Examples Of Oppression In 1984 By George Orwell

In George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, a man by the name of Winston Smith lives in a totalitarian government that exploits its citizens via the censorship of both spoken language and mental thought. From even the title of novel, Orwell makes sure to depict the possibility of oppression. In order to consolidate his claim of the horror of such a society, he purposefully reveals how the political rebels who do not conform in the novel are mistreated. From members of the Party, the political faction that keeps Orwell’s fictional land of Oceania, subconsciously naysaying Big Brother, the idolized and revered leader of the Party, to the strict control of the citizens’ freedoms, Orwell purposefully shows members of Oceania, specifically those who

Julia is a prime example as to how she is denied her own femininity. As a more experienced political rebel than Winston, Julia longs to express how she feels as a woman. On one outing in which she hides away with Winston, unsuspecting of the fact that they were being secretly monitored, she spritzes herself with perfume and applies makeup. There is a lack of skill, clearly evident by her face, which further emphasizes that for most of her life, she was denied having such things that are traditionally viewed to be ways that women express themselves. The censorship of her femininity shows the bondage of those being oppressed by the Party. Despite the fact that Julia claims she will do her best to find a real dress in order to become a true woman, she never receives the chance. She is captured by the Thought Police along with Winston before she is able to do

Most noticeably, Parsons, Winston’s old neighbor, who had been a relatively faithful member of the Party. One night, he had subconsciously whispered that Big Brother needed to be overthrown, and had then been reported by his watchful daughter, mesmerized by Big Brother and indoctrinated by an early age. When Winston first sees Parsons with him in the jail cell, Parsons is blubbering and making quick, jerky motions. He then abruptly had “plumped his large posterior onto the lavatory pan” (Orwell, 234). Such almost inhumane characterizations of a man who had subconsciously wished ill of the Party are meant to provoke a sympathetic feeling from the reader. The other members of the cell are shown to be forbidden from sharing, and being forced to have an emaciated man continue to starve. When one man offers his bread to the skeletal man, the police tell the man to drop the bread, ironically deciding to inflict punishment onto the thin man