1984 Part 1 Essay

In the book 1984, by George Orwell, the people are controlled by a superior being, the Big Brother. The goal of the Party, which is the government, is to turn the brains of all the citizens into a thoughtless working machine. This brainwashing is achieved in many different ways. Some of the ways are constant media messages proclaiming the power of the Party, restricting the amount of luxuries each person was allotted, and severely punishing those who dared oppose the ways of the government. Simple human desires were revoked, and human instincts that were indestructible were made to look ugly and dirty.

The natural human desire for sex was made out to be a mundane duty only to assist the Party. Winston, the main character, struggles with this human desire. He longs to have sex, but he fears being caught by a patrolman. His desire overcomes his fears and he heads down to the proles to pick up a prostitute. He gets a prostitute and pays for her services. During this time he is tormented by differing memories. His entire life he has been taught that "sexual intercourse is to be looked on as a slightly disgusting minor operation, like having an enema" (57). Winston, however, longs for something more he knows that there is another reason to sex than just "making a baby" (58). He saw it as an expression of love, and even more than that, an act of rebellion. He says "what he wanted more even than to be loved, was to break down that wall of virtue, even if it were only once in his whole life. The sexual act, successfully performed, was rebellion" (59).

Despite the Party's attempt to calm human instinct, Winston had strong desires to rebel. The main goal of the party was to turn each individual into a mindless robot. This plan did not work for Winston, who later down the road may act out in his desires to rebel and become the leader of a rebellion; a rebellion that would overthrow the Big Brother.

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