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Conformity In 1984 By George Orwell

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There is nothing truly more terrifying than conformity in its purest form and George Orwell, the author of 1984, illustrates that point perfectly in his novel which showcases all of his ideas. But what really causes the erasement of the individual and the subsequent rise of the ostensible status quo? Orwell takes the time in his novel to demarcate the many causes that have an acute effect on individuality and how potently a general ‘norm’ can influence a mass of people. Manipulation of the individual and of the masses runs rampant in this dystopian world as mandated activities like Two Minutes Hate serve to distract and confuse the people, as well as organizations like the Anti-sex league and Spies being used as indoctrination centers …show more content…

The totalitarian government loathes freedoms and deplores rebellion, and by combining these ideas they create the perfect conglomeration of ideas which pushes the people of Airstrip One even further down the ideologies that Big Brother approves of. Because of all this hate and rage being directed at Goldenstein, Eastasia, freedoms, and the rebellion, the people still are not aware of their own status as individuals creating an endless cycle ignorance. Another way the The Party exhibits control is through the use of the Two Minutes Hate. As it is described by Winston, it is “A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledgehammer…” (Orwell 14). The Two Minutes Hate activity utilizes some of the pent up frustrations the people have accumulated through not being able to exercise their freedoms and turns it into pure rage. Hate and anger course through the crowd as they are unable to form a single coherent thought that isn’t what the government wants them to think. The Party, for these two minutes, is able to create a stranglehold on the emotions of the people and can steer them in any direction they choose. Orwell demonstrates here how the themes of rage and loathing are going to play a big part in his novel as well as how government decreases unique thinking by playing up emotions rather than critical thinking. And the key part about the Hate period is that “...

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