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DEPICTION OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN PERSONALITY AND STATE IN THE NOVEL «1984» BY G. ORWELL

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The article «Depiction of the Conflict between Personality and State in the Novel «1984» deals with investigation of the genre peculiarities of the novel – dystopia «1984» by G. Orwell and depiction of the conflict between Personality and State. The author of the article states that the genre of dystopia novel occupies a special place not only in the English literature of the XX century, but also in the world literature. The first part of the article speaks about the formation of the dystopia genre in the world literature, which developed as an opposite to the genre of utopia. The research shows that dystopia genre was creatively implemented in the works by A. Huxley, R. Bradbury, K. Ishiguro, etc. The article states that in the novel under analysis the author touches political, social, moral and philosophical problems. And the main means of treating this issue is the system of characters creatively presented in the novel. The author of the article focuses on the analysis of the main character of the novel – Winston Smith, who becomes a person involved into a dramatic, tense conflict between a Personality and the State. G. Orwell provides the idea that under the pressure of a society any person can be ruined. Outstanding characters of the book make it interesting and exciting for a wide circle of readers. This research states that the most tragic and awful character for G. Orwell is the leader of the totalitarian state – Goldstein. The whole novel is aimed against totalitarian ideas, tending to embrace all aspects of human life in order to develop the nation of warriors and fanatics.
Записки з романо-германської філології. Випуск 1 (44). 2020.
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УДК 821.111-313.2ОРУЕЛЛ
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18524/2307-4604.2020.1(44).211032
DEPICTION OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN PERSONALITY
AND STATE IN THE NOVEL «1984» BY G. ORWELL
Valentina Romanetz
candidate of science in pedagogics, associate professor,
Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University
The article «Depiction of the Conflict between Personality and State in the Novel «1984» deals with
investigation of the genre peculiarities of the novel dystopia «1984» by G. Orwell and depiction of
the conflict between Personality and State. The author of the article states that the genre of dystopia
novel occupies a special place not only in the English literature of the XX century, but also in the
world literature. The first part of the article speaks about the formation of the dystopia genre in the
world literature, which developed as an opposite to the genre of utopia. The research shows that
dystopia genre was creatively implemented in the works by A. Huxley, R. Bradbury, K. Ishiguro, etc.
The article states that in the novel under analysis the author touches political, social, moral and
philosophical problems. And the main means of treating this issue is the system of characters
creatively presented in the novel. The author of the article focuses on the analysis of the main
character of the novel Winston Smith, who becomes a person involved into a dramatic, tense conflict
between a Personality and the State. G. Orwell provides the idea that under the pressure of a society
any person can be ruined. Outstanding characters of the book make it interesting and exciting for a
wide circle of readers. This research states that the most tragic and awful character for G. Orwell is
the leader of the totalitarian state Goldstein. The whole novel is aimed against totalitarian ideas,
tending to embrace all aspects of human life in order to develop the nation of warriors and fanatics.
Key words: dystopia, totalitarism, dramatic conflict, utopia, problems, moral, personality.
ЗОБРАЖЕННЯ КОНФЛІКТУ МІЖ ОСОБИСТІСТЮ
ТА ДЕРЖАВОЮ В РОМАНІ ДЖ. ОРУЕЛЛА «1984»
Романець В.М.
кандидат педагогічних наук, доцент,
Одеський національний університет імені І. І. Мечникова
Стаття «Зображення конфлікту між Особистістю та Державою в романі Дж. Орвелла
«1984» присвячена дослідженню жанрової своєрідності роману-антиутопії Дж. Орвелла
«1984» та зображення конфлікту між Особистістю та Державою в досліджуваному творі.
Автор статті зазначає, що жанр роману-антиутопії посідає особливе місце не тільки в
англійській літературі ХХ ст., а й у світовій літературі взагалі. У першій частині статті
йдеться про становлення жанру антиутопії у світовій літературі, який формувався
поступово як протилежний жанру утопії. Жанр антиутопії, як зазначено в дослідженні, було
талановито втілено в творах таких письменників як О. Хакслі, Р. Бредбері, К. Ісігуро та ін.
