1984 George Orwell Freedom Analysis

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“BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into Winston's own.” (Orwell, 8) A totalitarian government seeks to apply power over its whole society by sending the message that it is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient, in this novel they ubiquitously post posters to reinforce their control. There is no personal control of their own freedom and it is impossible for any kind of individualism to flourish with this totalitarian government. Freedom can only be present when a totalitarian government is absent. Symbols are one of the key ways that Orwell shows the little freedom that Winston tries . Some examples from the novel that represent this are the Red- Armed Prole Woman, the glass paperweight and Winston's diary.These symbols represent the freedom that Winston is able to experience when the totalitarian government is absent.
The diary that …show more content…

A totalitarian government controls every part of its society’s lives, including how they decorate their houses. In 1984, Big Brother demands that there is no need for decorative objects that don't hold a purpose. Winston experiences freedom when decides to keep such a beautiful object that has no actual purpose.“What appealed to him about is was not so much its beauty as the air it seemed to posses of belonging to an age quite different from the present one” (Orwell, 221) When the government is able to shape and change the past, the freedom of being able to remember the actual past is a gift for Winston. The glass paperweight symbolizes his love affair with Julia. With Julia, Winston has the freedom to express himself and the freedom to have a love affair with whoever he wants. “Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act.” (Orwell, 288) Without the Party present they could experience real

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