1984 Marxist Analysis

George Orwell 1984 George Orwell’s 1984 is about a man who conforms to a dystopian society and his journey throughout his life until he finally believes in all that the society stands for. In the beginning, he believes that Big Brother is a liar and everything created by the people is a fabrication because he is one of those individuals; deleting and rewriting what Big Brother says and has said. Then he meets another person who he thinks is like him but in reality he is being watched. He is then caught by the Thought Police and tortured until he becomes a rightful man in the eyes of Big Brother. One might argue that the society is illustrates strength in all individuals and does not allow anyone to fall from their grip. In this essay, I show …show more content…
The first concept that that was addressed was the difference in class. The difference between the Inner Party and the Outer Party. The parties have different privileges and jobs. The Inner Party has jobs that people like Winston “have only a slim idea of the nature” (13.) The Inner Party is considered what Marx says is the bourgeoisie and Winston and the other Outer Party individuals are the working class. The working class has division of labor which Winston explains that there are three workplaces, “The Ministry of Love”, of Plenty, and Truth (8.) There is also what Marx’s explains as exploitation. Throughout the book, Winston illustrates that most of the people of the Outer party do not get paid enough and on top of that they have to give their free time to the government by “volunteering” and going “hiking” (39.) The Outer Party individuals are living in houses that are extremely old and rotting away yet the government expects them to live there. The exploitation here occurs because most of the people either Inner or Outer Parties do not realize that they are being exploited. Yet they do realize that there do not get enough money to buy “victory coffee” let alone try fixing their houses or paying for something more than food. These individuals do not feel alienation which Marx states that occurs in these situations because they are forced to spend time together and it is also socialized that spending …show more content…
They can turn off their televisions. O’Brien uses impression management to show he is better than Winston and Julia. This is when Winston and O’Brien finally meet in his house and he turns off the television. He states that he “can turn it off. [He] has that privilege” (140.) O’Brien knows his role in this dystopian society and takes advantage of it. The society uses roles to demonstrate the labels applied to individuals. For instances, comparing Winston to O’Brien there is a big difference. Winston wears “overalls” and by mid torture is was just a “walking skeleton” and compared to O’brien who just had “pouches under his eyes” and skin sagging “from his cheekbones”( 217.) The uniforms and behavior is even different between the Inner Party and Outer Party. The labels are the ones who separate the individuals make what makes O’Brien think he is better than Winston and it is ironic because in the end Winston after the torture receives a better paying job yet still praises O’Brien. It illustrates that when someone is stuck in a role their entire life and have especially grown up in that role it is hard for them to start acting like a complete different role. An example, is the a woman who was aboard the Titanic. Her name was Molly Brown and she had gained money from an oil company she gained from her husband. This woman was not well liked by the other rich women on the Titanic. It is