In the face of a dystopian regime that forces everyone to conform, some individuals attempt to rebel. George Orwell, in his satirical ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’, explores how Winston, who is a character within a dystopic oppressive society, struggles to maintain individuality and unique experiences. Nineteen Eighty Four successfully warns audience about totalitarianism’s effects, which strip one’s own identity and force ideological thinking on a collective. It calls on the reader’s to rebel in order to find hope within a nihilistic world.
Totalitarian forces are continually trying to impose conformity by various means of oppression. This leads to the elimination of unique experiences, as well as individuality. George Orwell tries to compare the dystopic regime with the Nazis by exaggerating their forced ideologies and constant propaganda to ensure complete conformity. This is evident in the Symbolic omnipresent figure of Big Brother’ and the capitalisation BIG BROTHER Is Watching You to create a general sense of surveillance. Winston’s Dialogue also incorporates this idea of forced compliance. “IT would be dangerous for you to allow your mind to wander around in a crowd or on a screen.” The Emotive language used establishes that monitorisation is a constant in the world, forcing people to behave and think in a particular way. It dehumanises them and takes away their uniqueness, removing their ability for individual action. Orwell uses a metaphor to show the loss of individuality and total control of society through Newspeak. Orwell creates a government which can change how people behave and force their ideologies to maintain their power. Orwell uses propaganda to oppress and destroy individualism. It is a theme that runs throughout the book. As a result, the audience questions their societies and environments in order to understand their individualism.
A regime that forces conformity on individuals leads them to rebel to preserve their individualism and unique experiences. Winston Smith, a fragile man, is shown throughout Nineteen Eighty four as he becomes more and more invested in an open society, free of Big Brother. Winston also rebels constantly against the collective conformity imposed by Big Brother. “DOWN with BIG BROTHER DOWN with BIG BROTHER”, uses repetition and capitalisation as Winston grows more aware of corruption and censorship. Winston is then driven to purge Big Brother and maintain an individual personality. Winston becomes more aware of his freedom as he opposes the party rules. Winston continues his secret affair with Julia which ignites his rebellious spirit and makes him feel like he is an individual. “The paperweight represented the room that he occupied, the corral his life and Julia’s” The symbolism is incorporated as the piece of paper is symbolic of them creating a unique, forbidden experience. This shows that people need to be able to express themselves and have unique experiences in order for them to live a good life. They also need to rebel to those who try to censor their experience. Orwell demonstrates how Winston’s actions of rebellion against collective conformity, such as buying a diary and writing in one, will lead to a rebellion. Orwell establishes the importance of challenging oppression, in order for us to be able to maintain our humanity and experience uniqueness. Orwell warns that totalitarian regimes can have a negative impact on the quality of human life and alter key emotions.
The power of totalitarian rule is too strong for an individual to rebel, resulting in a forced conformity within society. Winston’s torture, in Room 101, shows what happens when you rebel against a powerful societal force. He is forced to accept that “2+2=5” by the party. With interwoven symbolism, depicting how rebelling against an ultimate authority will lead to the individual being forced into conformity, and the failures of rebellion. Further, emotive words in ‘He Loved Big Brother’ reveal the fragility of the rebellion. Winston’s “DOWN with BIG BROTHER”, on the other hand, shows how the state will quail any rebellion. The metaphorical reference to the “Bullet” as representing the party ideology is used in order to force conformity onto those rebelling. Winston’s humanity is stripped away at this point, and he dies. Orwell warns his audience about the consequences of rebelling against a powerful state. This will destroy an individual’s ability to create unique experiences and emotions.
So, 1984 is a warning to the reader about the consequences of a totalitarian government and the failure of revolt. It gives insight into the need for rebellion to bring about individualism, and create unique experiences. Orwell shows that ultimately rebellion will lead to a complete collective compliance, destroying all individuality.
