Kayleigh Wenzelmann
ENG4U
Ms. Lidstone
December 7 2017
Lack of Privacy and Effect of No Individualism Essay
In the novel 1984 written by George Orwell, Winston’s mentality is related to this quote thoroughly “To be left alone is the most precious thing one can ask of the modern world.” (Anthony Burgess). Personal privacy and space is never granted throughout the book. Everyone is always a subject to observation, even by their own family members and friends. Since Big Brother is always watching and the Thought Police are always on the lookout, it is impossible for any kind of individualism to flourish. 1984 was written in 1949 by George Orwell and he hinted at technology which never even existed in that era. Winston Smith the main character …show more content…
Winston demonstrated this as he writes “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.” (Orwell 103). The denial of the rights to think and act upon unique thoughts is the foundation of the Party's power to control the mindless population of Oceania in George Orwell's infernal vision of 1984. If a single person can create a society in which every one of its members believes something that is not true, they are capable of anything, “And what was terrifying was not that they would kill you for thinking otherwise, but that they might be right.”(Orwell 102). This forms the basis of Orwell's fears of mind control. He illustrates here the Party's ability to completely brainwash an entire society. Orwell utilizes Winston’s character arch as a mechanism to depict the emerging discovery of individuality and how Winston plays with every concept of being unique. Winston has a very unique personality compared to others proved by the way he describes his actions such as when he says “The thing that he was about to do was to open a diary. This was not illegal (nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws), but if detected it was reasonably certain that it would be punished by death, or at least by twenty-five years in a forced-labour camp.” (Orwell 9). Winston’s exclusive personality gives him the ability to see his society differently to everyone else that has been brainwashed by the Party. Winston struggled to try to be his own person throughout the novel and people in today's society still do struggle to be their own person because society still has its “rules” and people try to follow society’s
ENG4U
Ms. Lidstone
December 7 2017
Lack of Privacy and Effect of No Individualism Essay
In the novel 1984 written by George Orwell, Winston’s mentality is related to this quote thoroughly “To be left alone is the most precious thing one can ask of the modern world.” (Anthony Burgess). Personal privacy and space is never granted throughout the book. Everyone is always a subject to observation, even by their own family members and friends. Since Big Brother is always watching and the Thought Police are always on the lookout, it is impossible for any kind of individualism to flourish. 1984 was written in 1949 by George Orwell and he hinted at technology which never even existed in that era. Winston Smith the main character …show more content…
Winston demonstrated this as he writes “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.” (Orwell 103). The denial of the rights to think and act upon unique thoughts is the foundation of the Party's power to control the mindless population of Oceania in George Orwell's infernal vision of 1984. If a single person can create a society in which every one of its members believes something that is not true, they are capable of anything, “And what was terrifying was not that they would kill you for thinking otherwise, but that they might be right.”(Orwell 102). This forms the basis of Orwell's fears of mind control. He illustrates here the Party's ability to completely brainwash an entire society. Orwell utilizes Winston’s character arch as a mechanism to depict the emerging discovery of individuality and how Winston plays with every concept of being unique. Winston has a very unique personality compared to others proved by the way he describes his actions such as when he says “The thing that he was about to do was to open a diary. This was not illegal (nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws), but if detected it was reasonably certain that it would be punished by death, or at least by twenty-five years in a forced-labour camp.” (Orwell 9). Winston’s exclusive personality gives him the ability to see his society differently to everyone else that has been brainwashed by the Party. Winston struggled to try to be his own person throughout the novel and people in today's society still do struggle to be their own person because society still has its “rules” and people try to follow society’s