Pleasure In 1984

“A life without pleasure is about fulfilling as the sun without sunshine.” – Mama Gena. The sun would be considered useless if no sunlight was produced.. The same principle also applies to humanity. Life itself would be dull and pointless if no pleasures existed. A government can manipulate the population’s minds if they have no reason to live. Their minds and actions would be effortlessly controlled by propaganda and brute force. In the novel 1984, the Party has reduced the pleasure the population of Oceania can have to basically nothing. The government limiting the people in what they can or cannot do is unjust and inhumane. Not much in life can the citizens enjoy except for the propaganda they are being fed. When one has a certain pleasure,
Without food, humanity would cease to exist for everybody would starve to death. The government could limit the amount of food distributed and also control what people are eating. Without basic nutrition the body would become scrawny and weak rapidly. Consequently, if every single person became weak and fragile then they would not have the physical strength necessary to revolt against the Party. To overthrow a totalitarian government the lower class would have to resort to violence and fighting. Food brings a significant amount of pleasure to all people. When one gorges an excessive amount of food only for satisfaction then they are committing gluttony. To avoid gluttony the party set rations on food such as chocolate. Chocolate has a powerful and addictive stimulant that brings a great pleasure. In modern society, giving someone else chocolate shows affection and romance. In 1984, Winston’s mother gave him and his sister a chocolate bar to share together. Winston was so stingy and cruel, he stole his younger sister’s portion of chocolate and ran away from home. (page 163) The desire for food in him became so great he stole from his own kin. The party set limits on other
With love absent the heart feels empty and shattered.. The feeling of love can be considered the strongest emotion a human can experience. Affection builds trust, relationships, and families. If relationships are not being built and people are not bonding, then they cannot unite and form a revolution against the Party. In most cases, love eventually leads to sex. Sex by far is the most intense pleasure stimulant for humans to experience. Since this sensation is so great the party does whatever it can to prevent sex. The party has indoctrinated the youth to believe sex is a dirty deed. To encourage young people to eschew from sexual activity the Junior Anti Sex League was established. Julia herself joined as a member, but she loved rebelling and having sex. As a result of love being forbidden, the only way two people can marry is if they are marrying to produce children for the Party. The party has such a close grip on the populations libido that the only time sex would be allowed is to reproduce, not for pleasure! For example, Winston’s first wife hated making love to him. She referred to the action as ‘doing their deed to the party”. Their sex life was such a drag even Winston despised intercourse. Sex should express how much you love someone and make you feel wonderful. The government of Oceania has tried so hard to vaporize this feeling by searching for ways to make men and women feel no sensation