Dehumanisation

Dehumanisation

1. VIOLENCE

   • 'as if she thought her arms could keep the bullets off him'
     • Heartbreaking image of mother trying to protect her child- respond with 'applause' and 'laughter' - barbaric- violence is not just accepted but celebrated and rewarded
   • 'killed thirty one Eurasian prisoners'
     • More people dead the better- not heartfelt-detached and cold eulogy -show nowadays what is valued
   • 'To do any violent painful thing that might black out the memory'
     • Relief comes from violence= solution, -way to cope- strong feeling to perform violence
     • 'in the face of pain there are no heroes'
       • Recognises he is utterly and truly alone - won't uphold any of his beliefs- finally surrenders to power of party- before unknown gave him hope - now its gone-Poignant- all his hope that was dragged throughout the book now comes to a swift conclusion.
   • several dozen children....blown to pieces'
     • Harsh/blunt- unnecessarily graphic- shocking bluntness of statement- bomb kids for propoganda- shock as he says it so casually.
       • Orwell although himself killing soldiers- was astonished at the blunt casual references to murder made in films novels and poems- attacked this in his essay 'Inside the whale (1940)
   • ‘tortures, drugs, delicate instruments..gradual wearing down by sleeplessness’
     • Very scientific approach – looking at them only as bodies and attacking and targeting all their weaknesses.
   • 'rape and murder you'
     • Winston's own sexual fantasies are overwhelmingly sadistic shwing how repressed seuality can take the form of violent wishes and behaviours
   • 'the crown.. tip of the ear, the upper arm .. the elbow''
     • Listing of body parts shows how they are viewed- DEHUMANISATION- just physical - makes him 'shameless as an animal'
   • 'always there were five or six men in black uniforms' 'Sometimes it was fists.. steel rods.. boots'
     • Seems excessive and sadistic- all of these against one unarmed man-- only certainty he has is never ending torture. Wants to be unconscious- dislikes that he cannot control his body- sympathy- motive lang evokes empathy- idea angry at himself more than them.
   • 'wicked, unforgiveable crime.. was that he could not force himself into losing conciousness'
     • Wants to be unconscious- dislikes that he cannot control his body- sympathy- motive lang evokes empathy- idea angry at himself more than them.
   • 'Buisiness-like, unsympathetic men in white coats'
     • Any form of medical assistance is him being treated like a job- not a person. Long sentences build a picture of a lonely helpless man- unloved and uncared for- has no control over his life- treated like an experiment-DEHUMANISATION. 'Became a mouth that uttered and a hand that signed' -No individuality-

2. SEX

   • 'Party was trying to kill the sex instinct'' 'something that must not be forgotten'
     • Juxtaposes the disposable nature of killing with the permanence of instinct. Party wants to remove nature. Chore like- removes spiontanaity and passion- alien concept-Not valued
   • 'Tactically encouraged prostitution.. outlet for instincts'
     • Only so they can control you better- manipulate emotions and control where they are directed- no love or passion- just tactics- in a battle with their own people.
   • 'sexual deprivation induced hysteria' 'marching up and down...sex gone sour'
     • Remove things meant to help and relieve us, so it builds up and they can use it to their advantage- truning people into animals. -Removed emotion-people are living in blissful ignorance- clear manipulation of emotions.
   • 'only purpose was to beget children'
     • No mention of love or desire- just seen as a mechanical job void of any emotions, and as an inconvenience
   • 'Junior Anti-Sex League.. celibacy for both sexees'
     • A league movement whose sole purpose is to encourage the use of 'Artsem' TECHNOLOGY CONVENTION-No one should enjoy or find pleasure from sex'
   • 'promiscuity between party members ...unforgivable crime'
     • Loyalties are created which the Party are not involved with, or can control- making it dangerous enough to be branded a criminal act- Hyperbollic depiction of the Party's control-

