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George Orwell 1984 Individualism Analysis

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Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” These words of Emerson perfectly portray individualism. Imagine a world where love is illegal. Imagine a home without privacy. Imagine a mind without freedom to think. Would war signify peace? Would freedom define slavery? Would ignorance illustrate strength? In 1984, George Orwell illustrates the effects of no individualism through totalitarianism, love/sexuality, loyalty, and identity shown among individuals and society.
Firstly, 1984 portrays a society that is run by totalitarian authority. Totalitarianism in a manner permits no individual freedom and seeks to lower all aspects of individual life to authority. One …show more content…

While a main goal for the Party was to eliminate all love and acts of affection, it ties back to the fact that, “The Party did not want individuals to be so obsessed with seeking erotic pleasure that they would fail to perform their duties to society loyally.”, as Reese proclaims (Reese, 3). Loyalty is taken seriously by the Party. The Party doesn't tolerate even the smallest act of unfaithfulness, even if the act is within one’s thoughts. Orwell incorporates many examples of loyalty from Winston. He is faced with obstacles that challenge his own loyalty to the Party. The obstacles he is faced with also challenge his perspective on identity and …show more content…

He uses the language within 1984 that has been limited by the Party as a barrier of identity. Spectator Jem Berkes states, “Such narrowed public thought is what the Inner Party prefers,... it is less of a threat than one that can readily criticise the government and defend itself from harm.”, which signifies that the limited language that is set upon the people creates a dependent community of similar identities (Berkes, 4). The people of Oceania are not capable of thinking for themselves, therefore, they have no true independent identity. The lack of identity relates back to main theme of no individualism. As the people of Oceania “live” their lives under a system of lies, they are blind to their lack of indepence. Orwell establishes this idea by incorporating it into the novel, “He is too intelligent. He sees too clearly and speaks too plainly. The Party does not like such people. One day he will disappear” (Orwell, 53). While the goal of the Party was to eliminate those who rebelled, Orwell implements the rebellion of Winston and Julia to prove that even though they knew rebellion would mean death, it is in human nature to crave freedom. Freedom for the mind to think for itself is an important aspect of life in which Orwell characterizes its

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551 Words | 3 Pages

(Orwell 193). They want to eliminate individual freedom and thoughts for good. This essay confirms Orwell’s warnings because they have fixed their own “truths” just to abide by the government and their lies. People’s love for the Party was very strong they took back their statements and described them as mistakes, justifying the government. In Nineteen Eighty – Four Julia says “It’s always one bloody war after another, and one knows the news is all lies anyways” (Orwell

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781 Words | 4 Pages

Both Winston and Julia have a lot of personality that goes against the Party and Big Brother, so when their true character comes out they end up getting into trouble. Through the “characters’ actions”, in 1984, Orwell suggests individuality leads to rebellion. Winston and Julia’s actions show that their own individuality leads to rebellion. Winston and Julia’s uniqueness leads them to rebellion in George Orwell’s, 1984. The Party doesn’t allow the citizens of Oceania to think their own thoughts in fear of a rebellion against the government.

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819 Words | 4 Pages

Joseph Goebbels once said,”Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident they are acting on their freewill”. This statement is proven to be true in 1984. The author, George Orwell, creates a fictional dystopian society in which the population is manipulated into thinking they live in a great world, whereas the government has full control over them. In 1984, George Orwell’s prime message, supported by the article called Liberty in North Korea by Hae Re, was the lack of individualism gives power to the applicable leader, which is conveyed using the characters speech and symbolism. Orwell’s dystopian society showed the author 's message through what a character was saying and symbolism.

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1083 Words | 5 Pages

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,’

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594 Words | 3 Pages

In this alternate 1984, the governments of three fictional nations – Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia – take control of mankind’s free thought by taking control of its media institutions, both written and spoken (Bossche). His points are relevant in the real world, because governments are developing institutions of surveillance and propaganda, just as they did in the novel. In the novel 1984, George Orwell employs the rhetorical techniques of symbolism, allegory, and

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870 Words | 4 Pages

In the 1984 society , people are purposely left to feel alone to make them fear getting caught by the Party. Although many people commit thoughtcrime, they will remain silent because they know the consequences of engaging in rebellion. This constant source of fear holds the community together and manipulates people’s thought processes. The government often leaves the people

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636 Words | 3 Pages

In the book of 1984 The people like winston and others that aren’t associated with the Party are stripped of their freedom. They have no rights from being almost enslaved by the Thought Police, they have little to no education rights, and they have absolutely no say in there marriage of who they want to marry. Freedom is a part of who you are supposed to be, if you don’t have freedom then you really aren’t your own

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One of the most notable themes in 1984 is George Orwell’s depiction of conformity. Conformity means to behave in accordance with socially acceptable conventions. In 1984, the party sets laws and brings in technology that forces the population into conforming. This is done so that they can control the population easier, and manipulate them into believing the party’s ideals. To do this, they firstly make everyone wear the same clothes, eat the same food, and live in the same conditions.

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1073 Words | 5 Pages

1984 by George Orwell makes several statements about control, security, and how governments should treat their citizens. However, a reader can also look at chapters 1-7 of the book as a statement on social classes and how the government keeps everyone in a certain social class. What values does the work reinforce? The book is mainly about control of the government.

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999 Words | 4 Pages

Ingsoc as a totalitarian ideology Introduction George Orwell’s classic 1984 written in the year 1949 tells the story of a dystopian society under a totalitarian regime. The novel is set in Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, which is a province of the super-state called Oceania. The throne of power is epitomized by Big Brother, the quasi-divine cult leader who is at the same time infallible as well as invisible. Orwell in 1984 depicts a dystopia which is riddled by perpetual wars, omnipresent government surveillance, manipulation and historical revisionism.

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Throughout the book the slogans of “war is peace, freedom is slavery, [and] ignorance is strength” is a forced acceptance by all citizens (Orwell 16). These particular slogans, that exemplify doublethink, are plastered everywhere. The illogicalness of doublethink completely surrounds the citizens, constantly exposing them to it. The second characteristic of monopoly over mass media is quite evident in Winston 's life. Government employees run the internet, newspapers, and radio/tv announcements.

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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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1115 Words | 5 Pages

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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954 Words | 4 Pages

One of the themes of 1984 by George Orwell is how it represents living in a dictatorship. There are many troubles that come with living in a dictatorship. In the book, everyone is ruled by a dictator called Big Brother. No one knows if he is real or not, but he makes all of the rules. An example from the book about dictatorship is, “Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters inside your skull.

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Living through the first half of the twentieth century, George Orwell watched the rise of totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Soviet Union. Fighting in Spain, he witnessed the brutalities of the fascists and Stalinists first hand. His experiences awakened him to the evils of a totalitarian government. In his novel 1984, Orwell paints a dark and pessimistic vision of the future where society is completely controlled by a totalitarian government. He uses symbolism and the character’s developments to show the nature of total power in a government and the extremes it will go through to retain that power by repressing individual freedom and the truth.

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