Ben Stein, an American writer, a political and economic commentator once wrote; “it is inevitable that some defeat will enter even the most victorious life. The human spirit is never finished when it is defeated…it is finished when it surrenders.” The novel 1984 by George Orwell reflects this statement by proving it to be true with the main theme in the novel of resistance versus submission and the importance of protecting humanity. From this, Orwell wants readers to be educated about the importance of resisting to any oppression that stumbles upon them and preserving humanity. What makes someone humane? This is a big question that Orwell searches for throughout the novel. Being human is having the ability to feel the emotions of love and compassion towards people who are dear to us. Being human is having the ability to think for yourself and express yourself. Being human is having the ability to search for the meaning of life through the connection to history and culture. In order to have the strength to resist against conformal governmental powers, it is important to foster an individual’s humanity by having the ability to feel love and compassion towards one another, be able to express yourself and articulate your thoughts, and connecting to one’s history and culture to find the meaning of life.
It is inevitable to sustain the ability to feel and experience love and compassion, two of the predominant human emotions. Giving love allows one to have a close connection with people who are the most precious to them because of how valuable they are, in the sense that they make up a big part of your life and contribute to the core of who you are. In 1984, Winston finds a strong meaning in a paperweight that he purchases in Mr. Charrington’s store. The paperweight represented his powerful and intimate love relationship with Julia; “the paperweight was the room [Winston] was in, and the coral was Julia’s life and the coral was Julia’s life and his own, fixed in a sort of eternity at the heart of the crystal” (Orwell 130). It represents how fragile a person can be when they are on their own but at the same time, how the bond between two individuals like Winston and Julia can make it unbreakable, like a little bubble of their life that exists on its own with nothing intercepting with it. Meeting Julia gives Winston a sense of hope to keep on going on with life with the positive attitude that comes with. Having the ability to experience love, feeds one’s soul with positive energy, attitude, motivation and hence gives hope. Being with Julia, allows Winston to have a sense of hope for the near future of his life and of those that live around him. Julia’s character traits of having a hungry desire to be involved in sexual activities that provoke thoughtcrime and rebellious thoughts against the government gives Winston a sense of optimism because “anything that hinted at corruption always filled him with wild hope” (111). Governmental authorities that hold absolute totalitarian control cannot fully power over society as long as people have hope and have not given up on fighting for what they believe in. Having human emotions such as love allow one to have a strong connection with people who are dear to them and provide them with hope and motivation in the world, hence helping foster human emotions that totalitarian governments attempt to eliminate for their own benefits.
It is exceedingly important to have the power to speak up for yourself and articulate your thoughts and beliefs without being afraid to speak your mind. In 1984, Winston attempts to articulate his thoughts, even though he understands the risks of being caught for committing a thoughtcrime and furthermore possibly tortured and killed. Winston understands that “if you want to keep a secret you must hide it from yourself” (250) because with the extremist controlling government that Winston is constantly monitored by, it is impossible to hide any secrets. One must lie to themselves over and over again until they do not even know the truth in order to avoid being killed by the Party. In relation to a part of Ben Stein’s quote, “the human spirit is finished when it is surrendered”, Winston is constantly doing everything it takes to not be dehumanized by the Party while maintaining his humanity. It is important to not give in and let the party get inside because once they do, they are in absolute control over what you do, say, believe in; completely rewiring the mind to suit their own ideology. Winston is able to influence others with his rebellion, making Big Brother more vulnerable. It is much easier to defeat a big party like Big Brother with multiple people rebelling as supposed to just one, Winston. Winston writes down his anger in his diary, “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER…” (16). Winston violates thoughtcrime with that line, which is just one of many rules that the citizens must follow but it only encourages Winston to keep fighting for the freedom he deserves. Although Winston’s aggression may cause his situation to be worse he understands that whether he rebels against the party or not, he is not only putting himself into more jeopardy of being seen, caught, and possibly killed but risking his own identity to be stripped away from him. As a result, it is crucial to understand the importance of articulating your thoughts because it allows you to question authoritative powers and their methods of control over you, and it allows you to influence and be influenced by others making sure that the powers are vulnerable at all times.
One aspect that makes us human is that we have a history. We have culture. We build upon them and they make us who we are in the present. Having history is like having evidence for a crime scene, it prevents individuals from being trapped in lies that can blind them from being aware of what is going on around them. In 1984, the Party uses history to their own advantage by controlling the mutability of the past. The “reality [should] [exist] in the human mind, and nowhere else”, however, it only exists “in the mind of the party, which is collective and immortal. Whatever the party holds to be the truth, is truth” (261) and because of this, the citizens are in absolute control of the government. History educates individuals about important events that have occurred in the past. Having that knowledge can contribute to people’s individual beliefs and opinions towards different topics such as politics. In 1984, the government wants to influence all citizens to have one set of beliefs towards all the matters and issues that are present in the society, their own. Hence, the past “[has no objective existence, but [survives] only in written records… since the Party is in full control of all records, the past is whatever the Party chooses to make it” (222). As a result, individuals are unable to formulate their own bias views on historical matters because they are only presented with one that the Party wants opinionated. By preserving the past, individuals can protect themselves from being dehumanized by controlling governments because they have full control over what they choose to take out of history to educate and contribute to their own individual growth and development in life.
In conclusion, an individual’s ability to foster their humanity by experiencing the sensation of love, articulating thoughts into words of expression, and connecting the past to the future, allows for a wall of strength that resists conformity of governmental authorities from trembling over the people. Having the ability to feel love and compassion gives the mind hope and strength to overcome any challenges that stop one from being themselves. Being able to articulate what one thinks of words allows one to express their beliefs and opinions verbally and not be restrained to remain silent. By having knowledge about the past an individual can connect it to the future to be aware and educated about what is going on in the world around them since a lot can be learned and understood from post events. In 1984, George Orwell is proving Ben Stein’s quote, “it is inevitable that some defeat will enter even the most victorious life. The human spirit is never finished when it is defeated…it is finished when it surrenders”, by showing the outcome of what can happen to individuals when the core of what makes us who we are is stripped away from us. It is important to understand why it is so crucial to protect humanity because it is the one thing that distinguishes us from anyone or anything that wants to tumble over us. In the world today, it is clear to see that there are places, such as North Korea, that allocate the issues that are tackled in the novel and among Stein’s quote regarding the destruction and disappearance of the human spirit. Thus, it is important to be educated about this matter so that each individual can keep an eye out to what is currently happening in the world today to help protect humanity from being taken away by hostile powers.