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George Orwell's Novel As Ignorance And Powerless People

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The portrait of proles in George Orwell’s 1984 novel as ignorant and powerless people In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, the Proles - 85% of the IngSoc population - are portrayed as powerless and incapable of rebelling against Big Brother due to the manipulation of the Inner Party. This portrait is evident in the dialogues between characters, in Winston’s thoughts and the way The World State society is divided and separated. In essence, the proles provide a background to highlight the author’s critique to citizen's passivity and manipulation. The representation of the proles as ignorant and incapable is evident through Winston’s flawed intention to ask an old prole man how was life before the Inner Party took control of Oceania, in the first act. The inability of the old man to understand a simple question evidences the extreme ignorance of this group. He only says useless informations to Winston and is not capable of recalling how the past was like, not only because the past has been erased by the Ministry of Truth, but due to his lack of education and …show more content…

It is of extreme importance that the theme of ignorance is noticed in the text, as it demonstrates how a society without education can lead to unfair governments such as the World State, where the state denies individuals basic rights, including the freedom of thought and speech. The text leads the reader to personal reflections about politics, freedom and mass media manipulation as it also warns the reader to a future that might be close: totalitarian governments that do not provide what the population needs, leaving them isolated in poverty while only a restrict percent of the population enjoys privileges. 1984 is important not only for English culture, but for world culture as a

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