Love and loyalty are commonly associated with humanity and freedom, which is why they are often featured within the Dystopian genre in which dictatorships try to change what it means to be human. Love and loyalty are common themes running throughout George Orwell’s 1984, written in 1949 and Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, written in 2008.
The totalitarian government in 1984, The Party, regards love and sex as, “a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act,” it is an act that aims to change the social order of the Party, which may eliminate Big Brother‘s influence. Therefore, during the torture of the rebel protagonist Winston, The Party forces him to betray his lover, Julia to eradicate feelings of love for anyone that is not Big Brother. Winston is threatened with his biggest fear - rats - and during the torture he pleads, “do it to Julia… I don’t care what you do to her.” Rats are significant because they could be a metaphor for The Party’s influence. O’Brien - Winston’s torturer, explains that rats will “strip [children] to the bone… They show astonishing
…show more content…
For example, Winston describes the sexual act as “if successfully performed, was a rebellion,” which implies that the reason love is banned is because it is powerful enough to form a “rebellion,” because it shows independent thought and the ability to choose and be happy. Moreover, in The Hunger Games, Rue’s death acts as a turning point for Katniss in which she realises that she must rebel. After witnessing Rue’s death she “decorates her body with flowers,” which is frowned upon within the Games because flowers represents natural beauty, so Katniss is making beauty out of the ugliness of Rue’s murder. The flowers are metaphors for the allegiance and friendship that Katniss and Rue shared, which is strictly forbidden in the Games since they are supposed to be
In the novel 1984, written by George Orwell, there is a place called Oceania where the government is Big Brother. The government, the Party, and the Thought Police are constantly oppressing the citizens of Oceania. Most of the people don't know that they are being oppressed, but the two main characters, Julia and Winston, realize the oppression and don't stand for it. Winston and Julia absolutely hate the Party, and are constant breaking its “rules”. Julia is self-centered and resists the Party by doing rebellious acts that only affect her in a positive way. Similarly, Winston also does small acts of rebellion in the beginning of the book in ways that only relate to him. Later, Winston rebels for a greater cause, joining the Brotherhood to
The hero’s journey is a useful tool in analyzing narratives of all kinds, from myths to movies to everyday life. One of the most iconic stages in the Hero’s Journey is the ordeal, otherwise known as the belly of the whale or the cave, in which the protagonist has reached their darkest and most hopeless point – things cannot get worse. Once the hero gets through the main ordeal, their journey home is much more sedated. This can be paralleled to the encompassing plot structure, in which there is a climax, and then the intensity of the story winds down again. This stage is one of the most universal in the hero’s journey, because without conflict and climax, there is no drive or reward within the story. Popular movies such as The Hunger Games,
George Orwell has created two main characters that have conflicting traits: believe in the idea of love in a world where it is forbidden. Although both are secret rebels of the Party and share the same hatred for the Party’s totalitarian power, Julia and Winston display a remarkable number of differences between each other. The differences between them include their morality, their motivation towards the rebellion, and their personalities. Julia represents elements of humanity that Winston does not: survival, instincts, pure sexuality and cunning (1984 By George Orwell Character Analysis Julia). Her actions show the lack of an emotional connection to anyone, even Winston.
In George Orwell’s 1984, where strictly regulated rules is what generates this society, and any disregard for these rules ends in unimaginable punishment. Winston and Julia’s love for each other, however unconventional it is, is greatly beneficial for not only the participants, but also for O’Brien, and particularly for Big Brother itself. This passion for each other, seemingly inextinguishable, is later on taken into account by the Inner Party, finally resulting in not only complete obedience and conformity from Winston and Julia, but also in a peace of mind for these two characters.
By removing the stimulus of sex, the Party members are then given more opportunities to devote their loyalties to Big Brother. This influence is made evident in Winston’s reactions to Julia. Her “white and smooth” body “aroused no desire in him” (32). The Party has trained its members to become unresponsive to romantic feeling. The stigma of sex has been altered to such a degree by the Party that Winston views sex as an almost political act since it has become so closely related to Big Brother. In order to ensure true devotion to the Party, romantic connections are forbidden because becoming involved in such a relationship would mean devotion to another person other than Big Brother, and is therefore considered a threat to the Party’s power. Despite Winston’s relationship with Julia, he ultimately abandons his ties to her over his ‘love’ of Big Brother - thus his connection with Big Brother replaces his romantic
Katniss is the main character in the novel, The Hunger Games. The author of this book is Suzanna Collins. Katniss is a 16 year old who has been chosen with 23 other tributes. In my class we have studied themes and key ideas such as Power of the Capitol, Competition against other tributes and Sacrifice for what Katniss acts and does in the Hunger Games. There are many themes but I have chosen these 3 because they show the most emotions and power.
When looking at the facts, it is evident that novel is widely immersed in a dystopian society that bonds references to Greek and Roman mythology and the deeper meaning to the characters. Suzanne Collins utilized symbols to show how The Hunger Games is more than a novel about child war, but more as an overview as to the possibilities of a world that depends on the decisions we make as a society.
Love is an underlying theme in the novel. Love can be seen as nonexistence in this totalitarian society. The marriage between Winston and Katherine was a disastrous one because they were only married for fifteen months and they can n...
