In George Orwell’s novel 1984 many themes are presented. I have chosen to discuss the themes of 1984 in my commentary. One of the main themes of the novel is psychological manipulation. The Party doesn’t allow people to think as individuals. It only allows people to think how the Party wants them to think. The Party fills their minds with propaganda and makes the people believe that they are “always doing right by the people” all the time, even when they are doing wrong.
Along with all psychological manipulation there usually is some kind of physical control involved. Physical control is another one of the themes of 1984. The Party constantly watched the people 24 hours a day in order to try to catch them doing something that are not supposed to be doing. The Party makes everybody participate in exercises every morning and make them work long days of work. The Party does this in order to keep the people physicals exhausted as well as miserable. Also when people are arrested they are forced to endure extreme torture. For example, Winston is tortured for a long period of time. From being tortured he comes to terms with himself that nothing is more painful and powerful than physical pain. Physical torture and physical control instills fear in people allowing for the Party to have total control over the people both physically and psychologically.
Another theme of the book is technology. The book 1984 reinforces the thoughts of people that believe that technology will eventually take over our world and control everything that we do. Telescreens are located all throughout the city as well as in people homes. There are hidden microphones all over the city so that everything is able to be heard by the Party. The technology used allows the Party to keep tabs on its citizens all the time. Technology to us can be a good thing because it allows us to do things more quickly or even eliminate the need for humans to work at all. The novel 1984 also puts the thought in people’s minds that technology can work miracles for the human race, but at the same time technology can destroy us or be used for all of the wrong things.
I believe that psychological manipulation, physical control, and technology are the three main themes of George Orwell’s novel 1984. The themes in the book allow us as readers to picture what life would be like if the world became the way it did in 1984. George Orwell included these themes for a reason, and I believe it is a warning to our society that we can’t allow our world to get that far to the point that us as humans become brainwashed by technology.
