Loyalty In 1984

Loyalty taken to an extreme level can blindly rob individuals of their freedom. In 1984 by George Orwell, Winston Smith is living under the rule of a totalitarian government in Oceania led by the Party figurehead Big Brother, an authority who is overly controlling towards its citizens. As Winston gets older, his hate for the suppressed environment he lives in grows stronger, causing him to commit thoughtcrime, the act of having a politically unorthodox thought that goes against the teachings of the Party. Winston envies the proles, who although are the lowest social class, live in a relatively free manner, as “They were not loyal to a party or a country or an idea, they were loyal to one another” (165). The proles make up the majority of Oceania’s

They had held on to the primitive emotions which he himself had to relearn by conscious effort” (165). Winston, a member of the Outer Party, is exasperated by the internal workings of the Party as he lives in a terrifying society that completely represses humanity, while also demanding complete control of all aspects of daily life. Throughout Winston’s lifetime, Big Brother and the Party instill fear and paranoia in him through their persistent surveillance aimed at eliminating deviation from the Party and dehumanizing him, causing him to eventually misplace his loyalty as he lives unhappily.
Orwell emphasizes how the Party demands not only loyalty and respect from their citizens, but also absolute obedience, causing them to live as puppets of the regime. While sitting in the Chestnut Tree Café, Winston is reminded of a conversation he had with Julia, where she remarked, “‘They can’t get inside you,’ But they could get inside you.” (290). In Winston's reflection of the conversation, he realizes that the Party has an

On a rainy day, Winston’s mother went to a general shop and bought a cardboard box containing a game of Snakes and Ladders for herself and her son, and after original hesitation, “Soon he was wildly excited and shouting with laughter as the tiddlywinks climbed hopefully up the ladders and then came slithering down the snakes again, almost back to the starting point” (296). Orwell uses the game Snakes and Ladders as a metaphor for the citizens living in Oceania at the time, as the players in the game are constantly slithering back down towards the lower part of the board. Any thoughtcrime attempt by a member of the Party results in either vaporization or brainwashing, and in turn being sent back down the fictitious snake. Although their family did not have much, Winston’s mother did all that she could to provide for Winston and his younger sister, making sure her son was happy with his life. After the disappearance of both his sister and mother one day, Winston’s human qualities began to slip away as he was filled with distrust and guilt, subconsciously burying the memories connected to his youth. After leaving the Ministry of Love, Winston spent his days alone in the Chestnut Tree Café drinking Victory gin, and “it had become the element he swam in. It was his life, his death, and his resurrection” (294). Winston