravery to be liberated from his fear. When a person doesn’t feel alone in their ideas and desires, more strength and bravery is created against the fear of not conforming to expectations. Influence from others is a strong force, especially when paired with intense

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