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Examples Of Individualism In 1984 By George Orwell

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There is a universal truth that is largely accepted, socially as well as scientifically, when it comes to the observation of human beings: they are adaptable, and thus, are always evolving. Every day, people are conditioned and molded by their surroundings because they are influenced, as well as prodded, by the idea of acceptance in a society, which in return, transcends into a conceptual idea of conformity. However, there are occasionally unique individuals who refuse to adapt entirely, and instead project unorthodox ideas that differ from the status-quo of societal beliefs. Consequently, this manner of individualism causes them to be looked upon differently in the realm of where they reside. In many works of literature, a free-thinking individual …show more content…

Individuals are only able to make an impactful difference to their surroundings if they can gather a large following of people, but to actually assemble a group that is willing to go against a powerful government is highly unlikely, especially if most people of society are complacent and creatures of clockwork as it is.
First and foremost, individuals who see a flawed system of government and wish to change it ultimately can’t because governments in societies, especially dystopias, are bureaucratic and difficult to adjust. In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, Winston Smith, the main character and protagonist, despises the system of government that controls his home nation of Oceania. Winston is infatuated by the idea of resisting against the invasive government; however he realizes that it’s far too dangerous and completely irrational to withstand the rules of his overbearing society by himself. Winston comes to the realization that “If there [is] hope, it lay in the Proles” (Orwell 220). The Proles are the working-class citizens in Winston’s society and frankly are the only ones who still have individualism and humanity left in them. He comes to an understanding that if the …show more content…

It’s common for people to become complacent in life when they are unenlightened about their surroundings. In The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury, Leonard Mead is an individual who has a regressive tendency of walking outdoors, whereas everyone else in his society is transfixed by the television so they do not venture outside anymore. The narrator explains Leonard as, “alone in this world of A.D. 2053, or as good as alone, and with a final decision made, a path selected, he would stride off, sending patterns of frosty air before him like the smoke of a cigar”(Bradbury). Leonard does not have the ability of impacting anyone in society, even while being different and acting upon it, because everyone else is too brainwashed by the television to realize what truly is happening outside in the world. Moreover, the story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut also carries a theme of people being too ignorant to fully grasp what injustices are unraveling before their eyes. In the story, the citizens of society are forced to have handicap objects on them to interfere with thought and individualism. Harrison, a character that chooses to go against the system, makes his way onto television forcibly and is regarded as a huge threat to

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