У статті зазначено, що в досліджуваному творі письменник зачіпає проблеми політичні,
соціальні, моральні, філософські. А основним засобом втілення даної проблематики в творі є
система персонажів, що надзвичайно талановита та яскраво представлена в романі. Автор
статті акцентує увагу на образі головного героя – Вінстона Сміта, який стає фігурантом
драматичного, напруженого конфлікту між Особистістю та Державою. Письменник
наполягає на думці, що під натиском суспільства ламається будь-яка Особистість.
Підкреслюється, що яскраві характери героїв роблять книгу захоплюючою і цікавою для
широкого кола читачів. У даному дослідженні наголошується на тому, що для Дж. Орвелла
найбільш трагічним і страхітливим є образ лідера тоталітарної держави – Голдштейна. А
весь твір спрямовано проти тоталітарних ідей, покликаних охопити всі аспекти людського
буття, заради формування націй воїнів та фанатиків.
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Ключові слова: антиутопія, тоталітаризм, драматичний конфлікт, утопія, проблематика,
мораль, особистість.
ИЗОБРАЖЕНИЕ КОНФЛИКТА МЕЖДУ ЛИЧНОСТЬЮ
И ГОСУДАРСТВОМ В РОМАНЕ ДЖ. ОРУЭЛЛА «198
Романец В.М.
кандидат педагогических наук, доцент,
Одесский национальный университет имени И. И. Мечникова
Статья "Изображение конфликта между Личностью и Государством в романе Дж.Оруэлла
"1984" посвящена исследованию жанрового своебразия романа-антиутопии Дж.Оруэлла
"1984" и изображению конфликта между Личностью и Государством в исследуемом
произведении. Автор статьи отмечает, что жанр романа-антиутопии занимает особое
место не только в английской литературе ХХ ст., а и в мировой литературе в целом. В первой
части статьи речь идет о становлении жанра-утопии в мировой литературе, который
формировался постепенно как противоположный жанру утопии. Жанр антиутопии, как
отмечено в исследовании, был талантливо воплощен в произведениях: О.Хаксли, Р.Брэдбери,
К.Исигуро и др. В статье отмечено, что в исследуемом произведении писатель затрагивает
проблемы политические, социальные, моральные, философские. А основным средством
воплощения данной проблематики в произведении является система персонажей, которые
чрезвычайно талантливо и ярко представлены в романе. Автор статьи акцентирует
внимание на образе главного героя - Уинстона Смита, который становится фигурантом
драматического, напряженного конфликта между Личностью и Государством. Писатель
настаивает на мысли о том, что под натиском общества сломается любая Личность.
Подчеркивается, что яркие характеры героев делают книгу захватывающей и интересной
для широкого круга читателей. В данном исследовании подчеркивается, что для Дж.Оруэлла
наиболее трагическим и ужасающим является образ лидера тоталитарного государства -
Голдштейна. А все произведение направлено против тоталитарных идей, призванных
захватить все аспекты человеческого бытия, ради формирования нации воинов и фанатиков.
Ключевые слова: антиутопия, тоталитаризм, драматический конфликт, утопия,
проблематика, мораль, личность.
Introduction. What is most looked forward in Utopian societies is the concept
of justice. They seek justice both in state and in society (Walsh, 1975). According to
some Utopian writers, the main reason of the corruption in the world is attitude to
injustice. Thus, they, first of all, try to find the reasons of this injustice and inequality
in the society. Both Plato and More take money and private property as the reason of
this chaos, so in both of their Utopias, there is the abolition of money and private
property. Yet, they differ in terms of their ideas on education and class system.
According to Plato, in order to set up a just society, there should be division among
labours. Every person is suited for a certain job and he/she should do his/her work, so
social stability will be provided. And also, for Plato, the rulers should be philosopjjprs
because they are the qualified ones than others. Thomas More, on the other hand,
arranges similar working standards and working hours for people. Yet, although they
are different in some of their Utopian visions, basically both writers seek the ways to
eliminate the greediness, corruption, vanity and crimes in their societies.