3. ROBOTIC

   • 'twenty-four-hour a day devotion to duty'
     • This role model person is inhumane- such a hyperbolic description of his life with the suggestons of a pure devotion to the party, is so ridiculous and imparactical iit is satirical Wisnton is mocking the perfect oarty member- suggesting he is not as good as hiding his hatred as he thinks he is.
   • 'same thought, same slogans, same face'
     • Inhumane/ unnatural All consuming- no personality/creativity /individuality
   • 'two blank discs instead of eyes'
     • Eyes are normally the window to the soul- suggests no soul. There is no spark of life or individuality. Almost like it has been replaced by obhjects
   • 'mechanically shot his arms back and forth.. wearing on his face the look'
     • robotic and military like. Idea that expressions are worn - masking true / any feelings. Depiction of a soldier- cold and harsh.
   • ‘ The words of these songs were composed without any human
     • The idea the humans have been replaced with machinery- only valued for their labpr not their uniqueness and individuality. The party do not care for self expression through the arts of music, writing and sculptures- only that things are done quickly for the sole purpose of survival. –no time for anything else- mechanical society-robotic- links to military ordered theme

4. ANIMAL

   • 'proles and animals are free'
     • Comparison shows then to be same as animals. Depsite the fact they have the most natural instinct- they are seen as lower to the new robotic species - Shows human life to be at the bottom of society in Oceania.
   • 'Mouth was opening and shutting... like that if a landed fish'
     • They become animals/ machines- uncontrollable/ automatic reaction . Also helplessness of a landed fish- without water- unnatural - vulnerable and weak
   • 'Parsons swallowed it... with the stupidity of an animal''
     • What humans have been reduced to- you have to lose the intellectual distinction we once had to take in the party's information.
   • ‘no mind..only strong arms, a warm heart and a fertile belly
     • ’ Animal like description- judged only by what they can produce and create not by them themselves as peple- no personality or intellectual presence more of a physical presence- two extremes.
   • The her life had been laundering, scrubbing....polishing mending scrubbing, laundering’
     • Repetition- cycle- never ending- proles won’t change so world won’t change- long list shows dreary prole life - lives to die- makes it stranger that he admires her indicating this is something she widely lacks.
   • ‘she was beautiful’ with her monstorous dimensions’
     • She is not exactly the image we first see when referring to beauty- admires her individuality- semantic field of strength and power that she has ‘Solid, contourless body, like a block of granite’ ‘everlasting image- re-iterates prople power. Craves the natural process she has in her life with a 'mystical reverence'. Embraces this moment of 'reverence'as pure feeling wihtou the need for a reason.

5. HUMAN EMOTIONS

   • 'fire burning in his belly... hot.... crowded ...torment'
     • Raw, passionate emotive language. His first feeling is how incriminating this love makes him It shows how he is ruled by fear- it is a painful experience for him.
   • 'marriage and the care of a family to be incompatable'
     • Nature is inconvenient. There is no room for human emotion. Only commitment should be to the Party- Life cannot be sustained by this.
   • Today there were fear, hatred and pain'
     • Easier to control/ manipulate. There are 2 types of pain- love and fear. Only emotions left are the ones whihc make us vulnerable and easy to control the way animals are controlled. In constant suffering
   • 'theories were refuted/smashed/ ridiculed/'
     • Listing and semantic field of humiliation of person- emphasises how much time the party spends just expressing hatred - such a prominent encouraged emotion.
   • 'rage one felt was very abstract'
     • Manipulation of emotions- letting out what is already inside them - just directing -it- targeting weaknesses of humanity.
   • '‘Nor did he seemed shocked or become offensively knowing..clear.. wanted the room...love affair’
     • He admires it with a trst. Such trust is given to mr Charington- with no strong reasoning or justification, showing not only Winstons carelessness but how such relationships of ‘common courtesy’ do not exist. Therefore. Orwell uses Mr Charringtons betrayal as one of the ways to show the downfall of human nature, and the lonely uncertain life it resltws in
     • Only links aback to the dystopian nature of the novel but holds a strong contextual significance to Hitler’s Germany, where neighbours would spy on each other and break the sacred bond of trust, for rewards of money and recognition.
   • the proles had stay human ‘emotions he himself had tO re-learn with concious effort’
     • . No longer atural to him they have been absent fr s long- Orwell shows how humanity can not only be eradicated but ,controlled and manipulated, so although it has ‘value’ and a comfortingtrust and basis for realatioshi[s it is fragile and must be protected
   • 'He kicked the thing into the gutter'
     • Shows how Winston's empathy for other people has atrophied because of the Party's policy of discouraging emotional bonds between individuals.
   • 'You are imagining there is something called human nature'
     • W's Denial and constant hope, even in this moment that somehow he will fail- resembles our own- and so when Winstons truly loses all hope so do we.