George Orwell 1984 Analysis

In 1984 by George Orwell, characters played an significant role in the novel. Characters possess different attributes that are symbolic to the different members of the social classes of Oceania as a whole. They represent how much power an particular member has and how the position of rank and power affect their daily lives. The main character, Winston Smith represents the oppressed citizens of Oceania who live with restricted rights and limited power. Winston’s girlfriend, Julia exemplifies the individuals subjected to the Party’s propaganda. The Party’s propaganda were presented to Julia through the youth spy league and the junior anti-sex league. In a similar case to the modern world, the Nazi government in Germany had the Hitler Youth, the
youth organization of the Nazi Party in Germany. Both Winston and Julia represents the people of Oceania who live without liberty or good living conditions. They are always limited in whatever they do and they have no power at all. O'Brien is a Inner Party member and he rules with unrestrained authority and in luxury. O’Brien represents the ideology of the party by taking control of Winston’s mind and brainwashing him till he eventually breaks down. What happens to Winston is symbolic to anyone who goes against the Party. First of all, Winston represents the oppressed citizens of Oceania who live with limited rights and without liberty due to the brutal oppression that the Party, the thought police, and Big Brother establishes in the society.
He is not allowed to express free thoughts and he works for the government by completing mindless tasks in the Ministry of Truth, where they distort the truth in support of the overall benefit of the Inner-Party. He is also constantly monitored and watched by the telescreens, which interferes with the privacy of all the citizens of Oceania. Telescreen do not allow Winston or any citizens of Oceania to have a free will, to do whatever they wanted such as writing in a journal or having a intimate relationship with someone they love. All these actions were scrutinized by the government and in many cases, people were vaporized for simple acts since they were considered against the Party. Besides, Winston also symbolizes anyone who goes against the Party. He hates the Party and he secretly writes in his diary “Down with Big Brother.” (Orwell 19) and he commits thoughtcrime once again when he writes, “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.”(Orwell 69). The way Winson has to secretly write in the diary that he wants an end to the totalitarian government of Oceania reveals to the reader that he can not express any disapproval of the Party or else he will be vaporized for committing a thoughtcrime. When
Winston is caught, he is tortured in a harsh manner by O’Brien, a member of the inner Party. What happens to Winston happens to anyone who goes against the Party. Winston, a oppressed citizen is caught and brainwashed into saying whatever the Party wants him to believe. Converting someone who is rebellious against the Party to a obedient party member is simple when the inner party member, O’Brien takes the power to torture, and reduce Winston into a cowering animal. Any citizens who are against the Party are vulnerable and soon oppressed, then converted into a loyal party members by breaking down an individual's physical and mental defenses. Next, Julia exemplifies the individuals subjected to the Party’s propaganda. At a young age, she is brainwashed along with the other children to believe whatever the Party wants them to believe. She has experienced a life in which youths take part of the junior anti-sex league and children take part of the youth spy leagues to be brainwashed. These members been through the process of child-brainwashing to be loyal to the Party. The anti-sex league indoctrinates young women to reject sex and the youth spy organization educates young children to be spies to catch anyone going against the government. In the anti-sex league, she is forced to participate in rallies and marches that are full of propaganda to turn young children and young women into obedient party members. Similarly the Nazi government in Germany had the Hitler Youth, the youth organization of the Nazi Party in Germany. The schools were run by Nazis and the Hitler youths and the League of German Maiden would march in parades and be brainwashed by Nazi thought. Julia takes a rebellious nature and she hates the party. She can’t bear being obedient to the Party, and she makes a political act by having an intimate relationship with Winston. Julia loves to break the rules and for Julia having sex with Winston was a blow striking against the Party.
Thirdly, O’Brien symbolizes a party-figure with God-like power due to his higher rank in position.
O’Brien represents the higher class member of Oceania with unrestrained control over the people. He takes hold of all the power to brainwash people into becoming loyal party members. In connection to the Nazi Party in Germany, O’Brien acts like Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party because Hitler also had the ability to brainwashing people into becoming loyal party members. Hitler uses terror and torture in many cruel ways, which O’Brien did to Winston in 1984. The ways O’Brien tortured Winston is symbolic to anyone who goes against the Party. Winston was brutally struck, electrified, forced to face his greatest fear in Room 101 with the rats till he was reduced into an cowering animal saying whatever the Party-figure, O’Brien desired. These included saying two plus two was five and that he loves Big Brother. Winston was subjected to countless mental and physical torture to convert into a loyal, obedient party member. Likewise, some ways Hitler tortured and experimented on people were placing them in pressure chambers and testing chemicals on them. The Inner Party’s main goals are to have power to themselves. During Winston’s torture sessions, O’Brien asserts, “ Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in ne shapes of your own choosing.” ( Orwell 220). O’Brien symbolizes the party-figure by accomplishing this goal by getting inside people’s
mind to reduce them into reckless beings influenced by the Party entirely. The Party suppresses the citizens of Oceania, and they make sure that the people are always held down by restricting their power.
Overall, Winston symbolizes the oppressed citizens of Oceania who live with restricted rights and limited power, Julia exemplifies the individuals subjected to the Party’s propaganda, and O’Brien represents the ideology of the Inner Party by taking control of the citizen’s minds and brainwashing them till they become loyal party members. These characters with their different attributes are symbolic to world of totalitarianism in countries like Nazi, Germany where Hitler had the Nazis control the lives of citizens by brainwashing the people to becoming Nazis. The Hitler Youths and the League of German Maidens underwent propaganda similar to Julia in 1984 by taking part in marching in parades filled with Nazi ideas. The oppressed citizens of Nazi, Germany were the Jews, and Winston depicted their lives very well since he also lived with restricted rights and limited power as well.