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Individualism In 1984

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Can you relate to living in a society where control overpowers the thoughts and actions of the people? The novel 1984, written by George Orwell, is based off on his future projection of life in Oceania in the year 1984. The novel was published in 1948 and it is centered on his personal idea of politics and power. In addition to this, Orwell does a great job reflecting his personal fear and vision of living in a society completely manipulated and oppressed by the power of a totalitarianism regime. Orwell being a socialist, he fears totalitarianism and believed that in the future there'd be an inherent improvement of a resistance. In the novel, he begins by clarifying some of the big roles that are played and how a few simple changes made by …show more content…

Through the perspective of Winston Smith, we see the subject matter of the novel and that is the outcome of individualism and its dangers in totalitarian Oceania. In Oceania, it is strictly prohibited that the people express themselves or have thought of doing so. If anyone were to have such thoughts, it was ordered to eliminate them as quickly as possible before facing the consequences. The people are too scared to even think of the idea of expression because Big Brother has implemented the idea in their heads that they are being watched and heard at all times through telescreens and hearing devices that are planted all over Oceania. Think of it this way, Big Brother is the captor and the people are the captives. Big Brother has the people driven by propaganda to the point where they fear leaving anywhere else because they have this thought that everyone is out to get each other. The people are so fixated that Big Brother is only doing the best for them that they've eventually become robots to society. Orwell presents this theme through the eyes of the protagonist Winston Smith. Winston contributes to society by working in the Records Department in the Ministry of Truth, his job is to rewrite the history of Oceania in accordance to the Inner …show more content…

It's not just him, other people in Oceania find it hard to trust others as well because of the strict rules that were set out along with a dictionary that goes by the name Newspeak, that required the people to speak in a certain way. Winston tries to as careful as possible with what he says and what his actions say because anyone could turn him in at any time for breaking the rules. On top of all that, Big Brother has the youth work with the Thought Police, their job is to turn in anyone who isn't following the rules. When Winston sees a suspicious girl who falls on the ground, the narrator describes this feeling as “a curious emotion…,” because “in front of him was an enemy who was trying to kill him.” At this point, Winston didn't know how to respond or think about how to handle the situation. His humane side wanted to help the girl meanwhile, his protective instincts thought it was a trap and the girl would turn him into the Thought Police. His reaction is something that anyone would agree with if they were to put themselves in Winston's point of view. When you live your life under a strict totalitarian regime you have to put your guard up and you cant let anyone appeal to that little part of you that is still human because you will become the victim of the Thought Police who will severely punish

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In this section, Winston’s entire out look and thought process changes extremely quickly and determinedly. Once he starts to interact with this girl who he seems to keep bumping into to, the whole course of Winston’s outwardly obedient but internally disobedient behavior becomes much more actively counter regime than it ever had before. This drastic change begins even in his first interaction with the mysterious girl who falls in front of him in the hallway at their office, “A curious emotion stirred in Winston’s heart. In front of him was an enemy who was trying to kill him; in front of him, also, was a human creature, in pain and perhaps with a broken bone. Already he had instinctively started forward to help her” (107-108).

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He is not the person he was before and he has succumbed to the threats of Big Brother. He says “two and two make five” and he believes it to be true, just as the government wants. He is troubled with false memories and does not know what is true and what is told to be true by Big Brother. The party had the ability to “frighten you out of your beliefs, persuading you, almost, to deny the evidence of your senses, (1,7)” and this is just what they did to Winston. Now, he has been trained to only think thoughts that align with the party’s goals, so he loses his sense of rebellion and individuality.

