One of the most important parts of a novel is its characters. Sometimes referred to as the hardest part of a story, characterization has one of the largest effects on the reading experience as well as a story’s progression. Characters can be used to offer insight into the narrator’s, and author’s, viewpoint. It can also help to define the setting, without the need of explicit statements. For example, if a young or middle aged person in a novel uses racial slurs and speaks with a southern drawl, the setting of the book is most probably the American south at pretty much any time. In 1984, George Orwell uses his characters to represent different aspects of his personal beliefs. As 1984 opens, the reader is introduced to Winston Smith—a discontented,
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Orwell intentions for the torture scenes were most probably to reveal the truth behind Oceania’s government and Winston’s character, but it may have revealed just as much about O’Brien himself. He is a member of the Inner Party, the rich upper class, and he therefore holds much of the power (Orwell 168). O’Brien gives most of his lesson through a simple math problem, one which Winston introduced earlier in the novel: What is two plus two? O’Brien seems to know that two plus two, by the laws of nature, is four, but chooses to believe that two plus two, by the laws of the Party, is five (Orwell 249-254). This reveals Orwell’s view that fascist governments are, by their nature, contradictory to themselves. The only way that they may function is by blind support and love by the general population; any form of intelligent thought would be detrimental to the regime, possibly resulting in change. And, as many fascist governments normally function under the guise of socialism, the presence of a more powerful higher class does not fit with the government’s theoretical modus operandi. Orwell believed that these governments could only form because the aforementioned higher class wished to keep control over the people of their country
Orwell intentions for the torture scenes were most probably to reveal the truth behind Oceania’s government and Winston’s character, but it may have revealed just as much about O’Brien himself. He is a member of the Inner Party, the rich upper class, and he therefore holds much of the power (Orwell 168). O’Brien gives most of his lesson through a simple math problem, one which Winston introduced earlier in the novel: What is two plus two? O’Brien seems to know that two plus two, by the laws of nature, is four, but chooses to believe that two plus two, by the laws of the Party, is five (Orwell 249-254). This reveals Orwell’s view that fascist governments are, by their nature, contradictory to themselves. The only way that they may function is by blind support and love by the general population; any form of intelligent thought would be detrimental to the regime, possibly resulting in change. And, as many fascist governments normally function under the guise of socialism, the presence of a more powerful higher class does not fit with the government’s theoretical modus operandi. Orwell believed that these governments could only form because the aforementioned higher class wished to keep control over the people of their country