1984 Critical Analysis Can human characteristics be easily taken away by force and manipulation? In order to be completely human, one must have the freedom to think, speak, and act for themselves with minimal influence by others around them. In the book 1984 by George Orwell, Winston Smith, the main character, faces many conflicts, one of which was to stay human in the presences of a totalitarian party. The state in which he is currently residing in, Airstrip One, Oceania, has been taken over by a totalitarian party known as Big Brother, who uses psychological manipulation and fear to control its citizens. Winston desperately seeks freedom and a way to rebel against the party which gets himself into a massive amount of trouble. Throughout
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Under the rule of Big Brother, the whole idea of love has completely diminished. No one really cared for each other and true love did not exist anymore. The relationship between a man and a woman no longer consisted of love. “…a real love affair was an almost unthinkable event” (Orwell 67). Therefore, when Winston and Julia fell in love with each other, they were able to maintain some characteristics of humanity. Both Winston and Julia were able to form feelings and affection for each other, which was almost impossible in Oceania. Another form of love that Winston encountered was the compassionate love of a mother for her child. A refugee woman along with her son was on a boat one day and the Party members began shooting at them. The woman took the child into her arms and embraced him as if she was trying to block the bullets from hitting her child (Orwell 164). One thing that is recognized a great deal in humans is compassion, which is the act of caring for one another. Love is an important aspect of being a …show more content…
Totalitarians uphold a lot of power over its citizens. They are capable of doing anything they want without the consent of the people living under their rule. Big Brother uses manipulation and fear to persuade people into believing that the Party is good. “It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grams a week. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grams a week” (Orwell 58). The manipulation seems to be working since the people in fact believe what is being said to
Under the rule of Big Brother, the whole idea of love has completely diminished. No one really cared for each other and true love did not exist anymore. The relationship between a man and a woman no longer consisted of love. “…a real love affair was an almost unthinkable event” (Orwell 67). Therefore, when Winston and Julia fell in love with each other, they were able to maintain some characteristics of humanity. Both Winston and Julia were able to form feelings and affection for each other, which was almost impossible in Oceania. Another form of love that Winston encountered was the compassionate love of a mother for her child. A refugee woman along with her son was on a boat one day and the Party members began shooting at them. The woman took the child into her arms and embraced him as if she was trying to block the bullets from hitting her child (Orwell 164). One thing that is recognized a great deal in humans is compassion, which is the act of caring for one another. Love is an important aspect of being a …show more content…
Totalitarians uphold a lot of power over its citizens. They are capable of doing anything they want without the consent of the people living under their rule. Big Brother uses manipulation and fear to persuade people into believing that the Party is good. “It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grams a week. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grams a week” (Orwell 58). The manipulation seems to be working since the people in fact believe what is being said to