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Love And Selflessness In 1984 By George Orwell

Decent Essays

In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the author challenges the traditional humanist depictions of love and selflessness by showing that these human qualities are unattainable in the dystopian world portrayed. Orwell, however, does instill some hope with the fact that the proles maintain some sense of humanity. The Party is determined to extinguish all humanity within the party members by controlling all parts of their lives, but if the proles can maintain their basic human goodness then there is a small glimmer of hope that the party can be overthrown. Due to the extreme repression placed upon the party members, basic human qualities like love and selflessness are reduced to nothing more than pure instinctual behaviors. Upon being introduced to the dystopian world portrayed in the novel, the audience learns that Winston has a complicated viewpoint on love and relationships because of the party’s strict regulations. When Winston reminisces about his wife Katharine, an orthodox party member, he confirms that she was very against sex just like any other party member. He acknowledges that they never loved each other and were simply married “to beget children for the service of the Party” (65). Under the control of the Party, sex is turned into something that is seen “as a slightly disgusting minor operation” (65). The passion and love usually associated with sexual intercourse are reduced to the human sexual instinct because the Party monitors it so closely. Because

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