Oligarchy In 1984

1984 Analysis
In his novel 1984, George Orwell describes a world with an oppressive government called “The Party” that all people must worship. In order to describe a conflicting situation involving a government of this nature, Orwell centers his story on a dissenter named Winston that tries to break away from this oppression. When someone takes control without the mandate of the people, there will always be groups of people that stand up to it. George Orwell included the character of Winston in order to show the moral and ethical implications that come from rebelling against one’s government. Winston’s first rebellious crimes against his government manifested themselves in the form of thoughts. As soon as Winston started to have doubts
and regrets about his current government, he was assumed to be a criminal to the state. The Party’s name for this type of person was a “thought-criminal” and they were considered just as dangerous as any other criminal that committed a crime against the government. During the times that Winston was living in, the government believed something as simple as a thought could eventually cause a rebellion or an uprising against their government. If this oligarchy allowed people to think for themselves, anti-Party ideas could arise and people could take action against the government. The implications of thoughts against the government were too dangerous so something had to be done with these people. Winston further betrayed his government as his thoughts turned into memories of better times when the tyrannical government was non-existent.
When Winston went out walking one day, he saw a stone that he remembered seeing at some point when he was a child. He immediately bought this souvenir, but kept it a secret that it was in his possession. Although it was just a piece of junk, it was also solid proof that a time before the government took power existed. In an oligarchy as extreme as the one in 1984, having control of the people meant having control of every single aspect of their beings, including their recollections of their pasts. The government in the story brainwashed people into believing that this oligarchy was a good thing, and that this good thing had been around forever. Instead of letting people keep their own happy memories before the government was put in place, the party made it their duty to provide the people their own pleasurable memories. If the citizens were aware that life was better before the installment of the party, they would no longer want this type of government. What Winston had just purchased was evidence that there were in fact better times and that the government was full of lies and deceptions. If more people in Winston’s home country of Oceania had the power of a recollection of the past, the citizens would see through the lies of the
government. Winston takes the final step into becoming an enemy of the state when his thoughts and memories become fuel for anti-party actions. One day at work, Winston meets a girl that shares the same views against the government as he does and the two have a secret affair. This pleasure that the two people share was considered one of the worst crimes against the government since the pleasure was self induced. The party believes that the only pleasures people should experience are the pleasures that involve the successes of Oceania. Things like Winston’s affair inspire life, passion and happiness in people. A person with these qualities cannot be dominated by a government because they will go to measures to prevent the government from taking these positive emotions away. If a government wanted to successfully rule its people with total authority, they would have to be the ones to first break the citizens down and then fill them with positive emotions. If people believed that the only way of finding pleasure was through the government, people would not go against the government and participate in illegal activities. The implications of people dissenting from the government and indulging in their own pleasures consisted of a possible revolt, so The Party did its best to quell any action that could go against it. Such little actions by supposed criminals can come with massive amounts of moral and ethical implications to a government. The implications of setting up a completely oppressive oligarchy are the inevitable rise of dissenting groups to the government. Winston demonstrates these implications in the novel 1984 as his life in Oceania is detailed.