Similarly from Panem, in Oceania there is also inequality between the rich and poor. The small Inner Party seems to live in luxury whilst the Outer Party members live in rundown apartments and the larger population, the ‘proles’ live in poverty. The ruling regime being the wealthiest and smallest population shows that wealth has not been divided equally and is contained for power. Through Winston, third-person narrative we’re informed that the proles live in decayed and bombed ruined houses, which indicates a war has occurred. This is a common convention in dystopian literature as war or a revolution had to occur for an oppressive regime to look favourable to the people because it’s giving the illusion of a perfect society. Orwell demonstrates how totalitarian societies promote the wealth of the ruling regime while decreasing the quality of life for the proles in the fictional book ‘The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism’ that was written by a former member of the Inner Party, who is conspiring against Big Brother. “Below Big Brother comes the Inner Party…Below the Inner Party comes the Outer Party…Below that come the dumb masses whom we habitually refer to as ‘the proles.’” The repetition of the word ‘below’ would indicate to the readers that Big Brother is the most important and the least is the proles, as the level of importance decreases. The phrase “dumb masses” could be an indication to the readers that the proles are seen as the inferior population because we associate the word “dumb” to be someone stupid. If we were to picture a pyramid structure for the hierarchy of Oceania; at the bottom would be the proles, who can be seen as the working class. Above the proles would be Outer Party, who can be seen as middle class and then there is the Inner Party, who are seen as the elite class. Orwell lures us to the fact that the citizens of Oceania are being manipulated by the Party, “until they become conscious they will never rebel, until after they have they cannot become conscious.” This is showing the irony involved with revolution, in order to rebel you must know you’re oppressed, however, to know you’re oppressed, you must first over-throw the regime that deliberately keeps you unaware. By repeating the words ‘until’ and ‘they’ Orwell draws the readers into the fact that the citizens of Oceania are being manipulated by the Party and Orwell could be warning us of the consequences in giving the politicians too much power. Orwell could also be showing us what could happen to humanity if we aren’t being careful, his holding a mirror to society.
Winston is not ignorant and loyal to Big Brother, he lacks the ability of ‘doublethink’ and does not completely believe everything he is told especially since his job at the Ministry of Truth is rewriting history. For history being rewritten by the Party shows the repressive control on the past and future because we depend on knowing the mistakes of the past in order to correct them in the future, "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." Orwell demonstrates that people can be controlled through cultural conditioning, this is because people will put their faith in a government that they believe tells them the truth. Winston’s profession leads him to rebel against the Party by writing about the present in his diary to inform the people of the future what actually occurred in the past. Winston wrote in his diary entry, “If there is hope...it lies in the proles.” This rebellious thought written in Winston diary shows that the proles are the only ones that can actually rebel against the Party because the proles aren’t put in rigorous monitoring that members of the Party, like Winston, are. This is because the Party sees the proles as not intelligent since they seem pleased with their life because they are satisfied to have food, shelter and entertainment. This links back to what I stated about the proles being the largest population in Oceania and are being manipulated by the Party, this is the reason why they didn’t overthrow the Party because they have an elevated image for the Party without realising that they are living in poverty. Orwell creates a picture of a society that is influenced by the government through Winston diary. The word ‘hope’ indicates that something virtuous may happen and this would cause the readers to believe that Winston rebellious tactic of writing in his diary would be the spark that saves Oceania.
