1984 Study Guide (George Orwell)

Power

Power is perhaps the main theme of this novel as even though rebellion power not only wins out but brainwashes those who were rebelling into loving the ruling Party. Winston is sure that he opposes the Party and everything that it stands for and goes out of his way to resist their control.

The Party controls everyone’s minds to the point the public believes everything they are told even if it is an obvious fallacy, such as “2+2=5”. O’Brien comments that as long as the Party can control people’s minds they will be in control of the entire world.

Rebellion

Rebellion is something that the Party works hard to prevent from happening, even creating a language known as Newspeak that eliminates all negative words and makes it virtually impossible for people to think rebellious thoughts or become too intelligent to the point that they may be able to outsmart the government.

Winston and Julia rebel against what they are taught though they are too trusting of others and careless in their actions and they get caught and eventually rehabilitated to become puppets to the Party once again.

Communication

Communication in Oceania is entirely controlled by the government as people are not allowed to have close relationships with one another, are not allowed to be seen speaking with one another about non-Party-approved subjects, and are monitored by telescreens at all times.

Big Brother communicates with the citizens of Oceania by appearing on the telescreens and telling everyone exactly what he wants them to believe. The government also has workers, including Winston, who modify historical records as a means to make the public believe whatever the Party wants them to believe.

History

The concept of history is whatever the Party wishes for people to know and believe as opposed to what actually happened. At any given time, the Party can change their mind about what has happened, as they change their allegiance in the middle of the war, and have their workers rewrite history and the public believes the change in history without question.

The citizens seem to remember nothing of their own history, and if they do happen to have a flashback they assume what they are remembering is false. History becomes not fact but whatever makes the Party seem most appealing, courageous, and powerful.

Philosophy

Winston, being one of very few characters who actually thinks for himself, has a decidedly philosophical mind. Winston constantly questions the meaning of life, what it is to exist, what is reality and what is just propaganda and brainwashing, and what it means to have power.

Winston wonders why no one challenges the government and the constantly changing history and language they are fed by the Party. Winston in incredibly inquisitive in all aspects of life and the Ingsoc ruling Party as he is always wondering what the real truth is as it is his job to change historical events whenever prompted; he is curious as to what the true history truly is which makes him a danger to the Party.

Warfare

Warfare is an interesting concept in this novel because most of the war happens within Oceania and everything that happens outside is hearsay. There is supposedly a constant war that is going on between Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia though the allegiances are constantly changing and no one ever questions it, which only demonstrates the power of Oceania even further.

The Party is at constant war with the citizens of Oceania as far as being on high alert always for some sign of rebellion. The bulk of the violence that occurs happens as a means to brainwash and exert power over those who question the Party, rather than other countries that threaten its power.

Violence

In terms of “1984” violence is shown as a way of exerting dominance and torturing people into believing something they know to be false and have been rebelling against. Winston and Julia are both beaten into believing in the Party and becoming mentally subordinate to those who are in charge.

Winston is beaten and tortured to the point of experiencing the greatest pain of his life and is threatened with the prospect of rats eating his face. Violence is used as a tool to literally beating a person into submission, and it works as Winston develops a strong love and respect for both Big Brother and O’Brien.

Manipulation

The government of Oceania manipulates every single aspect of the citizens it controls. They invented a language that would not allow people to even form a thought about rebelling against the government, they police the thoughts of everyone and use telescreens to watch and hear everything that people are doing everywhere they go.

The Party even manipulates documents and history by creating their own record of events that are subject to change on a whim. The manipulation is so serious that the Party can change the record of history and the citizens will believe these new events with no questions asked.

Loyalty

The only loyalty that is allowed in Oceania is loyalty to the Party. There are no personal relationships allowed as even the bonds between husband and wife are only for the purpose of bearing children to keep the Party going and sex is not for enjoyment but rather for reproduction only.

The loyalty that Winston had to Julia infuriated O’Brien and the rest of the Party members to the point that they continued to torture him relentlessly until he turned on her. Loyalty in any form that was not aimed at the Party was considered threatening to their power and dominance.

Memory

The people of Oceania have had their memories manipulated to include only knowledge of Oceania’s history though that is constantly changing. They have no memories of the past and believe anything the Party tells them as factual.

Winston remembers his mother and his sister though mostly only in his dreams and does not dare to speak of them except for his diary and to Julia. By the end of the novel, Winston has a fleeting memory of his mother and his sister, but he thinks it must be a false memory because it is nothing that the Party has taught him so it cannot be true.