Rebellion In The Novel, 1984 And V For Vendetta

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Rebellion for Dummies The novel, 1984 by George Orwell and the movie, V for Vendetta directed by James McTiegue, both illustrates dystopias that suffer from constant warfare, poverty and totalitarianism. Both protagonists - Winston, from 1984 and V, V for Vendetta, a victim and villain, have a shared goal - to rebel, to overthrow the oppressive government. However, the results of their rebellion are significantly different as V emerges in victory and Winston brainwashes in failure. Many factors such as the motive of the rebel, their acts of rebellion and government conditions help determine V’s success and Winston’s failure. Both protagonists have endured severe oppression from their totalitarian regime, however, in the end, V was more successful …show more content…
According to The Book, or The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism written by Emmanuel Goldstein, “A Party member lives from birth to death under the eye of the Thought Police. Even when he is alone he can never be sure that he is alone“ (Orwell 219). Thought Police can be anyone, your family, your comrade, etc. In Winston’s society, the citizens believe that only Big Brother can be trusted. Propaganda like “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.” acts as a constant reminder to citizens that they are always under surveillance. As Winston says, “You had to live - did live, from habit that became instinct - in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized” (Orwell 5), those instruments cannot be shut off completely and they “[receives] and [transmits] simultaneously” (Orwell 4). The significance of telescreens are emphasized throughout the whole novel and it is a very effective mean of control. Furthermore, the Party manipulates citizens by altering old records and documentations, an example is Comrade Olgilvy, a made up ideal Party member, to replace Comrade Withers, an “unperson”, a person who has been vaporized (Orwell 50). Moreover, Big Brother has strict laws, they have laws against thoughts, individuality and relationships. Committing thoughtcrime and facecrime will be enough for the Thought Police to march into your …show more content…
He promised you order, he promised you peace and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent” (McTeigue, V for Vendetta). The government promised to protect the people, but in the end, it was just another way to manipulate and take advantage of the people. Moreover, In V’s society, there are no laws against thoughts and relationships like the ones present in 1984. In Chancellor’s society, they do not have Thought Police, however, they have Fingerman, the so-called secret police, who are corrupted. Chancellor only executes politicians, dissidents, radicals, liberals, homosexuals, etc. Corruption and lack of governing within the Party contributes to the government’s downfall and making the government more vulnerable for V to rebel. Therefore, the government’s condition played a role in V’s succession of overthrowing the

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