Another form of Winston rebellion against the Party is the forbidden love between him and Julia. From the third person narrative we’re informed of Winston emotions for Julia. At the beginning Winston disliked and desired to rape and kill Julia. When Winston first encounters Julia, he doesn’t want to lie to her, so he introduces himself to her by saying, "I hated the sight of you. I wanted to rape you and then murder you afterwards." Julia being a part of the Junior Anti- Sex League and working in the Ministry of Truth causes Winston to be suspicious of Julia as she could be a spy working with the Inner Party. Orwell could be showing us how oppressed Winston truly is since he wants to do horrid things to Julia because he desires her and doesn’t trust her at the same time, Winston assumes Julia is a part of the thought police. In Oceania the society is influenced by the government through destroying trust between people, the creation of the thought police and the fear that lies in Room 101. This is the reason why Winston struggles to trust Julia until she confesses to him by slipping a note that says, “I love you.” This causes him to be confused about his emotions because his heart tells him that he loves her, but his brain screams she’s a traitor working as a spy for the Inner Party. Nevertheless, this doesn’t stop Winston from pursuing a sexual relationship with Julia as a form of rebellion. When Mr Charrington let Winston rent a room without telescreen for him and Julia to have an illegal love affair, this was the spark that lead him and Julia to the Ministry of Love to be tortured until the only love they could have was for Big Brother. This is because the government is determined to stop them as they are trying to abolish orgasm, removing all human bonds. “The sex instinct will be eradicated.” Orwell shows how the Party is dehumanising citizens by the uses of dialogue which is said by O’Brien, a member of the Inner Party, in Room 101 to Winston. The word ‘eradicated’ would make the readers realise that the Party motive is to have total control over Oceania by taking away pleasure from the citizens. This could be a way for Orwell to remind the readers the importance of feelings because emotions are a part of human nature. Emotions are significance to humans because feelings serve important functions and are very necessary, even though they can be really painful at times. This is because they provide information just like senses. The Party wanting to get rid of an emotion like pleasure would dehumanise the citizens of Oceania because pleasure brings an experience that is positive, enjoyable and worth seeking. To take that away would make brainwashing people a lot easier for the Party.
Similar to Winston and Julia’s forbidden love, Katniss and Peeta on-screen romance in the arena defies the Capitol when they threaten to eat poisonous berries. The Gamemakers’ wanted to make the final more entertaining so declared that only one victor can win. Katniss figures out that the Gamemakers never intended to let her and Peeta survive, this suggesting they wanted to create a dramatic fight to the death between Panem’s star-crossed lovers. For Katniss to suggest that she and Peeta to give the Capitol no victor is the greatest act of rebellion against the Capitol in the novel. A victor is needed is an element for the Capitol to enforce fear in the citizens of Panem. Without a victor Panem would acknowledge the oppressive ruling because if Katniss and Peeta carried out their dual suicide, the Hunger Games would have been deeply distressing to the viewer’s living in the Districts and Capitol. The pain that was supposed to provide entertainment would have become too disturbing for the public to watch. It may even start another rebellion in Panem because people would be more aware of the Capitol actions and treatment to innocent people living in the Districts. The Hunger Games would go from being amusing to a real-life tragedy. Collins shows the readers the dangers of ‘nightlock’ by a minor flashback Katniss had about her father, “Not these, Katniss. Never these. They're nightlock. You'll be dead before they reach your stomach." The dialogue spoken by Katniss father, who was a coal miner that taught Katniss hunting skills, shows that Katniss is purposely rebelling against the Capitol to the readers by suggesting to eat the berries. Collins could be warning us that the creation of a perfect society is a goal that is incompatible with human nature.
In conclusion, 1984 and Hunger Games are the most-powerful written novels warning us against a totalitarian regime. Although, Orwell uses Winston to convey a message to the readers that humans cannot rebel successfully against a totalitarian regime whilst Collins uses Katniss to convey a message of hope and human strength, both authors still use the protagonist to give a warning to resist or rebel against a corrupted regime, highlighting the dangers of a totalitarian state. Winston was unsuccessful in rebelling against Big Brother which had caused him to become ignorant and loyal because he is able to doublethink, something he was not able to do before. He is able to believe that “2+2=5” and the Party’s slogan, “WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, and IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” which are all obvious lies. Orwell uses an oxymoron to show us that Winston no longer exists as a thinking individual, he exists only as a puppet of Big Brother. Winston’s unsuccessful rebellion could be an indication that Orwell is informing us that humans will lose their individuality if under enough fear and will not retain traditional values if they believe themselves to be in danger. Katniss, unlike Winston, stays strong and doesn’t lose herself to an oppressive regime. Katniss rebellion doesn’t end in her outsmarting the Capitol and Gamemakers when her and Peeta win the 74th Hunger Games, “and right now, the most dangerous part of the Hunger Games is about to begin.” The dialogue spoken by Katniss shows us that her rebellion isn’t over and would be continued by Collins. Orwell and Collins warn us of giving too much power to a government. If there is no rebellion, the totalitarian dictatorship only gets stronger with the passage of time. We learnt in history that giving dictators too much power has caused human to lose value. Adolf Hitler
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