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Fallibility Of Individuality In 1984 By George Orwell

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On the Fallibility of Human Individuality The way of man is to err. This truth cannot be denied, even with the most innate valor of individuality. George Orwell’s 1984 and Solomon Asch’s 1955 line conformity experiment illustrate the fallibility of human individuality. George Orwell’s society of Oceania is one in which individuality is always subdued and conformity is inevitable for every individual. The protagonist of 1984, Winston Smith, is not loyal to the government that he works for, which is a serious crime. Consequently, he is sent to the correctional institution called the Ministry of Love, where he is told that “[n]o one who has ever gone astray is ever spared … We shall squeeze you empty and fill you with ourselves” (256). To achieve …show more content…

Within the context of the Ministry of Love, there is a room called Room 101 that holds a person’s deepest fears. Of it, Winston’s chief torturer O’Brien explains, “The worst thing in the world … varies from individual to individual” (283). Room 101, the most vital part of the Ministry of Love’s correction, is a changing object that helps the Party produce a perfectly conformed society. Even though conformity is one common idea, it also varies among people. For Winston, it was betraying his illicit lover Julia: “The one thing that matters is that we shouldn’t betray one another” (Orwell 166). That was his defining characteristic as an individual person; without it he was not Winston. However after going through his own unique torture, rats, in Room 101, Winston succumbed and “betrayed [Julia]” (Orwell 239). Only Winston’s conformity would have looked like this, and only Winston’s journey involved rats in Room 101. While there is not much research regarding the individual nature of conformity, important work has been done over the conditions and the nature of …show more content…

The testing did not touch upon unique ways to make people conform as was seen in Orwell’s 1984. Its layout followed the format that a card with a line on it was shown to a group of seven to nine college-aged males, then a second card was shown with three lines, and they proclaimed which line on the second card matched the length of the first. (3). There was no room for individuality to be expressed, much less quelled, in any fashion with the study setup like this. Nonetheless Asch’s investigation did hold a parallel to 1984

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In the novel 1984, outward conformity is crucial to the survival of the citizens of Oceania. One character in particular who practices this extremely well is the main character, Winston Smith. He not only conforms outwardly, but also questions his society inwardly, due to the overhanging fear that Miniluv will find and torture him. Winston constantly questions Big Brother and all of the laws that the citizens of Oceania are required to obey while also inwardly questioning his forbidden romance with Julia. Without this rising tension throughout the novel, 1984 would lose its suspenseful tone and would easily lose the focus of readers.

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In the book 1984, by George Orwell, there’s some psychology that we’ve seen so far. A group of people participate in something called The Two Minutes Hate, during this the people’s behavior exemplify groupthink, which states in the text, “Before the Hate had proceeded for thirty seconds, uncontrollable exclamations of rage were breaking out from half the people in the room.” This tells us that the people are frustrated so they shout altogether, and this shows us groupthink since one person shouted, then everyone else joined in. Winston’s response is conformity by the text that states, “It was apparent that she was uttering a prayer. At this moment the entire group of people broke into a deep, slow rhythmical chant of ‘B-B! …

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Why do we conform, and how far does it go? Solomon Asch asked this question and devised an experiment to see if subjects would conform even if they were uncertain that the group norm was incorrect, this eventually led to Milgram’s and Stanford’s own psychological questions about not only conformity, but also obedience and the roles in which people adapt. This paper will take a deeper look into these experiments, and apply their findings to current and past national events such as the American Armed Forced at detention facilities and the systematic torture of prisoners, along with how these experiments relate to advertising and how it is designed to stimulate a since of conformity among a generation. Finally how does society react towards

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War is Peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. These are the beliefs that the citizens of Oceania, in the novel titled 1984, written by George Orwell. Conformity can be defined as a social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group.

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O’Brien’s use of starvation, the electric chair, and mental bullying serves as a crucial motivator for intelligent, problem causing citizens such as Winston to confess and repent willingly eventually. Finally, the use of cruelty by Big Brother reveals the inner and destructive conscience of the party in order to ensure that society is orderly and continually worshipping Big Brother. The suffering and eventual destruction of citizens such as Winston reveals that a free-thinking society is still intact, however, any government’s use of torture could and did destroy the will of a majority of those that were so horribly imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps across Europe. Therefore, the cruelty used throughout the novel “1984” functions in the work as an effective scare tactic that is able to exterminate an entire society while simultaneously creating a new master race that is intellectually void and completely subservient to Big

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Government Manipulation in 1984 People generally rely on the government as a source of protection and stability. However, the government does not always have the citizens’ best interests in mind, as shown in 1984. The government has the power to distort realities and the ability to detect the truth. They can manipulate, or influence people’s minds without them even knowing. George Orwell’s 1984 uses a futuristic dystopia to show how the government is able to manipulate human values through the use of fear.

