Many great novels have been written on many different topics, George Orwells 1984 is no exception to this. This novel takes place in a country called Oceania; it is what is left of a destroyed London city, in 1984. There are only three continents according to the book, Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. These three countries are always at war that is why most of them are described to be in ruins. Oceania is controlled by a government called Big Brother..
Big Brother has taken total control of everybody’s mind, regulating the minds of all the smart people to perform just like the not-so-smart people. Everything that a person does is watched and controlled by this government. It has gone to the point where people are not even allowed to have a diary, or even enjoy sex. To add to it all the government has re written history making it the way they want it to be, sometimes totally erasing it. There is one man who is destined to fight against this government; he is Winston Smith the main character of the novel.
Throughout the story we notice that this novel is clearly based on the conflict of Man vs. Society, I believe I can explain this to us. In this form of government opposite sexes are not to enjoy sex but to do it just for breeding purposes. Big Brother believes that sex stimulates the mind and opens the door to different thoughts, thoughts of rebellion and enjoyment. Winston meets a girl by the name of Julia at a glass store, the next day she tells him that she is in love with him. Winston agrees to meet with the girl at a certain location and they have sex.
This really breaks the ice for them as a result they begin to tell each other their thoughts without worrying about the thought police. They tell each other how much they dislike Big Brother and how they wish they knew the real past. They both know that this is a serious crime but neither one of them seems to care. One of the worst laws in Big Brother is to keep some sort of journal or diary, but Winston doesnt seem to care. He strategically finds a spot in his apartment where the telescreen cannot see him and he is able to write a journal.
He writes all his thoughts and fears about everything that is a part of his life, because of this he is always paranoid about somebody figuring out that he is against the government. This really helps him out to deal with what is going on in his life, he thinks of the journal as his best friend, the only thing he can really trust. He knows that he is probably the only person that keeps a journal and that if he got caught he would be vanished from existence. Yet he does this rebellious thing against all society every day.
When a so-called friend tells Winston that there is an underground club for people that believe in the same thins he does, without thinking twice he joins. He feels honored that there are more people that believe in individuality like he does. This is a source of comfort to him; he gets really interested that he evens read an entire book in a really short period of time written by the founder of the club. This is eventually what gets Winston caught by the thought police, it turns out to be a set up to catch people like Winston.
This has been a very intriguing novel to read. It has dealt with every kind of conflict that could be categorized under Man vs. Society. George Orwell tells a story where the government becomes so strong that they begin to dominate everything even the mind. This novel shows the meaning of being an individual and what it means to each individual himself. This novel will be long time classic, just because it deals with such odd forms of Man vs. Society.
