Theme Of Love In George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four

Love is not easily seized and it is not easily broken. Love is an emotion that humans always have control over even if they were being oppressed in other ways. Love has always fostered hope for people in the face of fear and allowed them to look forward to a better day. In the Soviet Union, in Communist China, and even in Nazi Germany, love could not be changed and was something that people of those nations were free to practice on their own. But this was not the case in Oceania, and Orwell made this abundantly clear. George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four explores the lack of freedom instituted by Big Brother and how the character of Winston experienced the deprivation of love in Winston’s past relationships with women, his current relationship …show more content…
That thought, along with many other horrific deaths he concocted in his head for Julia, was the reaction Winston had to a girl he was afraid to meet, because of the reign of Big Brother. The fear that Winston has for Big Brother and the things that get people vaporized in his world push Winston away from a person that could bring him true happiness. Winston is not even sure that he could talk to the girl because doing so in Oceania, even hinting that you might have feelings for a person other than Big Brother, is suicide. The mostly unwritten restrictions put in place by Big Brother and the Party leave readers of Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four able to “. . . make a whole new discovery of the beauty of love between man and woman. . .” (Bloom 3). Readers of Orwell’s novel are able to appreciate the lack of restriction put on love in our world. In the world outside of Nineteen Eighty-Four, people are able to love without restrictions and are able to be true to the one they love. Many may die for their beloved and are glad to do so. But, in Oceania the love does not run that deep. In Oceania “. . . you could not have pure love or pure lust. . . It was a political act” (Orwell 129). The act of loving another, as Winston loved Julia, was an act against Big Brother and to the Party, took away some love that should …show more content…
Unrestricted love however, is more rare than a decent pair of shoes. The people of Oceania, including Winston Smith, are controlled. After all, one of their prized slogans is “Freedom is Slavery” (Orwell 4). The comrades in Oceania are terrified to have love for family, as Winston is for his long dead mother and sister. Outer Party members are not permitted to love any other person other than Big Brother which is a problem for Winston and his beloved Julia. The people of Oceania are made to love only Big Brother because he alone is their past, present, and