COMM3321 Essay: Exploring the Major Themes in Orwell's 1984

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the major themes in George Orwell's dystopian novel, *1984*. The essay focuses on the theme of liberty and freedom, arguing that it is the most significant theme in the novel due to the protagonist's struggle against the totalitarian regime of Big Brother and The Party. It explores how the government's control and surveillance restrict individual freedom, leading to mental imprisonment. The essay examines Winston Smith's rebellion against the Party's control and his desire for personal freedom. It also discusses the Party's methods of manipulation and brainwashing to maintain power and suppress individual thought. The essay references relevant scholarly sources to support its arguments and concludes that the theme of freedom is central to understanding the novel's critique of totalitarianism and the importance of individual liberty. The essay also touches upon the significance of isolation, betrayal, and the dangers of a government that seeks absolute power.

Running head: MAJOR THEMES IN GEORGE ORWELL’S 1984
Major Themes in George Orwell’s 1984
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1MAIN THEME IN GEORGE ORWELL’S 1984
1984 is a dystopian novel written by George Orwell and published in June 1949. The
novel tells the story if a time in the future during the year 1984 when the population of the
world has become victims of continuous wars, and constant surveillance by the Government
of the countries as well as the various propaganda offered by these governments which
affects the individuals of the world. The novel was awarded and placed as the Modern
Library 100 Best Novels of all times by the readers of the novel itself as well as the critics of
the novel.
The purpose of this essay is to analyse the most important theme in the novel
1984 by George Orwell as well as how that theme is developed in the novel itself by the
author.
To analyse the theme of 1984 in details, it is important to know about a bit of the plot
first. The author has placed his story in a dystopian setting where people have fallen victims
to the propaganda of the Governments and their surveillances as well continuous wars being
fought by Oceania with the rest of the world. In the novel, it is found the Britain, which is
known as Airstrip One had been added as a province under the super state named Oceania
and is ruled by “The Party” who uses their “Thought Police Force” to keep a check on the
population and to prevent individualism and independent thinking. The novel tells the story
of Winston Smith, a member of the Party who decides to revolt against “Big Brother” the
ruler of the Party and what happens to him as a consequence of his revolt. In the novel, the
author has presented multiple themes in the novel to explain the story to the readers however,
the most important theme presented in the novel by the author is the theme of liberty and
freedom. The events that happens in the novel is because of the protagonist’s attempt to gain
freedom from the tyranny of Big Brother and The Party.

2MAIN THEME IN GEORGE ORWELL’S 1984
As stated by Lebdeh (2016), the theme of freedom and liberty forms the most
important theme of George Orwell’s 1984 because it is basically the freedom and the liberty
of the people that has been restricted by Big Brother and The Party in the novel. As stated by
Books (2017), from the novel, the readers get the idea that the people who live in the super
state of Oceania technically not imprisoned as in they are free to move about and take
decisions on their own, it is the constant surveillance of their activities as well as the
propaganda by The Party that has made them mentally imprisoned (Hundberg, 2018). This is
also revealed by the actions of Winston Smith, the protagonist of the novel, who dislikes the
totalitarian rule of Big Brother and wants to revolt against The Party even though he himself
is a member of The Party itself.
The author George Orwell has successfully examined and explored the conflict that takers
place between an individual’s freedom of intellect and the interest that totalitarian
government has in governing the state and the people under its control (Dorosz, 2014). That
is exactly what has been happening in the novel itself as the readers find that the totalitarian
government as the government of Big Brother has been using strategies of manipulation and
brainwashing to make sure that the people of Oceania as well as other areas under his rule do
whatever is the interest of The Party.
“Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all
else follows.” The readers get the idea from the diary of Winston Smith that it is because of
this reason that the protagonist Winston Smith decides to revolt against Big Brother because
he knows he cannot act and think on his own, being a skilful member of The Party himself.
As it is this desire for the freedom to do be able to do things in his own way that Smith
becomes a rebel and starts to do the hedonistic and promiscuity activities which are restricted
in the rulebook of The Party. As stated by Banks (2017), the people’s desire for freedom has
also been portrayed by the author in the examples of the isolation that people feel as they

3MAIN THEME IN GEORGE ORWELL’S 1984
have no one to turn to as betrayal waits in every corner of their lives. Through the novel, has
managed to create an imaginary future which is a victim of a harsh reality – what if the
people are derived of their basic freedom to do things in their own way.
“The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of
others; we are interested solely in power, pure power. What pure power means you will
understand presently. We are different from the oligarchies of the past in that we know what
we are doing. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in
order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the
dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The
object of power is power.” The author has managed to portray in detail how dangerous the
concept of liberty and freedom is to the Totalitarian Government of Big Brother and The
Party, which makes them use any means necessary to restrict the freedom of individuals. The
Government of Big Brother realizes that they would not be able to accomplish any of their
interest if freedom comes in the hand of the people (Wicaksono, 2014). Therefore, they resort
to the use of tactics like brainwashing to prevent the individual thinking of the people under
their rule.
Thus, it can be said that the concept of freedom and liberty is the most important
theme that the readers come across in the novel itself. Freedom forms a driving force as the
most important theme in 1984, since it showcases the central theme of liberty and freedom
being repressed by the totalitarian ideology and a common man’s struggle to revolt against
the totalitarian rule of a Government for the basic freedom and liberty that a human being
desires so much. Hence, it can be said the theme of freedom as well as liberty is indeed one
of the most important themes that one can find in 1984 by George Orwell.

4MAIN THEME IN GEORGE ORWELL’S 1984
Reference List
Banks, T. (2017). Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Treatise on Tyranny. Political Science
Undergraduate Review, 3(1), 82-88.
Books, W. (2017). Summary and Analysis of 1984: Based on the Book by George Orwell.
Open Road Media.
DOROSZ, B. (2016). GEORGE ORWELL'S 1984. Polish Review, 61(4).
Hudberg, A. (2018). The Ministry of Post-Truth: Using George Orwell’s 1984 to Develop
English as a Foreign Language Students’ Critical Thinking Skills.
Lebdeh, L. T. A., & Al Masri, A. (2014). George Orwell’s Experiment With the Ironic
Narrative Structure in Nineteen Eighty-Four. Journal of Literature and Art Studies,
4(10), 784-791.
Terentowicz-Fotyga, U. (2018). Defining the dystopian chronotope: Space, time and genre in
George Orwell’s' Nineteen Eighty-Four'. Beyond Philology An International Journal
of Linguistics, Literary Studies and English Language Teaching, (15/3), 9-39.

5MAIN THEME IN GEORGE ORWELL’S 1984
Wicaksono, E. R. (2014). DYSTOPIA AND ORWELL’S PITFALL IN GEORGE
ORWELL’S 1984. Rainbow: Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Cultural Studies,
3(1).