Signet Essay Contest Winner 2013: DeeDee Han
DeeDee Han
In his novel 1984, George Orwell paints a picture of a horrifying dystopia in which a totalitarian government controls almost every aspect of life and systematically executes unorthodox citizens. Under such brutal conditions, dissent nevertheless grows in the hearts of two characters in particular, Winston and Julia, who pick the dangerous path when given the choice of safety and silence or humanity and death. Despite knowing that resistance is futile against the collective, powerful Party, they engage in open rebellion and vow to stay true to each other in a society that does not value love or friendship. Ultimately, Winston’s and Julia’s unwavering conviction to die fighting reinforces the resilience of humanity. Staying silent is equivalent to accepting a life that is no longer human.
In Oceania, the Party has such complete control over society that rebellion never leads to change. Winston’s diary and radical thoughts are ineffective because he is unable to publicize his criticisms of the Party and garner more popular support. In particular, one incident, in which he holds a page of an old newspaper that “[is] enough to blow the Party to atoms,” demonstrates the futility of merely entertaining the idea that “it could have been published to the world” (78). This type of defiance is not worth undertaking since there is no realistic way to spread hatred of the almost omnipotent Party while it controls all publications, past, present, and future. Constantly hearing that “the Party [is] invincible,” Julia simply believes the statement and recognizes the impossibility of organized revolt (153). She chooses secret disobedience to fulfill her desire for “a good time,” fully aware that her actions could never lead to the fall of the Party (131). In the end, Winston’s and Julia’s rebellion as lovers could never seriously challenge the Party’s dominance as it occurs only within limited scope and involves individuals who can be “‘annihilated in the past as well as in the future'” (254). There is no way to encourage others to revolt in a similar fashion while trying “to stay alive as long as possible” (78). Since “the individual is always defeated,” and the Party isolates its members on purpose, any attempt to start a conspiracy would immediately result in failure (135). Therefore, a legitimate challenge to the Party’s supremacy is not viable, but that does not stop Winston and Julia from considering the wild possibility.
Several times throughout the novel, Winston acknowledges that he will eventually be caught and punished for his dissent. He repeatedly tells himself “that from the moment of declaring war on the Party it was better to think of yourself as a corpse,” so the source of his determination to rebel must not be a belief in success (135). Doomed to fail, Winston still consciously chooses to break the rules and defy the oppressive government because “it was& by staying sane that you carried on the human heritage” (28). Multiple instances in history have proven that people dissent without hope for success just to keep the human spirit alive, to perpetuate the idea that human emotions are never completely forgotten. Even if “the heretic walk[s] to the stake,” his beliefs are not wiped out (255). His legacy continues as posterity proclaims him a martyr, and his sacrifice is not made in vain. Accordingly, Winston believes in the perpetuation of “‘an idea which is indestructible'” (176). He is willing to fight and die for a time “‘when life is worth living again,'” a conviction implying that present conditions are insufferable enough that he can no longer sit in silence and safety (175). In the absence of hope for the present, Winston revolts in the name of posterity, repeating his belief that “the only victory lay in the far future” (135).
On the other hand, Julia breaks the rules to enjoy “the animal instinct, the simple undifferentiated desire” (126). Understanding that the Party suppresses the sexual instinct to create fervor for war, she engages in this type of dissent to feel human. “The truly characteristic thing about modern life [is]& its listlessness” because the government attempts to erase basic human emotions (74). The love in families, the everyday joy of living, the pleasure of work and play the Party takes them all away. In her own way, Julia regains her humanity by learning to love as only humans can. If she decides that “‘staying human is worth while,'” it does not matter that she will die by torture; the preservation of human emotions surpasses the matter of mortality (166). Julia’s and Winston’s ultimate goal in defying the Party is to declare that “‘only feelings matter,'” despite what they sacrifice to perpetuate the idea (166). Otherwise, they would live a dehumanized existence marked by routine, one that is truly not worth living.
George Orwell’s 1984 explores the question of whether it is possible to stamp out inherently human characteristics through repeated torture and oppression. The Party, the totalitarian ruling body that utilizes terror to monopolize power, comes close to achieving this goal, but not without encountering constant opposition. Knowing that they are destined to die, Winston and Julia fight with the hope that “the fragment of coral,” the tiny piece of humanity left in their oppressive world, will never disappear (223). In doing so, they embody the human spirit of determination and the ability to say no, and sacrifice their lives to the cause. Though the Party succeeds in crushing the hearts of the two lovers, the unhappy ending of the novel arouses frustration and conviction in readers who resolve never to forfeit humanity in the pursuit of power. Ultimately, the Party does not win, because Winston and Julia define what it is to be human in a world that has lost most of its ability to feel; no one can take away the human belief that “the inner heart& remained impregnable” (167).