Results and discussion. What concerns anti-utopian works, we can state that,
on the other hand, the laws of justice do not work. Generally, there is not social equality
among people and they do not have any rights to protest. There are hierarchical social
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classes in these societies. While some lucky ones seem superior, some others are
inferior and it's their destiny. There are many inequalities in their lives. In Huxley's
dystopia, Brave New World, for instance, people are divided into classes and there are
sharp divisions between them starting from smart ones to inferiors; Alphas, Betas,
Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. Everybody in the system, however, seems to be pleased
with their situation except for some marginal characters who are conditioned from their
very early age. The rest of the population seem to be obedient because their brains are
washed, and they had already lost their individuality. In Orwell's dystopia, in the same
way, there are Party members; Outer-Party and Inner-Party members. And also, there
are Proles, populations who are the lowest part of the society. Other than these
inequalities, when you commit a crime, you have no right to defend yourself. As an
individual, you are always alone and succumbed.
The Utopian aim is an ideal community which posses a perfect socio-political
legal system and circumstances. The rulers in this community try to create perfect
environment governed by the laws that provide equality, freedom, and happiness to
everyone. In dystopian communities, however, the state is represented as brutal and
uncaring. Rather than working for the goodness of the population, the rulers, in
dystopian communities search the ways to control and suppress the citizens in order to
secure their position and their own interests. They condition, manipulate or brainwash
the citizens by using various types of methods including advertising, media,
regulations, technology, and philosophical or religious ideologic.
The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one obliged to act
a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Within thirty seconds any pretence
was always unnecessary. A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill,
to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge-hammer, seemed to flow through the whole
group of people... (Orwell, 2013: 17).
It is important to mention that Utopian society is not interested in educated
people, on the contrary, they try to keep people illiterate. Therefore, they will maintain
their domination. It is such an egoistic, repressive and cruel system. In Ray Bradbury's
famous dystopia, Fahrenheit 451о, for example, the state represses the intellectuals and
forbids the reading of essential books. People's minds are filled with unnecessary things
from TV, advertisements, such as products for consumerism. Nobody is interested in
the realities of their world or what is really happening around them because they are
blind to them. Books, which are seen as threats to status quo, are abolished and burned.
Thus, it seems that whereas Utopian rulers seek ways to provide social harmony,
dystopian rulers create social chaos.
Contrary to dystopian point of view, Utopia is not against freedom. Scientists
assert that utopia struggles to give «true freedom, as individual men and women find
their own destiny fulfilled by co-operating freely with the purposes of society» (Walsh,
1975: 71). Utopia creates an earthly welfare by rational planning but according to
dystopian writers it is not so easy. For some dystopian writers, although Utopia seems
to promise freedom, it is not so possible for an individual to flower as a part of the
social whole. As an individual, he/she has his/her thoughts, ideas, longings and
emotions, so his/her Utopia can also be a dystopia of others who have different world
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views (Постмодернизм, 2001: 74). At this point, dystopia comes into existence. In
dystopia, freedom is totally destroyed. What is left is artificial liberties. In Nineteen
Eighty-Four, people have no right to write, to question and even to think freely. There
is always a crime of thought. In Never Let Me Go, q^ones have no rights even on their
own bodies. Both their bodies and minds are exploited.
In spite of the fact that Utopia and dystopia seem to differ in many aspects, they
share some important points. After all, in both Utopian and dystopian communities,
what is aimed is to alter the existing social order. As Ruppert claims, «their shared
effects lie in their thought provoking power, in their capacity to intensify
contradictions and to arouse a desire for change. The enemy of both Utopia and anti-
utopia is the status-quo, which both seek to transform» (Коссак, 1980: 104). While
Utopia gives the reader a hopeful image with a heaven-like picture that awakens our
desire for change, dystopia provide us a negative picture that is full of hopelessness
that arouses our fears even if it may seem a hopeful image with a heaven-like picture
at first glance. In other words, in Utopian fiction, by creating a perfect environment,
the writer tries to "make us aware of the distance between «the is» and «the ought». In
dystopian fiction, however, this is done through satire and parody. They reimagine their
present and create a plausible future.
Summing up we can state that although these two genres sometimes challenge
each other, they flourishe side by side and they coexist, the tension between the two
remained, linking them in a single arc. The underlying unity was a necessity of their
continuing mutual survival. They fed off one another, deriving an equal and opposite
energy from each other's affirmations and negations (Kumar, 1987: 126).
