1984 Essay

1984 Essay

Power is the ability to do something or act in a particular way by force either from yourself or from an authority figure. In the novel 1984, by George Orwell, the use of power and control is dominant throughout this story and is shown through each aspect of characters and settings. The society within this novel currently lives in a totalitarian government control. You can consider their lifestyle a dystopia. Although there are no rules, there are violations and consequences given to people. There is no basic freedom among the people. They are constantly being monitored and restricted. How is it that society is being controlled yet there are no laws? With no laws, why are people so hesitant and scared on everything they do? This is because of the power that is placed by the so called Big Brother. The sexual morality and the theme of conformity within this novel signify the use of power.

In 1984, even though power may be portrayed in many different ways, one that appeared to signify it quite well is the sexual morality presented throughout the story. "She threw herself down on the bed, and at once, without any kind of preliminary, in the most coarse, horrible way you can imagine, pulled up her skirt..."(67) Winston and his wife, Katherine, had lived according to the life that Big Brother had placed on society. The life of living life with restrictions and precautions. However, even during the time when Winston was with Katherine, he had the mentality of not abiding with the life of the society. He mentioned how he had no true feelings for Katherine but it was for sex. They had even called it their duty to the party. This shows how the power of Big Brother made sex so unjust and provocative. Sex was something that was considered against the party and would be considered a severe crime. And the fact that Katherine and Winston had to say it was their duty to the party showed the fear among them which made it less of a pleasure. The party and Big Brother both have that power to force people to live their life with caution. They force people to hide their true intentions and say things like it is their "duty to the party." The power presented by the party does not only watch for crimes but controls the lifestyle of the people.

Another portrayal of power within this novel is shown through conformity among the characters. When characters such as Winston show themselves conforming to society, it signifies the power. Power in general creates fear among people. It forces people no matter what because they are scared of what might happen if they do not conform to the same manners as everyone else. Looking back at the era of Hitler's reign, which is similar to this story, Hitler got the forced loyalty of some people because of the fear he had created among people. The fear of him killing thousands instantly with no sympathy caused much fear. This fear is what made him one