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George Orwell 1984 Themes

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1984 by George Orwell is a dystopian novel depicting a socialist future through the eyes of a government worker named Winston. It tells the story of his attempt at rebellion with the aid of his love interest, a fellow government worker named Julia. Written in 1949, it is a futuristic story with many obvious themes, including the nature of love. 1984 conveys the message that forced love through controlled relationships, strict laws, and torture have the ability to conquer natural love. The Party maintained control over the people by limiting the relationships they could have with others. Winston originally married another woman named Katherine, who was very loyal to the party and never allowed herself to get close to Winston. If he tried to …show more content…

Citizens caught breaking rules were arrested, and were starved, beaten, and otherwise abused. They are also presented with their worst fears, which in Winston’s case were rats. Winston stated that, “There was only one and only one way to save himself. He must interpose another human being, the body of another human, between himself and the rats” (Orwell 299). Winston has been defeated to the point of betraying Julia, the one he loved the most. He ends up suggesting that she should endure the punishment instead, which was the one thing he swore to never do. The abuse that he endured at the hands of the party finally forced him to go against the on thing he loved the most. The Party also broke WInston’s spirit to the point where he finally believed the one thing he was adamantly against. Throughout the entire book, Winston claimed his hatred toward big brother and acted out in direct rebellion. By the time he was released from torture, he stated that, “He had won the victory over himself. He loved big brother”(Orwell 298). The Party’s use of torture ended up being enough to change the entire base of his morals, and removed his love for independence and rebellion. They conquered his real feelings, and were able to keep control over him in the end. They forced an unnatural love of Big Brother, and brought Winston to their

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