1984 Free Will Essay
Thomas Jefferson once said “Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have … The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.” In his novel 1984, George Orwell demonstrates that even though government control seems like a better way of life, free will ultimately proves to be the better path. He proves that free will is better in the novel through the constant government surveillance, how even the slightest demonstration of free will brings about harsh punishments, and through the government induced manipulation of the citizens’ lives. The Party does use its metaphorical “powers” for some amount of good throughout the novel though. Although free will is the superior way
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of living, being led and told what to do by the government is not always completely and utterly terrible. Although the perpetual surveillance is assuredly more than a nuisance, the technology used to “sneak up on people”, is quite advanced and can be very helpful. First, to start with the “memory holes” that are used quite often in Oceania. Memory holes are basically advanced garbage cans. They are used mostly for throwing away papers, and they have been placed everywhere, as described in this quote. “Similar slits existed in thousands or tens of thousands throughout the building, not only in every room but at short intervals in every corridor” (Orwell 34). They are installed to encourage people to keep things orderly, and instead of having to lose valuable work time to empty a trash can or walk to one to throw away litter, one can just put the scrap into the memory hole on their desk. This is demonstrated through, “When one knew that any document was due for destruction, or even when one saw a scrap of waste paper lying about, it was an automatic action to lift the flap of the nearest memory hole and drop it in…” (35). Another technological advancement that has the potential to help boost the welfare of Oceania are the microphones used to watch its citizens.
They are referenced within the novel, during which they are used to watch the populace. If misused by the government, then the microphones become more than innocent devices used to benefit society as a whole. In the novel there is a passage where Julia references these microphones. She talks about how microphones can be hidden to listen in on the public. If used the way the Party is in the novel, the microphones can be used to catch criminals and spies, and make Oceania a better place. A very advanced and important piece of technology mentioned multiple times in the novel is the telescreen. It is like a modern-day TV, except it can transmit sound and visuals both ways, like a televised two-way mirror. To ensure the safety of the government, the Thought Police can “plug in” at any moment to check for disloyalty. “You had to live-did live, from habit that became instinct- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized” (7). This quote demonstrates how careful the Party can be when it comes to keeping Oceania safe and intact. Of course, altogether, all of the
glorious technology has use to better the nation. Although all of these advancements make Oceania seem like an ideal place to live, the Party abuses its privileges and developments to become and maintain a totalitarian government. The constant government surveillance does have its warrants, but overall it makes life terrible for Oceania’s residents. Free will makes human life so much easier because, for one, no one has to constantly look over their shoulder for fear of the government breathing down their necks. They first and foremost form of surveillance within 1984 is the telescreen, mentioned before. “Another aspect of the twenty-first century that Orwell predicted was the great growth of visual surveillance. In Nineteen Eighty-Four there is the ubiquitous telescreen, a two-way device that allows not only for the population to be continuously harangued, but also to be continuously observed” (Harris). This displays how the telescreen constantly limits the freedoms of everyone with a telescreen. Not only that, but also how guarded everyone must be in their own homes. “Winston turned around abruptly. He had set his features into the expression of quiet optimism which it was advisable to wear when facing the telescreen” (8). This quote demonstrates the point of having the populace go out of their way to change even the look on their face to accommodate the Party and Big Brother. It is still true that if used in moderation and used correctly, the telescreen would be an effective way of monitoring the country for actual criminals who, more importantly, have actually committed the crimes, not just people the Party think to be disloyal or traitors. “Inside Winston’s apartment, there is a “telescreen” that monitors the movements of the occupant, confirming the message of the poster. “Every sound you heard was scrutinized, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized” (7). The reader should be alert to the irony: on the one hand, the Party that rules fails to make the lift operate efficiently, a service we expect from a benevolent and efficient government, and on the other hand, the Party proves to be remarkably efficient in its oppressive monitoring of the populace.” (Goodheart). This proves the fact that if government oppression truly is good for Oceania, the Party would completely fix all of the country’s problems, instead of trying to improve upon their surveillance skills. Also, if the oppression does benefit the populace, why would the government need to monitor them so closely if all of the citizens welcome it? The answer is that the Party would not need to, so the obvious is that not everyone wants to be oppressed by the totalitarian government in place. Another form of surveillance already mentioned are the microphones. They are placed in multiple places throughout Oceania and can pick up conversations in order to eavesdrop on the citizens. No one ever wants their own government to spy on them, but the people of Oceania believe that the government watches them for their own good, to protect them and find criminals. What they do not know is that even the most loyal of them could be taken. In the novel, Winston and Julia meet with each other far away from the city, out in the country. They go so out of the way to meet each other in that abandoned spot just so they can avoid being listened to by the Party. It clearly demonstrates the feelings of some of those who live there in Oceania. they want to be able to think for themselves and do what they want. The only reason Julia even takes so many lovers is to protest the unjustness of how the government treats them.