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Through the restrictions placed from the Party, the population of Oceania is forced into conforming. The cost of this is represented through Obrien explaining that there is a loss of beauty, of art, and no enjoyment of life. Individuality is shown through the development of Winston as a character. While meeting with Julia and expressing himself more, Winston becomes more of an individual rather than one of the other Party members. This initially has a positive affect on him, with the immediate increase in his health, however he eventually suffers deeply for it.

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Sex creates an extremely exclusive bond between two individuals; it’s an unspoken contract of trust and love. Not only are sexual experiences private, but they also fulfill humanity’s instinctual desire and promote individuality. However, when this intimacy is either erased or condemned by society, individuals lose touch with that vital part of their humanity and individuality. In 1984 by George Orwell, sexuality plays an important role in both Oceania’s totalitarian government and Winston’s rebellion against his oppressors; as he explores his sexuality, Winston revolts against the Party’s manipulative political control, the destruction of individuality, the absence of human connection, and the practice of sexual puritanism.

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In 1984, George Orwell depicts a dystopian society pervaded by government control and the obsolescence of human emotion and society. Winston is forced to confront the reality of a totalitarian rule where the residents of Oceania are manipulated to ensure absolute government control and servitude of the people. The theme of totalitarianism and dystopia is employed in 1984 to grant absolute power to the government and ensure the deference of the people through the proliferation of propaganda, the repudiation of privacy and freedom, and the eradication of human thought and values. The repudiation of privacy and independent thought and the ubiquity of government surveillance is employed to secure absolute power to the government over the populace

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One of the main things that Asch’s experiments teach us is that people are extremely determined to fit in with others. In the short video clip titled “Would You Fall For That - Elevator Experiment”, we learned that people conform to the majority rather than risk being alienated from a group. This experiment, in particular, tested the Asch Paradigm to see how far people go to feel like a member of the group. They tested this by means of an elevator experiment in which actors would go in an elevator and face the wrong way and the unsuspecting victims were left to decide for themselves whether or not to conform to the group or to instead do what they felt was considered normal.

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The book 1984 describes a totalitarian society where citizens are forced to renounce all liberties for the sake of social order. They are guided by the rule of a single figurehead called Big Brother, whom the they are manipulated to entrust their lives to. This figurehead exercises his powers of governing every aspect of the people 's lives by observing and manipulating the populace. Big Brother also divides his subjects into classes as a means to keep the populace oppressed. Throughout this literary narrative the main character, Winston Smith, struggles to survive in this society as he struggles to fit the conventional mold that is preached.

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This moment of weakness for Winston demonstrates his ego because he is satisfying his urge to rebel against the government in an efficient and appropriate way, as described by Marie Doorey in a reference about psychoanalysis (Doorey). Winston waited until he had acquired the diary to begin conspiring his thoughts against Big Brother. Winston mistakenly thought he was writing in secret, when in fact he was not. He was always being watched by Big Brother. Moreover, Winston attempts expressing his individuality by writing his thoughts and feelings in the diary.

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In the 1984 novel , Winston Smith is not like the rest of the people in his society. He hates Big brother . In book 3 of the novel Winston is put into the Ministry of love, Where there are four big telescreens monitoring his every move. Winston shares a cell with a few people including his neighbor Mr. Parson who was turned in for a thought crime. While winston shares a cell with a few people some of them get dragged to a horrifying room, room 101.

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They always conform by directing their contempt towards enemies of the Party and fear those conspiring against it. Through the threat of rebellion and sabotage, citizens are kept in fear and have their hate directed at the Party’s enemies and are manipulated to rely on it for protection. Winston, however, fears the Party and its total control on his life and on society. He secretly harbors dreams of a revolution and the destruction of the Party. His failure to be manipulated is later rectified through other tactics until he becomes a “perfect” member of society, relying on and loving the Party.

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In Orwell’s novel 1984, Room 101 represents the power of the Party and is the room where Winstons spirit is crushed. Room 101 is a presentation utilized by the party to show absolute dominance. It proves that the party has the power to totally ruin someone through the use of their deepest fear. Fear is the ultimate dominance. If you can purchase the power to pressure someone to meet their biggest fear, you have the ultimate dominance over that individual.

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