1984 by George Orwell makes several statements about control, security, and how governments should treat their citizens. However, a reader can also look at chapters 1-7 of the book as a statement on social classes and how the government keeps everyone in a certain social class.
Conformity is something that can lead to a bad society. Conformity is good but most of the time it its bad because people think that a group of people is always smarter than one person. Conformity does not mean that all people who are a group are right. Unfortunaly conformity is not always right just like in the book The Crucible.
In the novel “1984” by George Orwell, nonconformity throughout a society is presented through the point of view of its main character, Winston. In Oceania, the society is heavily ran by their government. “Big Brother” is a closed party which always watches the people of Oceania as a way to keep control. They work to keep the people in check and fear them in order for them to be more easily manipulated. Creativity and any form of individuality is practically forbidden due to the government’s fear of being overthrown.
In the novel 1984, outward conformity is crucial to the survival of the citizens of Oceania. One character in particular who practices this extremely well is the main character, Winston Smith. He not only conforms outwardly, but also questions his society inwardly, due to the overhanging fear that Miniluv will find and torture him. Winston constantly questions Big Brother and all of the laws that the citizens of Oceania are required to obey while also inwardly questioning his forbidden romance with Julia. Without this rising tension throughout the novel, 1984 would lose its suspenseful tone and would easily lose the focus of readers.
As humans, our lives are revolved around the line that separates conformity and individuality. Conformity is a type of social influence that includes a change of belief or behavior to fit into a group. Many people can cross the line too far back or too far forward, thus being too much of a conformist or too much of an individual.Conformity is essential to life. Humans live in a society that functions as a whole. If there is a mistake, the entire system may fail. So, we are obligated conform to social norms and laws to stay together as a whole. There’s several types of conformity; Normative conformity,which is to give into group pressure because a person wants to fit in with the
In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the main theme is of conformity to the wants of society and the government. Themes of dehumanization of our species, as well as the danger of a totalitaristic state are repeatedly expressed. Orwell demonstrates this theme by using setting and characters in the novel. The setting helps to convey the theme because of the world and kind of city that the main character lives in. Winston’s every move is watched and controlled by the governmental figurehead known as “big brother”. The characters in the story are used to show the theme in the sense that most are essentially brainwashed by, and therefore loyal to and under control of, the overbearing government. The main conflict of the story is between the main
The idea of conformity is to eliminate individualism and to unite the society together, making it a safer place for the citizens to live, and develop in. A place that has no war, no hunger and no pain, where citizens create strong bonds between each other. The Giver written by Lois Lowry represents the idea of conformity in the society where they try to keep everyone the same as each other by following the same rules and trying to avoid having people stand out by receiving daily pills to lose the feeling of inclination between each other.
People generally rely on the government as a source of protection and stability. However, the government does not always have the citizens’ best interests in mind, as shown in 1984. The government has the power to distort realities and the ability to detect the truth. They can manipulate, or influence people’s minds without them even knowing. George Orwell’s 1984 uses a futuristic dystopia to show how the government is able to manipulate human values through the use of fear.
Two of the most well-known, studied novels in English literature both illustrate a common theme: dystopian society. Dystopian novels have authoritarian governments that attempt to establish power by forcing its’ citizens to conform and relinquish individuality. These novels also express that compliance is a natural instinct in human beings, since, the majority of citizens are malleable to frequent rule changes. In 1984, by George Orwell and The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham, conformity indicates power and individuality signifies weakness as seen through the main character’s appearance, thoughts, and actions.
Poverty negatively influences how the minds of people work in the world. The fact that poverty exists itself, obstructs people from changing their circumstances in what is known as “the cycle of poverty.” The lower class is incredibly disadvantaged in that it lacks the necessary social and economic resources needed to increase chances of social mobility. In return, the absence of these resources may increase poverty. Therefore, the lower class is unable to change its situation because the majority believes that any efforts to climb the social ladder is highly inefficient. In the novel 1984, George Orwell illustrates a classic example of why the proles are reluctant to change their lifestyle-simply because the costs outweighs
On December 16, 1773, after months of suppression of taxes, finally the people of boston, rebelled against the governing party. They had so much individualism that they were not used and they didn’t like the idea that the British were making them pay more for their tea so because of that, the people used their individuality to work together to rebel, just as Winston and Julia used their individuality to rebel against their governing party. In 1984 by George Orwell, Winston Smith, a man in his mid 40’s, lead a lonely, rebellious life, living in Oceania, until he met Julia, who he believed to be his true love. Together, they rebel against their governing power, the Party or Big Brother, but in the end, both Winston and Julia and end up getting caught. They have to go through a complex rehab in the hopes that
Joseph Goebbels once said,”Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident they are acting on their freewill”. This statement is proven to be true in 1984. The author, George Orwell, creates a fictional dystopian society in which the population is manipulated into thinking they live in a great world, whereas the government has full control over them. In 1984, George Orwell’s prime message, supported by the article called Liberty in North Korea by Hae Re, was the lack of individualism gives power to the applicable leader, which is conveyed using the characters speech and symbolism.
Sex creates an extremely exclusive bond between two individuals; it’s an unspoken contract of trust and love. Not only are sexual experiences private, but they also fulfill humanity’s instinctual desire and promote individuality. However, when this intimacy is either erased or condemned by society, individuals lose touch with that vital part of their humanity and individuality. In 1984 by George Orwell, sexuality plays an important role in both Oceania’s totalitarian government and Winston’s rebellion against his oppressors; as he explores his sexuality, Winston revolts against the Party’s manipulative political control, the destruction of individuality, the absence of human connection, and the practice of sexual puritanism.
Easily, the largest theme that comes through in 1984 from start to finish is psychological control is the way to a totalitarian government. By controlling the minds of the people who are in their country, they can keep everyone in check with no chance of revolution. The Party, or the main government has a motto. It goes, “Those who control the past, control the future: who controls the present controls the past.” (32). What this is saying is in order to stay in power, they have to manipulate the records of the past. That is actually one of Winston’s jobs as a follower of the Party. There was an instance when a person turned on the Party and was soon erased from history. Winston and others went back into official documents such as speeches and literally deleted the officer. By controlling the past this way, they control the future. The future that they are controlling is a future when no one can look back because there isn’t anything to look back to. There are small rumors of how life was before the start of the Party, but again they are just rumors. With nothing to compare their current life to, there is nothing to fight for. They have complete control of all aspects of life by controlling history. Another quote proving this is, “And when memory failed and written records were falsified—when that happened, the claim of the Party to have improved the conditions of human life had got to be accepted because there did not exist, and never again could exist,
1984 was written by George Orwell in 1948 and it is a dystopian novel. The novel takes place in a futuristic time period in a section of the world called “Oceania”. Oceania is led by the Party, whose leader is Big Brother, and they control everything that happens in Oceania. The Party and Big Brother are constantly watching their citizens through telescreens, which are large screens that are placed throughout Oceania like modern day surveillance cameras. This gives the illusion of a dystopian society. George Orwell’s novel 1984 conforms to the conventions of dystopia by using propaganda, depicting people who are dehumanized, and the citizens conform to uniform expectations in order to showcase the complete control of the Party.