Nineteen Eighty-Four

- dystopia -

In order to fully comprehend the concept of dystopia, we need to define it or find what
are its core characteristics. The Cambridge Dictionary offers a decent definition, underlining all
the important aspect that we have to keep in mind when we think about this particular concept:
“a very bad or unfair society in which there is a lot of suffering, especially an imaginary society
in the future, after something terrible has happened”1.

George Orwell’s novel depicts a society in which freedom does not exist. People have no
freedom of thought, movement or speech, being governed by a mysterious and totalitarian party.
The inner party and its constituents (less than 2% of the population) wield all the power, doing
with it whatever they deem necessary to retain it forever. Even the members of the outer party
are starving and living in horrendous conditions, not to mention the proles, who are considered
mere animals. Clearly, this society is not only unfair, but brutal. The suffering is not only
physical, but also psychological. The people are always spied on, so every grimace, every
suspicious movement or word can lead to death. It really is a world of fear, a world of solitary
despair.

The world order in Nineteen Eighty-Four came about in the aftermath of a nuclear war
(somewhere in the ‘50’s). Three superpowers emerged: Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. All of
them have totalitarian regimes, so nowhere on the planet human rights or liberties are granted.
This aspect, I believe, creates a feeling of strong hopelessness that supports the dystopian
argument.

The everyday life depicted in the novel is utterly unbearable for a human being that tasted
freedom. However, the fact that Winston (and everybody else for that matter) does not know any
other version of reality makes life in this kind of setting bearable. Moreover, all the good,

1
Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 2013, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
entry: “dystopia”
healthy feelings that a human can experience are outlawed. Sexuality is systematically repressed;
not even married couples can enjoy love or passionate sex. Thus, humans are left only with hate
and anger. Zealous hate toward the enemies of the state, continuous anger that can be used
against the enemies of the state.

This novel presents a dystopia also because there are no objective truths shared by the
individuals in that society. The values and the “truths” that govern the social environment are all
manufactured by the inner party. Nothing is empirical anymore. Besides, there is no source of
information that can open one’s eyes. History is systematically rewritten or erased.
Consequently, the people in that society will have no certainty, no right or wrong, no up and
down, other than the directions provided by the Big Brother.

Another crucial aspect in Orwell’s dystopia is language. “Newspeak” is presented as a

new language, derived from English. Its only purpose, I think, was to eliminate the neurological
pathway that may cause a “thoughtcrime”. By getting rid of all the dangerous words, nuances
and ambiguities from “oldspeak”, the inner party seeks total control over one’s mind. Language
often improves one’s capacity to detect paradoxes, create analogies and express certain things
using denotative meanings or nuances. This way, the mind of the people could’ve been kept
sharp, but the “newspeak” initiative ensures a future where language cannot be used as a
reactionary tool.

Physical suffering is everywhere. We need only follow Winston and his day-to-day
routine. Food is scarce, always rationed. Pickled cabbage is the main source of nutrients these
people have. The food from the canteen is appalling, the chocolate ration is twenty grams a week
(I was curious how much that is and apparently twenty grams are the equivalent of three squares
of chocolate), the gin is more of a poison than a alcoholic drink, and so on. Furthermore, we
know that Winston wasn’t healthy because of his leg, but we never get any indication that he has
the means or the opportunity to treat it. It’s clear to see that in a dystopian society you do not get
health care.

Winston is the greatest example of what a twisted society can do to your humanity. Even
now I do not think that he truly loved Julia. They weren’t able to feel such emotions because of
the social and ideological environment. A strong romantic bond cannot develop between two
people who anxiously await death. They didn’t even entertain the idea that maybe, just maybe,
they can get away with it. Their minds were so certain that there is no escaping The Ministry of
Love that there was no space for another certainty, that of love. They betrayed each other, but
that fact doesn’t shock the reader one bit. It was understandable, even normal for them to do that.
They couldn’t have heard of loyalty, honor, sacrifice for loved ones, there was no model in their
minds to guide them through those unbearable days of torture. This is one of the reasons why
Nineteen Eighty-Four depicts a flawless dystopia: you get to experience one of the most
dishonorable gestures and still feel sorry for Winston, because you understand why he became
like that.

What is truly striking about this society is that people begin to be dehumanized, we can
truly talk about dystopian individual existences. We want our lives to be full of great feelings
and sensations, but that is not the case in Nineteen Eighty-Four. Here, the party is trying to
change human understanding and perspective, making people abandon their emotional needs and
urges. An individual without feelings or opinions of his own will be the most devout and
obedient follower of the party.

The main goal of the inner party is to change the perception on reality. This way, there
will be no need for oppression, reeducating or killing those who oppose the principles of the
party. By changing the very fabric of human understanding, the inner party strives to create a
new breed of humans, submissive and lethargic. We come across a fair share of paradoxes: “War
is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is power”2. However, the biggest paradox of them all
comes from human perception: dystopia is utopia. For the members of the inner party, a situation
in which they get to keep all their power and never lose it is ideal. The utopia of the powerful
man does not coincide with the utopia of the oppressed one.

Bibliography

 Orwell, George, Nineteen Eighty-Four, 2008, Penguin Books Ltd, London

 Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 2013, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge

2
Orwell, George, Nineteen Eighty-Four, 2008, Penguin Books Ltd, London, p.8