In Oceania, there are many other different forms of surveillance. A non-technological form of surveillance within Oceania are the children. Even the name of the organization the children attend give it away. This organization is called “The Spies”. The children are raised to listen to everything and view everything they hear with suspicion and distrust. “That’s a first-rate training they give them in the Spies nowadays- better than in my day, even. What d’you think’s the latest thing they’ve served them out with? Ear trumpets for listening through keyholes!” (55). This quote said by Parsons to Winston about his children shows just how much the government promotes listening in to innocent people’s lives. Those “ear trumpets” are used by the children to even spy on their own parents. It ends up being that Parsons gets turned in by his youngest daughter when she listens to him as he sleeps. She allegedy hears him talking in his sleep, speaking as a traitor would. Without hesitation, because of the learned impulse to not get attached to their family, that little girl turns her own father in. To keep themselves in control, the Party exterminates all need to protect ones’ own kin, to delete that joy and the satisfied feelings in order to keep their reign intact. An obvious reason why free will is a better way of living is how even showing the slightest bit of it brings about cruel and harsh punishments. If Oceania is doing fine with its totalitarian government then it would not need to punish anyone, for these citizens would not feel the need to exercise any free will. First of all, any kind of love and having sex is extremely disapproved of. The only reason they allow it all is to reproduce. Doing so for recreational purposes, as both Julia and Winston did, results in being taken away and locked up for re-education. Although, so many people could be locked up for committing much lesser crimes, some even thought to be innocent actions in the modern world. “In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face….was itself a punishable offense. There was even a word for it in Newspeak: facecrime, it was called” (54). This quote shows that even having a certain look can bring about quite harsh punishments. The party even enforces the use of preemptive strikes. One could say that having the constant workouts and the extremely long work days causes such depleted energy that there is no room for anything else, save for worship of the Party. In a case like Parsons, he is turned in for talking in his sleep, and while doing so he supposedly spoke against the regime. “‘Down with Big Brother!’ Yes, I said that! Said it over and over again, it seems” (62). When Parsons says “...it seems.”,it feels as though even he doubts having uttered the words at all. Even if he did say it, a person can not control what he or she accidentally says while sleeping. He loves Big Brother and the Party to the end of the world, but people can go against their most fundamental beliefs while sleeping and in a dream. Even so, he was still taken away and brought to Miniluv to be treated as if the murderer of an Inner Party member. The most prominent display of harsh punishment comes about while Winston is still being held by the Thought Police. “Torture is communication. Worse, to be tortured is not the worst thing in the world, if only the victim is understood by his torturer, as Winston feels he is understood by O'Brien” (Ranald 251). Through this, one knows that it is true that the Party makes sure that they know the prisoners, in order to “mess” with their minds more. Winston’s crimes only involved buying and writing in a diary, having sex for recreational purposes, and joining a protest group. All things that are completely legal in a normal, free society. For those crimes only Winstons is arrested, kept trapped for what seems like months to him, and tortured physically and mentally. The Party not only invents massive devices to torture Winston, but tortures him psychologically as well. They put him up against his greatest fear (rats), and drive him insane by making him beg for his own lover to be put in his place with the rats about to eat her instead of him. Making him denounce her and the very principles he stands for is by far the worst punishment he could have faced.
