Big Brother Love Analysis

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Love can be described as an intense feeling of affection; a human necessity that is imperative to the proper functioning of one’s psychological and emotional state. Without it, an individual will uncontrollably spiral into a state of vulnerability and madness. It is exactly this state, that the Party aims to transform its citizens into, in order to establish absolute power. It is made unambiguous that any form of love, with the obvious exception of the love of Big Brother, will not prevail in the totalitarian setting of 1984. The Party achieves success through sabotaging the close relationships that form between man and woman, whether it be as public as a marriage or a confidential love affair. Even the citizens that possess the strength of …show more content…
The Party is adamant in ensuring that close relationships held between the citizens of Oceania are eradicated, as they are believed to create divided loyalties which fail to place absolute trust in Big Brother alone. This inaugurates a potential flaw in the Party’s system, as citizen’s may choose to side with their significant other as opposed to Big Brother, therefore impeding the process of achieving complete, psychological control amongst the population. A popular technique used by the Party to generate separation is erasing love from existing marriages by removing the pleasure of intimacy and sexual acts. In fact, the Party is so tenacious that sex is depersonalized to the extent in which its sole purpose is to create future slaves of Big Brother. The past relationship between Winston and Katherine is viable proof of the destruction the Party can summon upon marriages. While they were still together, …show more content…
A prime example of this would be the erratic relationship between Winston and Julia. The relationship begins as hatred and animosity, followed by amorous, inseparable love, and concludes in bitter indifference. Initially, Winston directs thoughts of hostility and aggression towards Julia, stating, "I hated the sight of you. I wanted to rape you and then murder you afterwards” (127), undeniably oblivious to the mask Julia wears to deceive others of her intentions of rebelling against the Party. However, after Julia’s true identity and feelings of affection become evident to Winston, the two begin to fall in love. At first, the relationship functions as a furtive rebellion against Big Brother; taking immense risks to plan meetups to satisfy one another’s intense sex drives, as well as openly discuss their respective life stories and negative views towards the Party. As the plot develops, the romance intensifies between Winston and Julia, to the extent in which the two mutually agree that separating from each other, even for the sake of the Party’s vanquishment, would be an impermissible action. Inevitably, the relationship is shattered after the Party catches and subjects Winston and Julia to the Ministry of Love, and eventually Room 101. When faced with their worst fear, Winston and Julia insist that their punishment be inflicted upon the other, thus resulting in a mutual