1984 Winston's Relationship Analysis

Relationships In George Orwell’s novel 1984, the author portrays the relationships between people as one’s that are essentially close, sexual, and forbidden by the Party. Two main relationships that make an impact in this book would be Winston’s connection with both Julia and O’Brien. This book illustrates that power and authority can be used to destroy individuality and break the bonds of love as shown through the relationship between Winston and his wife Katherine, and between Winston and Julia. The government of Big Brother tries to destroy the idea of love and marriage forcing people to focus on Big Brother. This society also uses a spy network to keep the people in check and to make sure that no one is going behind their backs and …show more content…
The government tells people they should have love and respect only for Big Brother, because any other love could lead to divided loyalties. Winston rarely thinks about his wife Katherine, for whom he has been separated from for the past 11 years. This is a model example of what a wife should be in terms of how the government sees it; “She had not a thought in her head that was not a slogan, and there was no imbecility, absolutely none that she was not capable of swallowing if the Party handed it out to her. 'The human sound-track' he nicknamed her in his own mind” (112). Winston’s disdain for his wife shows that he has not bought the parties platform. Leading him to eventually dread having sex with Katherine because of her constant reminders saying that it is “our duty to the Party” to produce children. Winston seems to long for a meaningful, loving relationship, but he is also afraid to have true feelings for a women. When he is first attracted to Julia, he dislikes her because he suspects that the attraction is a threat to his safety. However, when Julia hands Winston a note saying “I love you”, he responds eagerly showing that the Party has not succeeded in destroying his human desires for love. This is also proven when Winston says, “They …show more content…
When O’brien finds out that Winston and Julia have more love for each other than they do for the government, he has them arrested and tortured for betraying the government. He does this by placing them in a near-death experience where they betray each other by asking for the other person to replace them. Winston and Julia’s relationship is a dramatic insight into the world of 1984 however, when Winston first sees Julia he is afraid of her, thinking she is a member of the party due to her sash that she wears resembling that she is against sex. The government tries to convey the message that love and marriage are not desirable unless you are trying to produce children. In their case these two characters fall in love though society has tried to destroy the idea of having feelings for each other. This leads to them getting caught by O’Brien and taken a place where they have no insight with the world, and aren’t released