The harshest thing that the Party does overall, out of the three, is manipulate every aspect of the public’s lives so that they heavily depend upon the government already established. Again, if they undoubtedly believe that the Party is the best for them, then the Party would not need to manipulate anything at all. Big Brother and the Party would just come right out and say that they would be taking this or limiting that, instead of having to falsify records. Changing documents is a running theme throughout 1984. As was mentioned before, love is manipulated out of the citizens lives so that the only love they have is for Big Brother. The disdain for it is shown through multiple points in 1984. First, through the organization Julia is a member of in order to play the part of upstanding citizen. It is called the Junior Anti-Sex League, and the members wear red sashes around their waists to signify their membership. They disapprove of it and condition the citizens as they grow up to detest it because the Party can not control love. Love is a way in which the Party has no power. Once people form that close of a bond, even through just sex, it is hard to break that defiance within them. It is classified as defiance because through that outlet one can vent the feelings of oppression and helplessness, so the government tries to turn people away from that happiness altogether, to make them regard it with disgust and revulsion. This leads to all of the pent up passion and energy being turned towards the Party, in order for the citizens to worship Big Brother even more. A colossal way in which the Party suppresses free will even more is through the very words people speak. Eugene Goodheart proves this point in the following: “The most powerful weapon in the arsenal of totalitarian states is language. Orwell invented a lexicon for describing the way in which government and media use and abuse language in order to instill obedience to the will of the state” (Goodheart). Through this Goodheart shows that language is one of they key factors to the Party’s control. Without it, it would be much more difficult to manipulate even the most loyal comrades. Syme, Winston’s co-worker, works with Newspeak, the new language of Oceania. “He had brightened up immediately at the mention of Newspeak… “The Eleventh Edition is the definitive edition,” he said. “We’re getting the language into it’s final shape- the shape it’s going to have when nobody speaks anything else.” (Orwell 45). Although what Syme is saying in this quote sounds pleasant, in reality Syme’s job is to destroy words. Newspeak consists of a few words with different beginnings in order to convey a meaning. In simpler terms, he is getting rid of synonyms and antonyms, and using words like “plusgood” and “doubleplusgood” to replace them. This means that it is harder to express oneself, and harder to share any sort of message. The scary part is that not only does the Party control what people like Winston do, but they can now also control and limit the thinking of free thoughts, because there will be no words left to think of them with.
As time goes on, government control of a country can only head one way or another: with them becoming substantially more or less powerful. In 1984 by George Orwell, the government unfortunately gains more power as time progresses and becomes a totalitarian government. Because they have lived so long with it, the citizens of Oceania think it is the best way to live, but hey are wrong, because having the ability to practice free will is such a gift that should not be squandered by being ordered around. Orwell proves this through the eternal surveillance the populace is subject to, the punishments innocent people have to endure for the smallest of offenses, and through the manipulation the government constantly throws at its’ people. Although it may be too late to save Oceania’s free will from the tyranny of Big Brother, it is not too late to save the free will of today’s modern nations from those who oppress
of living, being led and told what to do by the government is not always completely and utterly terrible. Although the perpetual surveillance is assuredly more than a nuisance, the technology used to “sneak up on people”, is quite advanced and can be very helpful. First, to start with the “memory holes” that are used quite often in Oceania. Memory holes are basically advanced garbage cans. They are used mostly for throwing away papers, and they have been placed everywhere, as described in this quote. “Similar slits existed in thousands or tens of thousands throughout the building, not only in every room but at short intervals in every corridor” (Orwell 34). They are installed to encourage people to keep things orderly, and instead of having to lose valuable work time to empty a trash can or walk to one to throw away litter, one can just put the scrap into the memory hole on their desk. This is demonstrated through, “When one knew that any document was due for destruction, or even when one saw a scrap of waste paper lying about, it was an automatic action to lift the flap of the nearest memory hole and drop it in…” (35). Another technological advancement that has the potential to help boost the welfare of Oceania are the microphones used to watch its citizens.
