4 Dec.

      During the Cold War era, fear of communist and totalitarian government was widespread in western democracies. George Orwell's novel 1984 is an illustration of what those government systems could one day mean. The novel's protagonist, Winston Smith, follows the codes and conventions expected of him by Big Brother, his world's totalitarian regime, while his consciousness starts to rebel. Winston's inward rebellion escalates to outward rebellion until he ultimately succumbs to the power of Big Brother. Through this, Orwell warns of the danger of absolute tyranny against humanity's free will.

      1984's Big Brother had control over its subjects' minds and bodies alike. Winston, for the most part, had no choice between conformity and rebellion. The government controlled everything from the past to fitness regimens and the thoughtpolice were always on guard for thoughtcrime. Winston takes part in the mandatory "Two Minutes Hate" daily and performs his fact-changing job at the ironically named Ministry of Truth. He even recognizes that "thoughtcrime is death."  The nearly complete lack of choice for Winston and every citizen in both their actions and thoughts is just where Orwell begins in showing how detrimental a totalitarian regime could become.

      Winston's outward conformity progressively deteriorates as his inward rebellion grows more prominent. It starts with a diary. In that diary, when Winston thinks Big Brother cannot see him, he remembers the loathsome Two Minutes Hate and unknowingly writes "down with Big Brother" repeatedly. His inward rebellion has now leaked onto a piece of paper. From then on, Winston's thoughts and actions together become more disobedient, eventually leading him to seek formal participation in the rebellion against Big Brother. Winston is captured; his exercising of free will and rebellion were futile.

     Big Brother reconditions Winston both physically and mentally. At the novel's end, Winston "love[s] Big Brother" truly and completely. There is no longer a struggle between outward and inward conformity; the outside force of tyranny won. Winston thought he had the ability to conform in his actions and keep his thoughts as safe as possible, but in Orwell's world, Big Brother would have caught him and brainwashed him anyway. With this, Orwell went beyond the grasp of the real world to warn of a future in which the thoughts and actions of individuals are completely meaningless.