Fear And Manipulation In George Orwell's 1984
An American philosopher once said “It is when power is wedded to chronic fear that it becomes formidable.” So what does that mean? It’s saying in order to wield political power, you must have the support or at least complacency of the people... and fear and manipulation is the easiest way to get there.
The fear of having every aspect of your life controlled, the fear of every movement and word being scrutinized and the fear of being captured then tortured. This is the constant stream of thought that goes through the head of Winston Smith, the protagonist of 1984. George Orwell’s novel is reminiscent of a totalitarian state and vividly depicts the affliction and suffering of humanity. It explores the abusive nature of authoritarian governments
and how manipulation can become a mechanism of control. Constant monitoring, fabrication of history, assassination of language, and psychological manipulation…The novel mourns the loss of personal identity while demonstrating how to effectively rid a person of their independence. The complete crushing of Winston’s individuality dramatizes the perfection and total control of the Party’s power.
The depiction of power moves beyond any realistic political context and into the territory of nightmare, producing a darker, more psychologically-oriented study of individual frailty in the face of absolute evil. Through the focalisation of Winston's perspective, the narrative represents and dramatised what resistance to the Party’s power means, conveying physical sensations as well as passing thoughts, feelings and fears. Importantly, what Winston doesn’t know also conditions the narrative- His questions, puzzlements, doubts, hopes and speculations. Through the deliberate limitation of the narrative that strictly confines itself to Winston's view,our view is also confined. Third person limited narration is a most significant means in Orwell's novel by which the Party’s power is represented as infinite and boundless.
I’d like to end on a quote from Orwell's novel, “Winston, How does one man assert his power over another?,” O’Brien asks. Winston’s answer: “By making him suffer”
The fear of having every aspect of your life controlled, the fear of every movement and word being scrutinized and the fear of being captured then tortured. This is the constant stream of thought that goes through the head of Winston Smith, the protagonist of 1984. George Orwell’s novel is reminiscent of a totalitarian state and vividly depicts the affliction and suffering of humanity. It explores the abusive nature of authoritarian governments
and how manipulation can become a mechanism of control. Constant monitoring, fabrication of history, assassination of language, and psychological manipulation…The novel mourns the loss of personal identity while demonstrating how to effectively rid a person of their independence. The complete crushing of Winston’s individuality dramatizes the perfection and total control of the Party’s power.
The depiction of power moves beyond any realistic political context and into the territory of nightmare, producing a darker, more psychologically-oriented study of individual frailty in the face of absolute evil. Through the focalisation of Winston's perspective, the narrative represents and dramatised what resistance to the Party’s power means, conveying physical sensations as well as passing thoughts, feelings and fears. Importantly, what Winston doesn’t know also conditions the narrative- His questions, puzzlements, doubts, hopes and speculations. Through the deliberate limitation of the narrative that strictly confines itself to Winston's view,our view is also confined. Third person limited narration is a most significant means in Orwell's novel by which the Party’s power is represented as infinite and boundless.
I’d like to end on a quote from Orwell's novel, “Winston, How does one man assert his power over another?,” O’Brien asks. Winston’s answer: “By making him suffer”