As hopeful and joyful picture of Utopia life gives way to the emergence Utopian
fiction, the dark and distorted image of life gives way to the existence of dystopian
fiction. The dystopian literature and its main concepts and themes will be analyzed in
detail in the next section.
The novel «1984» is built on the acute conflict between Personality and State,
freedom and fear. Its plot is dramatic, tense, the denouement is unusual, it provides the
idea that under the pressure of society any person can be ruined. Outstanding characters
of the book make it interesting and exciting for a wide circle of readers.
The main protagonist of the book is a usual misfit intellectual with eloquent
surname Winston Smith, which clearly speaks about his colourlessness and
facelessness, the man is physically sick and weakened by bad food and beggarly
existence. It is important to mention that Winston Smith is a marginal character. The
marginal situations cause the appearance of so called cultural hybrids that balance
between the dominant group of the society, the group which never accepts them and
the group from which they dissociate (Оруэлл, 2012: 443).
Protest against regime arises in Winston’s soul especially after unhappy family
life. However, his protest is expressed only in seditious notes in his diary which
themselves are considered to be crime punished by death. First of all for him any
woman is a Party spy. Thus, such important feeling as love is transformed with this
man into suspicion, hatred, hopelessness:
«Winston had disliked her from the first moment he saw her. He disliked nearly
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all women, especially young and pretty ones. The young women were always most
loyal to the Party and were happiest to spy on others. But this girl was especially
dangerous, he thought. Once, when he had seen her in the canteen, she had looked at
him in a way that filled him with black terror. He even thought she might be working
for the Thought Police» (62-63).
But it was already the strongest form of protest Winston does not obey to the
laws of totalitarian universum: criminal thought is the worst crime in that state.
Дж. G. Orwell deals with the problem of subconscious analysing relations between
men and women. All of a sudden Julia breaks into Winstons life. Though he hates
practically all women, especially young and beautiful ones, to this woman he feels
attraction and wants to take hold of her. At the same time, he is afraid of Julia and
feels burning hatred to her because she is an embodiment of the regime. Julia is young,
energetic, beautiful, practical, she is able to adapt to a situation (observe less important
rules and you can violate more important ones).
«Julia was twenty-six years old. She lived in a Party buildingwith thirty other
girls (’Always the smell of women! I hate women!she said) and she worked, as he
had guessed, on the story-writing machines. She enjoyed her job, looking after a
powerful electric motor» (42).
Julia is in love and she can share everything with her beloved man. She also
hates the Party but the reason is that this Party deprives her of pleasures. However, in
contrast to Winston, she understands why sex is strictly forbidden, she likes to seduce
party members and indulge in carnal joys together with them. Contrary to Katrin, who
was Mrs. Smith once, Julia is a normal woman. The latter, according to G. Orwell is
a foolish, vulgar, empty creature, «a walking gramophone». Katrin is a shining
example of what the Party is trying to make out of a usual «warm» woman. In his turn
Winston dreams that such women as Julia were more and the party would rot from
inside, that it would cover with siphilic chancres. But after the love-protest, after the
love-despair there comes real love and the special flavour of danger is changed with
the premonition of quick death.
«Life, as she saw it, wasquite simple. You wanted a good time, they (meaning
the Party) wanted to stop you having it, so you broke the rules as well as you could»
(52). It is clearly seen that creating a character G. Orwell, as a writer, reflects the
features of a real person in it. Personality of O’Brian, a high rank party member,
constantly worried Winston. He could not understand what troubled him more: the
unusual combination of an intellectual and a boxer weightlifter in O’Brian’s
appearance or his insincere, in Winston’s opinion, devotion to the Party … Winston’s
liking for him and total confidence in this man, who morally degraded long ago, is
simply impressing. OBrien is a worthy son of his system. He covered Winston with
a web of lies and brought him to where people ruin themselves, that is to say to his
doom. Indifferent to any party in the world Julia followed him to satisfy his interest in
the world order. They are eager to tell a lie, to betray, to douse children with acid, but
not for the sake of the Elder Brother, they have chosen another God for themselves,
Goldstein.
