Nineteen Eighty Four Essay - Power

Individual power is the control held within the hierarchy of ascendancy over others. Although it does take into account the ability to have command over one’s self, with regard to the freedom of influence and authority. In George Orwell’s didactic Nineteen Eighty Four¸ the autonomy of the individual is suppressed. His dystopic, totalitarian society depicts a world where the supremacy of the corporation is maintained through the deprivation of self-expression and the ever present threat of violent coercion. The Party aims to achieve a social order that consists of no relationships, no desire, “no art, no literature, no science” in order that ultimately “no enjoyment in the process of life” be found. This ensures a civilisation where the establishment of loyalty and love are only evident within the security of ‘Big Brother’. Orwell displays individual power through Winston’s defiance of the Party, in order that Winston may satisfy his inherited human instinct for control. The author portrays this lust for jurisdiction through the protagonist’s indulgence in the diary and sexual relationship with Julia. Likewise, the song Testify by Michael Moore and Rage Against the Machine explores the concepts of individual power in a contemporary American society, demonstrating the ways in which the individual’s strength can threaten and menace that of the governments.
The representation of Individual power in Nineteen Eighty Four is depicted as feeble in comparison to the militaristic dominance of ‘Big Brother’. However, the central character still searches for individual power as a means of remedy to gratify the undeniable human instinct for dominion. Winston attempts to regain a sense of individual power through his symbolic indulgence in the diary. The novelist isolates Winston’s rebellion against ‘Big Brother’ by his use of repetition of rhythmic chant, “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER…” Orwell presents the way in which the society that engulfs Winston, has