Emmanuel Goldstein In George Orwell's '1984'

Any character, no matter how minor, can change the course of any book. In George Orwell’s “1984”, Emmanuel Goldstein is no exception. Orwell uses Goldstein to represent the major enemy of the Party, which drastically affects the main character, Winston Smith. Winston’s and the readers opinions on Goldstein vary from book to book, making the motivations of Winston change. George Orwell uses the character of Emmanuel Goldstein to show that people should not just see what they are accomplishing, but how they are accomplishing it.

In Books 1 & 2, Emmanuel Goldstein is introduced as the leader of the Brotherhood, the main radicalist group aiming to take down the Party. Winston and his fellow comrades are taught from a young age to hate Goldstein, making him the center of the two minutes of hate. As described in the book, “A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge-hammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one's will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic." These descriptions help show how much the citizens of Oceania hated Goldstein. These two minutes of hate help keep citizens in check by making them hate their only source of hope. Winston has constant doubts throughout Book 1 about his loyalty to the Party, making him become more and
more attracted to Goldstein’s ideals. After meeting Julia, another person against the Party, Winston becomes increasingly loyal to the Brotherhood. At this point in the story, both Winston and the readers fully believe that Goldstein exists and throughout Book 2 it becomes more and more obvious the existence of him. Goldstein becomes a very likeable person to Winston as he begins reading his book, filling Winston with motivation and inspiration to take down the Party. When the Thought Police capture Winston and Julia, both he and the reader believe that Emmanuel Goldstein exists.

During Book 3, Winston and the reader learn that Emmanuel Goldstein does not exists, but surprisingly, this does not change what the character represents.
As the story progressed, the radicalism of the Brotherhood became clear. As O’Brien repeats the horrible things Winston was willing to do shows that the Brotherhood is truly no better than the Party. After O’Brien reveals that the Inner Party wrote Goldstein’s book, the Party and the Brotherhood begin sounding the same, believing in the same ideals and philosophies. As those similarities become clear, the theme surrounding Emmanuel Goldstein starts to
form.

Finally, the pieces of the puzzle begin forming an important picture. Orwell is trying to show that the aims of a group do not justify the actions done to reach that goal. This ties to Orwell's strong beliefs around totalitarianism. One may have great philosophies for their country, but they must do horrible things to gain and stay in power. This trend is very repetitive throughout history. Adolf Hitler is one of the most infamous dictators, who used his success of nationalizing Germany to justify the inhumane actions he ordered. Mao Zedong acted similarly also by destroying people’s lives, families, and culture to modernize China.

In conclusion, Emmanuel Goldstein represents how governments often use the ends to justify the means. Orwell disagrees with this because often times the ways governments obtained power are the only things remembered about them. The Brotherhood which Goldstein leads seems appealing to Winston and the reader in books 1 & 2, but the realization of Goldstein's similarity with Big Brother becomes clear in Book 3. As you can see, the existence of Emmanuel Goldstein does not directly affect the theme, but his effect on characters do.