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The system created them in a way they match it. But they did not agree to
sacrifice their love. And this is already challenge, which the Party takes up with
pleasure. G. Orwell underlines that subconsious is not always beautiful it can be ugly
and awful.
E. Cossak states that dissection is the main feature of the novel. It reveals itself
at different levels: material wealth, plan excess according to all indices,slogans and
reality. Thus, they are mistaken, or maybe they did not think that they prefer one
totalitarian regime to another one, they want to change a moustached fellow for a man
with a goatee (Коссак, 1980: 203).
It is important to mention that one the protagonists of the novel «1984» is the
Elder Brother. The prototype for this image was the leader of the Soviet state
J. Stalin The desription of this character’s appearance and of his inner world
correspond to the personality of that bloody dictator. Besides the novel shows the cult
of personality of The Elder Brother which was artificially manufactured in the Soviet
Union. «At the end of the hall a poster covered one wall/ It showed an enormous face,
more than a metre wide: the face of a handsome man of about forty-five, with a large,
black moustache. The man's eyes seemed to follow Winston as he moved. Below the
face were the words B I G B R O T H E R IS W A T C H I N G Y O U» (13).
Conclusions. Gradually gaining strength fear breaks a human’s moral and
makes him keep all his feelings inside except the instinct for self-preservation. In such
a state fear produces constant mimicry until the ability to see things as they really are
is absolutely destroyed. The state must only facilitate quick and irrevocable flow of
this process. It is also important to mention that in the novel «1984» G. Orwell shows
himself as a creator of literary images which cannot be forgotten. His aim is to depict
the psycological portrait of his characters, appearance has the secondary meaning.
Bibliography
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Оруэлл Джордж. 1984 : роман. Скотный Двор : сказка-аллегория [пер. с англ.]. Москва : АСТ
: Астрель, 2012, 361 с.
Orwell G. Nineteen Eighty-Four. New York : Penguin, 2013, 276 p.
Kumar, Krishan. Utopia and Anti-Utopia in Modern Times. Oxford : Blackwell, 1987.
Walsh, Chad. From Utopia to Nightmare. New York : Greenwood, 1975.
References
Kossak, E. (1980). Modernizm i postmodernizm v filosofii i literature. Moskva: Politizdat.
Postmodernizm (2001). Enciklopediya. Minsk : Interpresservis; Knizhnyj Dom.
Orwell, Dzhordzh. 1984: roman. Skotnyj Dvor: skazka-allegoriya (2012). [per. s angl.]. Moskva:
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Kumar, Krishan. (1987). Utopia and Anti-Utopia in Modern Times. Oxford : Blackwell.
Walsh, Chad. (1975). From Utopia to Nightmare. New York : Greenwood.
Стаття надійшла до редакції 20.06.2020 р.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Модернизм и постмодернизм в философии и литературе
  • Е Коссак
Коссак Е. Модернизм и постмодернизм в философии и литературе. Москва: Политиздат, 1980, 415 с.
Минск : Интерпрессервис; Книжный Дом
  • Постмодернизм
  • Энциклопедия
Постмодернизм. Энциклопедия. Минск : Интерпрессервис; Книжный Дом, 2001, 1040 с.
1984 : роман. Скотный Двор : сказка-аллегория [пер. с англ
  • Оруэлл Джордж
Оруэлл Джордж. 1984 : роман. Скотный Двор : сказка-аллегория [пер. с англ.]. Москва : АСТ : Астрель, 2012, 361 с.
Modernizm i postmodernizm v filosofii i literature
  • Krishan Kumar
Kumar, Krishan. Utopia and Anti-Utopia in Modern Times. Oxford : Blackwell, 1987. Walsh, Chad. From Utopia to Nightmare. New York : Greenwood, 1975. References Kossak, E. (1980). Modernizm i postmodernizm v filosofii i literature. Moskva: Politizdat. Postmodernizm (2001). Enciklopediya. Minsk : Interpresservis;
Utopia and Anti-Utopia in Modern Times
  • Krishan Kumar
Kumar, Krishan. (1987). Utopia and Anti-Utopia in Modern Times. Oxford : Blackwell. Walsh, Chad. (1975). From Utopia to Nightmare. New York : Greenwood.