Winston and 1984 Liberation From

Winston and 1984

Liberation from the Party in 1984

Winston Smith's rise to consciousness in 1984 is accompanied by his awareness of natural impulses. These natural impulses are described by his pursuit of historical truth, by his rejection of the absurd, irrational slogans of the Party, and by his sexual awakening. What may be viewed as a kind of liberated sexuality in Winston is actually simply a recognition of the natural sexual impulse -- characterized by the sexual relationship he forms with another prole in the novel. This paper will analyze the connection between the proles and the theme of liberated sexuality and show how it relates to Winston's longing for a kind of social consciousness opposed to the Party and its unnatural, illogical, totalitarian position.

Orwell describes Winston's awakening by illustrating unity on a natural level. For example, Orwell relates the natural act of singing with nature, life, work, and consciousness: "The birds sang, the proles sang…all around the world…stood the same solid unconquerable figure…toiling from birth to death and still singing" (Orwell, 1983, p. 476). Excluded from the song, however, is the Party: "The Party did not sing" (Orwell, p.476). If the future of the human race and of human consciousness depends upon the singing humanity, which is able to overcome all obstacles and still maintain adherence to an ideal -- beauty and truth, for instance -- the Party represents something soulless and unconscionable: namely, the suppression of all natural human urges. The Party, in other words, is a mechanical force that does not allow life to reach its true potential. It suppresses inspiration and represses nature simply so it can maintain its position of power. By enslaving the minds and hearts of the proles, the Party increases its control. Only by pursuing a relationship with a prole and breaking the sexual taboos of the Party (and beginning to think for himself) does Winston finally come to a kind of class consciousness. His sexual liberation is viewed as a step toward liberation from the Party because it is a step back toward human nature and real human ideals like Truth and Beauty -- remnants of a Past, which the Party attempts to subvert and/or erase.

Winston begins to explore his natural human urges in 1984 by pursuing his sexual appetites among the proles. The Party attempts to control the proles, however, despite their natural inclinations. The Party controls the classes through propaganda of scarcity. Scarcity is a motif that Orwell uses to show how the Party controls and manipulates the proletariat -- the proles. The Party relies heavily on propaganda, and scarcity is one of its propaganda lies: there is not really any scarcity; it is only another fabrication to convince the proles that they must conserve and rally behind the government in these times of scarcity. Concern for preservation supplants their desire for procreation. Duped into believing that they are lacking in consumer goods, they really show that what they are lacking in is intellect and spirit and the freedom to pursue either.