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Big Brother was never one to be questioned, and he made the consequences known to anyone who did so. Winston clearly expressed his hatred for Big Brother and all of the restrictions placed on members of society in the beginning of the book. Despite this, he constantly hid his facial expressions and thoughts from the telescreens, in great fear that the thought police would catch him. Contrary to that outward conformity, he was always inwardly questioning Big Brother. He directly broke the law by writing in a journal, especially since

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During the beginning sections of the book, Winston narrates his average life as a party member under the control of Big Brother. The Big Brother is deemed the upper echelon of the hierarchy presented in the story. Very few go against Big Brother, but those who

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In the novel, 1984 written by George Orwell takes place in a continent named Oceania and it is constantly being controlled and watched by the government, “BIG BROTHER”. Winston Smith, lives in the society of Oceania and he constantly feels like he’s being watched by “BIG BROTHER” twenty-four seven, and he also feels like he has no rights in order to do what he wants to when “Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard” (2-3). Winston has no freedom to say or to do what he wants when he is constantly being watched by “BIG BROTHER”. The society of today can relate to

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He is rebellious and thinks that he is care-free of the consequences brought by the crimes. Many of the people in this society are brainwashed into believing everything they are told, Winston is an outcast for not doing so. In George Orwell’s novel 1984 the main character, Winston Smith, is portrayed as insane according to the totalitarian government.

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He watches the teleprompter and thinks to himself, “He loved Big Brother.” (Orwell 298). After such immense pain and torture the inner party had won, they had broken Winston down to the bare bottom and rebuilt him up in the shape that the government intended. Winston went from “Down with Big Brother” (Orwell 36) to “He loved Big Brother” (Orwell 298). This shows that the inner party did truly own the power to control the minds of the residents of Oceania, that their minds can be destructed and restructured into any form that the government desires and this causes Winston and all the other residents of Oceania slaves to the inner

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This in fact tells the reader that Oceania has a dystopian society as a figure-head (which in this case is Big Brother) is worshipped. Big Brother masks the ordeal in which Oceania’s citizens live in by shaping the news and history which people like Winston must believe. In the Ministry of Truth, Winston describes his job and the reason behind it in the following quotation, “Day by day and a. As described by the quotation, Big Brother must manipulate historical information in order to further establish his power as if he is always right, the citizens will fully trust Big Brother; this exemplifies that just as in any dystopian society, information and thought are both restricted. This constant reformatting of past events establishes Big Brother's position as Oceania’s all knowing leader, disregarding the fact that he does in fact get certain things wrong. In doing this, doubt against the party is unimaginable as he will always know what is right which makes the thought of a rebellion unjustifiable.

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Throughout the whole book Winston remains in this sort of fear and hate relationship with the party. He hated the party but at the same time they have so much control and so much power he knew he couldn't voice these opinions to anyone because Winston knew “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 4). Living like this was not specific to just Winston. Every citizen besides the elite lived in constant fear and complete submission to the party which made revolt basically impossible.

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Therefore, even wanting to pursue a relationship with this woman is punishable. Overall, Winston’s curiosity and desires directly oppose the government's ideals, laws, and

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The proposal of Big Brother is to strip away the human qualities, such as emotion, so that everyone is alike and easier to control. To contrast, Winston is able to tell the difference and able to detect the false ideas of tyranny and disobeys the rules. His first rebellion was writing his thoughts

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When Julia hands him the note saying “I love you”, he states, “the desire to live had welled up inside him, and the taking of minor risks suddenly seemed stupid” (2.1.109). Winston is no longer interested in his previously small acts of rebellion. He wants to deepen his actions and carry out a force much greater than simply writing in a journal. Winston enjoys the fact that he’s becoming a rebel, and takes great pride in the fact that he is

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He is simply fulfilling his part in the world of Oceania by doing his job and keeping quiet. “Big Brother is watching you”. Although Winston is heartfelt about his resistance, Orwell made him destined to fail. Winston is perfectly ordinary.

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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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Big brother is ruining a totalitarian government, which is also a form of socialist government. This style of government has a dictator and has little or no freedom. Winston sees that this government can do nothing but spells out bad news, it also do nothing for human rights. O’brien sees it as a way for big brother and the inner party to flex their power to the people of oceania. Winston understands all of the outcomes that their government has so thats why he is trying to stop it

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