Thursday, October 27, 2011

1984 Blog 2

Several factors combine to make Winston opposed to the party doctrine. First, Winston is old enough to remember the world before the party and thus has a point of comparison lacking to the younger generation. Next, his profession places him in a unique position where he is confronted by the party’s revisionism of history on a daily basis. Orwell writes, “I know, of course, that the past is falsified, but it would never be possible for me to prove it, even when I did the falsification myself” (128). This shows that Winston’s powers of self-deception or double-think are strained regularly by his profession- and have begun to crack.  Finally, Winston is morally troubled by the party. Although he is by no means brave, Winston sees moral problems in party actions. When conversing with Julia about these problems, she responds, “One knew that it was all rubbish, so why let oneself be worried about it? (129).” However, this does not content Winston- he is bothered by these problems and cannot stop thinking about them.
Winston’s actions do not constitute a protest by the narrowest definition of the term. While it is clear that Winston objects to and defies the status quo, a protest is defined as a public declaration of discontent. In effect, the party has made protest impossible, and Winston expresses his discontent to only a few, select individuals. He does not attempt to sabotage the party through his work- and indeed, continues to aid the party- and to this point in the book, never publicly proclaims his objections. That said, Winston does exhibit signs of a more personal, introspective protest- he rebels in small ways that are meaningless to anyone but himself. He tells Julia of his discovery of evidence of falsification, saying, “’It was no good, because I threw it away later. But if the same thing happened today, I should keep it’” (128-129). Although that act would not be meaningful to anyone beyond himself, it remains an act of internal protest.
Perhaps the greatest difference in Winston’s act of rebellion and in current protests is the impetus. Recent protests within the United States have been sparked by some change in the status quo, be it the beginning of a war, a faltering economy, or unpopular policy. In 1984, the protest is against that which has been a fact of life for decades and is likely to remain present- the power of the party. This difference makes Winston’s task harder: with more dramatic change, it is easier for one to compare the state of affairs before and after. As Goldstein writes, “The  subsidiary reason [for the alteration of the past] is that the Party member, like the proletarian, tolerations present-day conditions partly because he has no standards of comparison” (175). People are less likely to be discontented if they know nothing else.
American society is not Orwellian. Undoubtedly, it has political problems, perhaps most dramatically evidenced in the miniscule voter turnout for younger Americans. However, the plurality of opinions in America is diametrically opposed to an Orwellian effort to promote state control of thought. Our government itself acts against Orwellian unity- a trend that some would say has gone too far, with excessive partisanship causing barriers to effective policymaking (such as the debt crisis). Furthermore, I believe that America’s current political state is far removed from the lack of independent thought that characterizes 1984. If a danger exists that would move us toward such a society, it is in widespread political apathy. The expression, “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain,” is not taken to heart by many Americans. Apathy stems from a variety of sources: arguments that your vote doesn’t matter (disproven by races such as Chandler and Barr’s, decided by 600 votes), arguments that all the candidates are the same (disproven by policy differences), and other similar objections. So long as political apathy is controlled, America will continue to promote discussion and debate that will differentiate our society from Orwell’s society.

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