They are referenced within the novel, during which they are used to watch the populace. If misused by the government, then the microphones become more than innocent devices used to benefit society as a whole. In the novel there is a passage where Julia references these microphones. She talks about how microphones can be hidden to listen in on the public. If used the way the Party is in the novel, the microphones can be used to catch criminals and spies, and make Oceania a better place. A very advanced and important piece of technology mentioned multiple times in the novel is the telescreen. It is like a modern-day TV, except it can transmit sound and visuals both ways, like a televised two-way mirror. To ensure the safety of the government, the Thought Police can “plug in” at any moment to check for disloyalty. “You had to live-did live, from habit that became instinct- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized” (7). This quote demonstrates how careful the Party can be when it comes to keeping Oceania safe and intact. Of course, altogether, all of the
glorious technology has use to better the nation. Although all of these advancements make Oceania seem like an ideal place to live, the Party abuses its privileges and developments to become and maintain a totalitarian government. The constant government surveillance does have its warrants, but overall it makes life terrible for Oceania’s residents. Free will makes human life so much easier because, for one, no one has to constantly look over their shoulder for fear of the government breathing down their necks. They first and foremost form of surveillance within 1984 is the telescreen, mentioned before. “Another aspect of the twenty-first century that Orwell predicted was the great growth of visual surveillance. In Nineteen Eighty-Four there is the ubiquitous telescreen, a two-way device that allows not only for the population to be continuously harangued, but also to be continuously observed” (Harris). This displays how the telescreen constantly limits the freedoms of everyone with a telescreen. Not only that, but also how guarded everyone must be in their own homes. “Winston turned around abruptly. He had set his features into the expression of quiet optimism which it was advisable to wear when facing the telescreen” (8). This quote demonstrates the point of having the populace go out of their way to change even the look on their face to accommodate the Party and Big Brother. It is still true that if used in moderation and used correctly, the telescreen would be an effective way of monitoring the country for actual criminals who, more importantly, have actually committed the crimes, not just people the Party think to be disloyal or traitors. “Inside Winston’s apartment, there is a “telescreen” that monitors the movements of the occupant, confirming the message of the poster. “Every sound you heard was scrutinized, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized” (7). The reader should be alert to the irony: on the one hand, the Party that rules fails to make the lift operate efficiently, a service we expect from a benevolent and efficient government, and on the other hand, the Party proves to be remarkably efficient in its oppressive monitoring of the populace.” (Goodheart). This proves the fact that if government oppression truly is good for Oceania, the Party would completely fix all of the country’s problems, instead of trying to improve upon their surveillance skills. Also, if the oppression does benefit the populace, why would the government need to monitor them so closely if all of the citizens welcome it? The answer is that the Party would not need to, so the obvious is that not everyone wants to be oppressed by the totalitarian government in place. Another form of surveillance already mentioned are the microphones. They are placed in multiple places throughout Oceania and can pick up conversations in order to eavesdrop on the citizens. No one ever wants their own government to spy on them, but the people of Oceania believe that the government watches them for their own good, to protect them and find criminals. What they do not know is that even the most loyal of them could be taken. In the novel, Winston and Julia meet with each other far away from the city, out in the country. They go so out of the way to meet each other in that abandoned spot just so they can avoid being listened to by the Party. It clearly demonstrates the feelings of some of those who live there in Oceania. they want to be able to think for themselves and do what they want. The only reason Julia even takes so many lovers is to protest the unjustness of how the government treats them.
In Oceania, there are many other different forms of surveillance. A non-technological form of surveillance within Oceania are the children. Even the name of the organization the children attend give it away. This organization is called “The Spies”. The children are raised to listen to everything and view everything they hear with suspicion and distrust. “That’s a first-rate training they give them in the Spies nowadays- better than in my day, even. What d’you think’s the latest thing they’ve served them out with? Ear trumpets for listening through keyholes!” (55). This quote said by Parsons to Winston about his children shows just how much the government promotes listening in to innocent people’s lives. Those “ear trumpets” are used by the children to even spy on their own parents. It ends up being that Parsons gets turned in by his youngest daughter when she listens to him as he sleeps. She allegedy hears him talking in his sleep, speaking as a traitor would. Without hesitation, because of the learned impulse to not get attached to their family, that little girl turns her own father in. To keep themselves in control, the Party exterminates all need to protect ones’ own kin, to delete that joy and the satisfied feelings in order to keep their reign intact. An obvious reason why free will is a better way of living is how even showing the slightest bit of it brings about cruel and harsh punishments. If Oceania is doing fine with its totalitarian government then it would not need to punish anyone, for these citizens would not feel the need to exercise any free will. First of all, any kind of love and having sex is extremely disapproved of. The only reason they allow it all is to reproduce. Doing so for recreational purposes, as both Julia and Winston did, results in being taken away and locked up for re-education. Although, so many people could be locked up for committing much lesser crimes, some even thought to be innocent actions in the modern world. “In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face….was itself a punishable offense. There was even a word for it in Newspeak: facecrime, it was called” (54). This quote shows that even having a certain look can bring about quite harsh punishments. The party even enforces the use of preemptive strikes. One could say that having the constant workouts and the extremely long work days causes such depleted energy that there is no room for anything else, save for worship of the Party. In a case like Parsons, he is turned in for talking in his sleep, and while doing so he supposedly spoke against the regime. “‘Down with Big Brother!’ Yes, I said that! Said it over and over again, it seems” (62). When Parsons says “...it seems.”,it feels as though even he doubts having uttered the words at all. Even if he did say it, a person can not control what he or she accidentally says while sleeping. He loves Big Brother and the Party to the end of the world, but people can go against their most fundamental beliefs while sleeping and in a dream. Even so, he was still taken away and brought to Miniluv to be treated as if the murderer of an Inner Party member. The most prominent display of harsh punishment comes about while Winston is still being held by the Thought Police. “Torture is communication. Worse, to be tortured is not the worst thing in the world, if only the victim is understood by his torturer, as Winston feels he is understood by O'Brien” (Ranald 251). Through this, one knows that it is true that the Party makes sure that they know the prisoners, in order to “mess” with their minds more. Winston’s crimes only involved buying and writing in a diary, having sex for recreational purposes, and joining a protest group. All things that are completely legal in a normal, free society. For those crimes only Winstons is arrested, kept trapped for what seems like months to him, and tortured physically and mentally. The Party not only invents massive devices to torture Winston, but tortures him psychologically as well. They put him up against his greatest fear (rats), and drive him insane by making him beg for his own lover to be put in his place with the rats about to eat her instead of him. Making him denounce her and the very principles he stands for is by far the worst punishment he could have faced.
The harshest thing that the Party does overall, out of the three, is manipulate every aspect of the public’s lives so that they heavily depend upon the government already established. Again, if they undoubtedly believe that the Party is the best for them, then the Party would not need to manipulate anything at all. Big Brother and the Party would just come right out and say that they would be taking this or limiting that, instead of having to falsify records. Changing documents is a running theme throughout 1984. As was mentioned before, love is manipulated out of the citizens lives so that the only love they have is for Big Brother. The disdain for it is shown through multiple points in 1984. First, through the organization Julia is a member of in order to play the part of upstanding citizen. It is called the Junior Anti-Sex League, and the members wear red sashes around their waists to signify their membership. They disapprove of it and condition the citizens as they grow up to detest it because the Party can not control love. Love is a way in which the Party has no power. Once people form that close of a bond, even through just sex, it is hard to break that defiance within them. It is classified as defiance because through that outlet one can vent the feelings of oppression and helplessness, so the government tries to turn people away from that happiness altogether, to make them regard it with disgust and revulsion. This leads to all of the pent up passion and energy being turned towards the Party, in order for the citizens to worship Big Brother even more. A colossal way in which the Party suppresses free will even more is through the very words people speak. Eugene Goodheart proves this point in the following: “The most powerful weapon in the arsenal of totalitarian states is language. Orwell invented a lexicon for describing the way in which government and media use and abuse language in order to instill obedience to the will of the state” (Goodheart). Through this Goodheart shows that language is one of they key factors to the Party’s control. Without it, it would be much more difficult to manipulate even the most loyal comrades. Syme, Winston’s co-worker, works with Newspeak, the new language of Oceania. “He had brightened up immediately at the mention of Newspeak… “The Eleventh Edition is the definitive edition,” he said. “We’re getting the language into it’s final shape- the shape it’s going to have when nobody speaks anything else.” (Orwell 45). Although what Syme is saying in this quote sounds pleasant, in reality Syme’s job is to destroy words. Newspeak consists of a few words with different beginnings in order to convey a meaning. In simpler terms, he is getting rid of synonyms and antonyms, and using words like “plusgood” and “doubleplusgood” to replace them. This means that it is harder to express oneself, and harder to share any sort of message. The scary part is that not only does the Party control what people like Winston do, but they can now also control and limit the thinking of free thoughts, because there will be no words left to think of them with.
As time goes on, government control of a country can only head one way or another: with them becoming substantially more or less powerful. In 1984 by George Orwell, the government unfortunately gains more power as time progresses and becomes a totalitarian government. Because they have lived so long with it, the citizens of Oceania think it is the best way to live, but hey are wrong, because having the ability to practice free will is such a gift that should not be squandered by being ordered around. Orwell proves this through the eternal surveillance the populace is subject to, the punishments innocent people have to endure for the smallest of offenses, and through the manipulation the government constantly throws at its’ people. Although it may be too late to save Oceania’s free will from the tyranny of Big Brother, it is not too late to save the free will of today’s modern nations from those who oppress