Dogmatic Dystopia in "1984" by George Orwell

The stylistic features of a text remain a powerful lens through which nuances of the human experience are drawn into focus, revealing its complexity and power. George Orwell’s dogmatic dystopia, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) explores the human experience in a modern-day society through the rich portrayal of an individual surrounded by the corrupt oppression of ‘Big Brother’. Influenced by Stalinist totalitarianism and the Fascist movement, Orwell depicts a future in which fundamental facets of the human need have been eliminated by the relentless repression of the human experience to highlight that humans do not function when deprived of intellectual freedom and intimate connections.

This paradox is comprehensively explored throughout Orwell’s depiction of the complex human experience as the forceful isolation of individuals by the party deteriorates the human condition which reveals the complexity and power of human experience as without freedom and intimacy, we will lose our human qualities.

The complexity and power of the human experiences is exemplified in Orwell’s insidious depiction of a totalitarian future where he highlights the oppression of human experiences, postulating his fears of a post atomic dictatorship that uses technology and language as instruments to manipulate individuals.

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Through his characterisation of Winston, whose name consists connotations of both ‘Winston Churchill’ and a ‘common’ man highlighted through ‘Smith’, Orwell constructs nuances associated with the complexity of human condition to emphasise the importance identity has to one’s human experience but simultaneously deflating the fallacious ideologies of Stalinist and Narcissistic totalitarianism. Social limitations are further reiterated through the indoctrination of ‘Newspeak’.

This form of repressive propaganda uses truncated words to explicate the ability of language to be used as an instrument against personal freedom and experiences. The ever-pervasive nature of control over language is exemplified by Syme “We’re cutting the language down to the bone…”. Through the motif of newspeak, Orwell highlights how individual free will is diminished as the basic vernacular makes individuals autonomous and the consequences of Winston rebelling against Big Brother by “Writing… his pen sliding voluptuously over the creamy paper” further illustrates how his experiences with this collective conformity dictates his eventual rebellion against big brother. The Parties perpetual ambition for power over human psyche is a profound factor that impede individual’s ability to develop personal ideologies within society. The manipulative verbal irony, “Freedom is Slavery. Has it ever occurred to you that it is reversible? Slavery is Freedom” reinforces Orwell’s paradoxical observation of totalitarian societies in which human experiences are linguistically controlled to prioritise authority over individual freedom so that citizens are forced to indoctrinate the ethos of a higher power.

Even though the human experiences of an individual when secluded from society may affect us in distinct ways, Orwell highlights the complexity and power of the human experience through the desire for intimacy and need to generate connection. In the world created by Orwell, meaningful relationships and a sense of communion have been destroyed to ensure that all emotions of trust, love and devotion is centred only towards Big Brother. The repressive nature of Big Brother and its profound influence on Winston is highlighted through Orwell’s use of cumulative listing to illustrate his pervert thoughts upon receiving a letter from Julia. Winston’s first thoughts are that the note may be “a threat, a summons, an order to commit suicide, a trap of some description” thus compelling the reader to ponder a society where a note handed by a girl may hold such perilous connotations reiterating how human qualities are lost due to the eradication of the human experience. Moreover, Orwell constructs a world where spontaneous interactions between individuals is completely extinguished to explore the human complexity as we persistently seek human connection. This his highlighted through Winston’s introspective nature as he constantly challenges the oppression to hold onto his humanity. Instigated through the lack of human connection, he privately rebels through “writing a diary” and “thoughtcrime”, however when he engages in a secret affair with Julia, he finds strength and identity amongst a world of tyrannical collectivism. By allowing Winston to experience intimacy, the anchors that hold the emotions of human essence together, Orwell illuminates the complexity of the human experience as without it we will lose our individuality and the emergence of any human emotions will be unnatural.

In conjunction with Orwell’s depiction of a world where the feeling of intimacy is eradicated, 1984 is also surrounded by an extremist agenda where attempts to rebel against Big Brother will lead to prosecution. The complexity and power associated with the rebellion is explored through Julia’s plight to remove the sash of the Anti-sex league which breaks social norms symbolising the defiance to the values of ‘goodsex,’ encapsulating the procreative ideologies of Stalin who made abortion illegal. Removing the sash is a metaphorical way to express the human spirit as Julia rebels against Big Brother, reflecting the empowerment of individuals against authoritarian powers. Contrary to Julia, Orwell’s characterisation of Winston as a rebel to the party foreshadows the, “bullet that was entering his brain”. Instead of an epic revolution, Winston’s rebellion against the party is ironic in that his rebellion is to pursue acts associated with a ‘normal’ life. By going against the party of Big Brother, his eventual place in society as a ‘servant’ is moulded. Instead of overcoming the oppression of the state, his vulnerability is exposed as the party forces him to see “2+2=5”, enforcing the motif and failure of the individual against the all-powerful collective. Winston’s vulnerability is further shown through the loss of direction and purpose which manifests in him as he becomes a product of psychological torture and a pawn of the state, metaphorically represented through the chess game against himself which highlights the annihilation of individuality. By contrasting the power of Julia’s rebellion with Winston’s individual vulnerability, Orwell illuminates the dynamic nature of the human experience conveying its complexity and power.