Political Climate of the Novel, Term Paper

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He even falls in love with Julia and they have an affair, something expressly forbidden by the Party, and so, it is clear throughout the book that Winston is searching for an end to the repression. In his own way, he is a rebel, even if he is a fearful one. He knows the Party and its actions are wrong, and he desperately wants to make a change, but it is impossible to topple the government, they have too much power and have instilled too much fear in the people to ever lose control. In fact, they have so much control that he even questions his own sanity. Orwell writes, "He wondered, as he had many times wondered before, whether he himself was a lunatic" (Orwell 80). He knows rebellion is right, but he questions its' sanity, which indicates the power the Party has over everyone. Ultimately, Wilson is caught, and he is brainwashed to the point that he even turns on Julia. He returns to society with the "correct" thoughts, and is no longer a threat, as he spends his days drinking Victory Gin in the Chestnut Tree Cafe, no longer a threat to anyone or anything (Orwell 296).

4. The religious sub-theme of this novel is clear and very disturbing. Orwell wrote it in 1949, after the close of World War II, and when Communism was on the rise in the Soviet Union. The leader of the resistance movement, Goldstein, is always the moderator of the Two-Minute Hate and the subject of the people's derision and hatred because of his views.

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Goldstein is a Jew (Orwell 32), and presumably a survivor of the Holocaust, which implies the underlying importance of religion in this novel. The "evil" perpetrators against Big Brother are Jews, and Big Brother himself seems to represent God throughout the book, albeit a dark view of God. Big Brother is all-powerful, can see everything through his vast array of technology and converts, and controls all aspects of life. The people "worship" him or lose their lives, and he forces them to love him or else. Near the end of the book, during Winton's brainwashing, O'Brien asks, "Do you believe in God, Winston?'" (Orwell 270). Winston answers "no," and that he considers himself "superior." Clearly, these "heretic" thoughts must be dealt with, and Winston is brainwashed to love Big Brother above all else and concede the Party was right (Orwell 277). He even writes "GOD IS POWER" (Orwell 277), emulating this idea that Big Brother and God are one in the same.

If this is the case, then Orwell could have been writing about organized religion, rather than Communism or Fascism in his book. Throughout the book, the Party is the ultimate political force, controlling every aspect of life. Devout religious believers, no matter what their religion, give this power to God or Allah, or whoever they believe in, just as they give much of the power of law making and customs to their Church. Thus, Big Brother's totalitarian regime could be equated to a large, powerful religion, which shows….....

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