Betrayal In George Orwell's 1984

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Authors often use their works as a way to express their own opinions and ideologies. However, it is the skill of the author that determines whether these ideas are combined with the plot seamlessly, making a creative transition of ideas from the author’s mind, to the reader’s. There is no doubt that George Orwell is a masterful writer, and one of his most popular works, 1984, clearly expresses his negative views of the Totalitarian government. A common theme in the dystopian society in 1984 is betrayal: The Party is very intolerant towards any form of disloyalty, and anyone who plots against them or Big Brother will eventually either betray their own mind and accept Big Brother as their leader, or be betrayed and revealed to The Party by one of their so-called comrades. Overall, Orwell is using this constant theme of betrayal to show how alone and alienated the protagonist (Winston Smith) is in his quest against Totalitarianism, thus showing how flawed and hopeless the political system is. One of the things that makes Oceania so dismal is the fact that no one has any friends, they have comrades. There is no true companionship in 1984. As the name comrade suggests, these people only consort with each other because they share jobs, and nothing more, there is no love, and there is no trust. This is another situation which leads to feelings of loneliness. The Party has trains the population to act as followers, even if they are the opposite. They have installed so much fear, that people will readily and without hesitation denounce their comrades as Thought Criminals in order to prove their own loyalty to Big Brother. A prime example of this loyalty through betrayal is when a man in the Ministry of Love is being taken to Room 101... ... middle of paper ... ...appear, many undetected rebels will begin to feel alienated and hopeless. It is difficult for them to hope to succeed in an area where so many before them have failed. The constant theme of betrayal in 1984 is being used by George Orwell to show how hopeless Winston’s struggle against the Totalitarian system is, giving the reader an idea of how bad this type of government is. The reader is introduced to this dark time and given hope in the form of the rebellious protagonist, Winston. However, the reader soon realises how hopelessly alone Winston is in his silent battle when they see that the government is against him, he has no support or allies, and that even his own mind can be turned against him. The message is clear and makes readers who live in a democracy happier with what they have. Works Cited Orwell, George. 1984. London: Penguin Books, 2008. Print.

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