English

[hunvem]

1984
The Human Experience

The stylistic features of a text illuminate our understanding of the complexity and power of human experiences.
Discuss the extent to which this is true of 1984 and your related text.

George Orwell’s 1984 uses stylistic features to elucidate our understanding of the complexity and power that resides in the human experiences of attraction, perseverance and connection. In his tripartite novel, Orwell satirically warns of the destruction of language and the consequent inability to communicate, which develops our understanding of the need for human connection. Furthermore, through the metaphoric representation of a Proletarian woman, he showcases the tenacity of humanity to prevail, and the subconscious fight for survival that accompanies it. Finally, Orwell highlights the proportion to which the primitive desire of love is irrefutable in its nature, and how this compassion breeds injudicious action. The novel illuminates how the human experiences of communication, morality and love, despite retaining complexity, have a subtle power residing within them.

The contrast between Winston’s fight against the Party and the conformity instilled within the populace is imbued with warnings of depreciating language. Through this, Orwell explores the shared need for the human experience of creativity and free communication. Working as a journalist during WWII, Orwell was elucidated to the manner in which criticisms of the powerful were subdued. This is reflected in the character of Winston, who promotes the preservation of our purest thoughts. In the preliminary third of the novel, Winston propagates his thoughts into an illicit diary with great tenacity, but cannot help constantly lamenting the lack of punctuation. This shown in the quote “Shedding first its capital letters and finally even its full stops.” The emphasis placed on the cacography of his writing demonstrates Winston’s predicament in his fight against the Party. The simple act of writing in a journal is dramatically subverted as dangerous, demonstrating the anomalous nature of restricting language. This is ironically glorified through Syme, whose sycophantic manner in depicting the systemic loss of language establishes the extent of the effect it will have on the masses. “it’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.” This emphasises the the paradoxical and contrived method of subjugating a nation through language. Furthermore, Winston’s receptiveness to the glass paperweight, a symbol for human interconnection, demonstrates yet another paradoxical concept. Winston perceives in it; “such a depth … yet … almost as transparent as air,” which shows the shared nuances and power within our ability to imagine and communicate freely. Although Winston’s dream of an autonomous Oceania was doomed from the start, Orwell’s warning of degrading language depicts the need for free human thought and expression remains crucial to our communication.

Through the metaphorical representation of a proletarian woman, Orwell demonstrates the complexity and power of the human experience of endurance in the face of oppression. INGSOC’s development of various fallacies has seemingly eroded human autonomy and independent cognition, for fear of persecution. Orwell, however, portrays the resistant spirit of humans, through an ageing proletarian woman who contently sings, despite the squalid conditions she endures. Winston firstly brings attention to the nature of her life as a proletarian woman through repetition of various tasks, including “laundering, scrubbing, darning, cooking, sweeping, polishing, mending, scrubbing, laundering, first for children, then for grandchildren, over 30 unbroken years.” The repetition of the scrubbing and laundering in the quote was utilised to showcase the mundane and cyclical nature of the proletarian lifestyle. However, Winston observes this woman singing “the driveling song”, which has “seemed to keep its popularity … and outlived the Hate song.” This is a direct example of Prole’s intuitive evasion to the fallacies of the Party. Through metaphorically representing the Prole’s subconscious aversion to oppression as “the driveling song” and the doctrines of the Party as the Hate song, Winston demonstrates his belief in the Proles being immortal, and eventually rising up to supersede and destroy the seemingly irrefutable regime of the Party. Orwell utilises imagery to reinforce this concept, specifically with the quote “storing up in our hearts and bellies,” which insinuates that the struggle to retain our humanity is inherent in our anatomy.



Through focus on the relationship between Winston and Julia, Orwell exhibits the power of complexity of the human experience of love in 1984. Julia & Winston engage in an illicit affair, which is ultimately manipulated into indifference by the Party. Initially, Julia is portrayed as content to enjoy her life in the present, which is demonstrated through her past manipulation of men to fulfil her libido. Winston is not only attracted to her young body and rebellious nature, but to the ideology of what Julia represents. Sexual desires, in accordance to the Party, are a detriment to society, and must be eradicated. In rebelling against this autocratic ideal, Winston finds a small sense of accomplishment, made possible only through his attraction to Julia. Orwell further demonstrates the complexity of this emotion throughout the novel. He begins by establishing their loyalty to one another. During their ingress into the Brotherhood, the couple swear to commit extreme actions, including “pouring sulphuric acid onto the face of a child, commit murder … and commit suicide,” provided that it assists in the downfall of the Party. However, when faced with the prospect of aversion to one another, Julia immediately responds with a decisive “No!” to which Winston concurs. This exhibition of loyalty demonstrates the power that resides within love; they will not let their relationship dissolve, even for the cause they swore to commit barbaric acts for. To further portray the complexity of love, Orwell turns to the impacts it has on the couple. We see that the individual motivation behind both Winston and Julia to challenge the Party is amplified by their affection for one another. The very emotion that causes such powerful attraction also has the capability to strengthen aggression and hostility within an individual, which Orwell demonstrates through Winston’s actions. Where once Winston would think twice about writing adversities pertaining to the Party, he now proudly orates his rebellion to the Brotherhood as he develops grand-scale plans to destroy the Party. Albeit broken and defeated by the Party, the relationship between Winston and Julia effectively depicts the power and complexity residing with the human experience of love.

Orwell’s 1984 delivers a foreboding reminder to avoid the degradation of the human quality of self-expression. The cautionary tale is imbued with warnings of a world in which the autocratic rule permeates the populace and creates an ironic fondness for the destruction of our mode of communication. Through the relationship between Julia and Winston, Orwell has effectively illuminated the complexity of the emotion of love, showcasing how it has the ability to amplify an individual’s actions. The metaphorical representation of a proletarian woman has allowed Orwell to showcase the power of the subconscious mind, regardless of the lack of conscious cognition. This text has thus utilised stylistic features to deliver particular messages and elucidate the reader’s perception of the complexity and power of the human experience.