More often than not, authors introduce the philosophy of the main governing body, or the main group that controls life in a specific setting, within the first couple of chapters. This, for the most part, occurs to help set up the storyline for the rest of the novel so that the reader has a framework on which he acts or acts against. In 1984 by George Orwell, however, the philosophy of the Oceania government is introduced approximately two-hundred pages in. Its late introduction, while unorthodox, serves a particular purpose in the plotline of the novel. Oceania is a dystopia in which the freedom of thought, and free will on a whole, is squashed by the Party, the governing body within the nation. Upon reading the first half of the novel, one …show more content…
First, it is the policy of the Party to “keep even the favored groups somewhere near the brink of hardship… a general state of scarcity increases the importance of small privileges and thus magnifies the distinction between one group and another” (196). Since the distribution of these small privileges is controlled by the Inner Party, the rest of the citizens may feel a sense of loyalty to the Party in order to increase their social standing and thus privileges. Second, the Party, like any other totalitarian government, seeks to stay in power by limiting human individuality. As described by Emmanuel Goldstein in his untitled book, “Individually, no member of the Party owns anything, except petty personal belongings. Collectively, the Party owns everything in Oceania, because it controls everything and disposes of the products as it thinks fit” (212). Because the Inner Party takes full control of all aspects of human life in Oceania, it can rule with a heavy hand over the entirety of Oceania. Finally, the citizens of Oceania fully accept the totalitarian, oppressive regime that the Party conducts, out of fear. Two major components contribute to this fear. These two include the repercussions of thoughtcrime, and war. One can be convicted of thoughtcrime if they hold any views or opinions that directly, or indirectly, refute the principles of the Party and Big Brother. For example, the protagonist, Winston Smith, writes in his journal “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four,” yet “if the Party says that it is not four but five [fingers]” then one must accept that it is five (257). While it may be objectively false to say that two plus two makes five, saying that the answer of four is a small case of thoughtcrime. Any