Individuality And Conformity In George Orwell's '1984'

Mankind has always possessed two conflicting desires; the aspiration to fit in and the determination to stand out. These are two concurrent components of a complex system by which all human beings exist. But while these desires may clash with each other, an ideal life would be filled with an equal amount of both. These two forces are shown throughout George Orwell’s book, 1984. Winston violently hungers for Julia’s company because she is the only one that can understand him. He writes in his diary because he must voice his thoughts about the Party and there is nowhere else he can do so under their unrelenting eye. Julia on the other hand is fine with her life because she has found a way to appease both of these desires to a degree of relative symmetry. The relationship between conformity and dissent is an equilibrium; (*) when one is faced with a lack on one aspect and a surplus of another, the individual shall strive to resolve the conflict by attempting to equalize the balance. When Winston starts meeting up with Julia he forms a strong connection to her. He …show more content…
Whenever Julia decides that meeting up would be dangerous—as per the unwritten laws of their society—Winston expresses frustration by becoming angry because he feels comfortable in Julia’s presence and the privilege is being denied to him. His diary and his innermost thoughts show that he feels oppressed and seeks to rebel against his excessively tyrannical society rather than abide their laws in day after day of exhausting paranoia. Julia has already reached harmony between the Party’s ideals and her own by committing ever-so-slight acts of rebellion whilst appearing unquestionably devout at public events. George Orwell’s novel shows reader’s the harmony that must be reached between two conflicting goals that we all aim