Love is an emotion affecting people's everyday lives. In the book “1984,”, George Orwell introduces his readers to this idea, with a compelling portrayal of this important feeling. In Orwell’s totalitarian society of Oceania, the ruling party attempts to demolish all love for anyone except Big Brother who controls them. The affection that normally exists between individuals, in Oceania, warps to exist between individuals tortured and those torturing them. This is demonstrated by familial bonds and affection between siblings, wives, mothers, fathers and children, changing and creating an opportunity for the government to monitor its citizens. In contrast the interactions between the main character, Winston and his oppressor, O'Brien exhibit true love. Real connections between regular human beings in Oceania are virtually non existent due to actions taken by the government to destroy these bonds.
Individualism allows for the freedom of thought and expression, which eliminates the possibility of the Party to have ultimate power. This determination to destroy the ideal of individualism is not an unseen act. 1984 is a work of fiction, but it’s was based on historical inspirations such as Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. Both countries controlled its people in a totalitarian system similar to the Party’s. Parallels are drawn throughout the novel such as the Party’s thought police to the Soviet Russia's secret police, which would keep documents on every man, woman, and child. One could also compare the Ministry of Love to Stalin’s Gulag (labor camp) or the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. All of these systems of government have risen with the goal of complete power and can only survive with the annihilations of oneself
In 1984, George Orwell presents an overly controlled society that is run by Big Brother. The protagonist, Winston, attempts to “stay human” in the face of a dehumanizing, totalitarian regime. Big Brother possesses so much control over these people that even the most natural thoughts such as love and sex are considered taboo and are punishable. Big Brother has taken this society and turned each individual against one another. Parents distrust their own offspring, husband and wife turn on one another, and some people turn on their own selves entirely. The people of Oceania become brainwashed by Big Brother. Punishment for any uprising rebellions is punishable harshly.
Given that George Orwell’s occupation was a English novelist, journalist, and critic his opinion that totalitarianism is wrong is not surprising because as a kid growing up in India and England he was brought up as a socialist. In 1984, Winston starts to look at his own life and the job that he has to help realize that what he is doing is wrong. He also tries to remember what is was like before Big Brother and he remembers his parents and he doesn’t know how they disappeared. Winston also starts a journal to keep track of all the dreams and thoughts he has. Furthermore in 1984, Julia knows that Big Brother is controlling the public so in her way of rebelling she has sex. One of the rules by Big Brother is that people are not allowed to have kids or any type of relationship unless permitted by the government. Julia knows that there is not much she can do to change the future but as she examines her own life she comes closer and closer to the truth. Winston and Julia looked at their own lives to help figure out that Big Brother was controlling the public. They did this by looking at their everyday lives, like the constant playing propaganda for Big Brother, the forced hate meetings, morning exercises by the telescreen. These all contributed to them checking their chains and finding
Upon investigating the dehumanized complexion of the societies in these two novels, it is seen that both authors effectively use this setting to convey their warnings. These societies lack positive emotions, particularly love. In Fahrenheit 451, a teenager named Clarisse McClellan rubs a dandelion under Montag’s chin. Since the dandelion doesn’t rub off, she claims Montag isn’t in love. He originally denies this, for he has a wife name Mildred. However, he later realizes “That awful flower the other day, the dandelion! It had summed up everything” (Bradbury 41). Montag has reached the conclusion that he doesn’t love Mildred, his own wife! This epitomizes the dehumanized society of Fahrenheit 451, a society in which there are no strong emotions. Emotions are part of what characterizes humanity. Without them, people would merely be machines. Montag has not experienced love or happiness, and because of this he has not truly ...
George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, portrays a dystopia in which it is wrong to love; which Winston then uses as his method of rebellion as he creates romantic relations with Julia, a more hidden rebel. The moment after Winston and Julia have been intimate, Winston reveals “Their embraced had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act,” (Orwell 126). Although the act of sex is shown to bring couples closer, Winston reveals this is not the case for him, for him, it is merely an act of upheaval towards the Party. Likewise, Gilliam’s film, Brazil also shows a similar act of love as Sam Lowry has dreams about falling in love with a girl, who we later know as Jill Layton. Near the end of the movie, the audience sees that both Sam and Jill are captured by government officials while lying in bed together, (Gilliam), an act of rebellion similar to that of Winston’s. It becomes apparent that the right to express oneself through acts of love is considered the ultimate act of insurgence within these dystopias. The real world is no exception to this. As Atilano proves in Garcia’s article, he does all that is possible to be able to seem a hero to his family, “I wondered about the process of overcoming fear of death for the common good. ‘When does someone decide that life becomes secondary to a
The book 1984, written by George Orwell, focuses on a man named Winston Smith. Winston lives in a society where citizens are taught to hate each other and children are told to betray their parents. Fear is a part of every person’s daily lives and as if that was not enough, citizens are kept busy for the entire day so that thoughts of rebellion or things other than their leader “Big Brother” are kept at bay. If a person is to go against the rules set forth by “Big Brother” and his party then torture or worse would be implemented. This novel, written by George Orwell clearly displays how to maintain a thriving totalitarian society.