George Orwell s 1984 ( 1949 ) - 1265 Words

Power alone can be a dangerous machine when put into the wrong hands. In George Orwell’s novel 1984 (1949), he painted a dark image of the Oceania government’s abuse of political power that destroyed the very fabric of life for many of its society members. Evidence of this destruction is seen through the eyes of the main protagonist, 39-year-old, Winston Smith. The novel is set in Air Strip One, based in London. Although 85 percent of Oceania’s population was made up of proletarians who seemed content with poor living and working conditions, there were some, like the main character, Winston for example, who knew that they deserved a better quality of life, but to seek such quality, think for oneself, and/or oppose the Ingsoc doctrines†¦show more content†¦For example, there was an authoritative entity called the â€Å"Thought Police† (19), who was put in place to capture those found guilty of â€Å"thoughtcrimes† (19), â€Å"facecrimesà ¢â‚¬  (62), and who lacked the ability to â€Å"doublethink† (35). Any thought, facial expression, or statement that would indicate that someone was opposed to the Party and could possibly be an enemy of the state was not tolerated by the Oceania government. Orwell partially used the lengths that the government spanned to mentally manipulate the Outer Party members to attack the integrity of the Oceania government. Abuse of power was another theme used to attack the uprightness of the Oceania government. Through this theme, Orwell was able to show one of the darkest sides of Big Brother and the Inner Party. For instance, when captured, any number of methods could have been used in an attempt to convert characters like Winston and Parsons into considering the doctrines of Big Brother, yet, Orwell decided to use dehumanizing torture, like the beatings that took place on pages 239-241, the electric shock that started on page 241, the drilling into one’s head that four fingers are five when clearly it is four as shown on page 249, the mere fact of telling a man that as a man, his kind is â€Å"extinct†, as the writer expressed from one character to another on page 270. Moreover, â€Å"The