Free Will In George Orwell's '1984'
Julio Martich
Eng 201-0910
Final Paper
The Fight For Free Will
The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion. These are the words used to define free-will but what if the definition was changed tomorrow? George Orwell created a world where not only is this accepted but is actually the norm. The famous author penned “1984” which brings his perspective of a dystopian future. The setting for the novel takes place in Oceania which is in a world consisting of three brobdingnagian totalitarian countries constantly at war with each other and using a combination of technology and psychological control to keep their party members and citizens under careful monitoring and control. Written …show more content…
The Party does not allow it’s citizens to keep documentation from their past, like photos or birth certificates. As a result, memories turn fickle, and citizens become mindless drones that accept whatever Big Brother tells them. By controlling the present, the Party is able to manipulate the past. And in controlling the past, the Party can vindicate all of its actions in the present (Kreuk, Emma. "984 – George Orwell." Academia.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2017.) One scene that stood out to me from the novel was actually in the beginning of the first couple chapters. The main protagonist Winston, 30 years old and a member of the Party. Begins to write in a diary after he discovers a corner of his room that is undetectable by the telescreen. In this world the telescreen serves as both an entertainment console but also as a camera linked to Big Brother’s security network. He uses this corner as an outlet of self expression, in the privacy of his corner he is free to write and reclaim his self …show more content…
He becomes a shell of the person he once was and ultimately feels defeated since the Party has complete control of him and his free-will. Free-will is exterminated by the tampering of history records and the takeover of privacy. The ending of the story suggests that allowing totalitarian regimes to spread and gain control is the synonymous with positioning society on a passage towards barbarous governance and absolute elimination of individual thoughts, history and freedoms; in additional terms, towards the terminal dystopia of humans making choices that are determined by prior causes or by divine
Eng 201-0910
Final Paper
The Fight For Free Will
The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion. These are the words used to define free-will but what if the definition was changed tomorrow? George Orwell created a world where not only is this accepted but is actually the norm. The famous author penned “1984” which brings his perspective of a dystopian future. The setting for the novel takes place in Oceania which is in a world consisting of three brobdingnagian totalitarian countries constantly at war with each other and using a combination of technology and psychological control to keep their party members and citizens under careful monitoring and control. Written …show more content…
The Party does not allow it’s citizens to keep documentation from their past, like photos or birth certificates. As a result, memories turn fickle, and citizens become mindless drones that accept whatever Big Brother tells them. By controlling the present, the Party is able to manipulate the past. And in controlling the past, the Party can vindicate all of its actions in the present (Kreuk, Emma. "984 – George Orwell." Academia.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2017.) One scene that stood out to me from the novel was actually in the beginning of the first couple chapters. The main protagonist Winston, 30 years old and a member of the Party. Begins to write in a diary after he discovers a corner of his room that is undetectable by the telescreen. In this world the telescreen serves as both an entertainment console but also as a camera linked to Big Brother’s security network. He uses this corner as an outlet of self expression, in the privacy of his corner he is free to write and reclaim his self …show more content…
He becomes a shell of the person he once was and ultimately feels defeated since the Party has complete control of him and his free-will. Free-will is exterminated by the tampering of history records and the takeover of privacy. The ending of the story suggests that allowing totalitarian regimes to spread and gain control is the synonymous with positioning society on a passage towards barbarous governance and absolute elimination of individual thoughts, history and freedoms; in additional terms, towards the terminal dystopia of humans making choices that are determined by prior causes or by divine