Marxism in George Orwell’s ‘1984’

This discourse grants that George Orwell remains relevant today because of his extensive contribution to surreal political aesthetics in a stark realist stance in his works of pertinent literature in both modern and older ages. Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian novel written in the aftermath of World War II that showcases its political ideologies by depicting the political atmosphere of Oceania. The book manipulates the utopian tradition in a stark political aesthetics that shows political figures' ideal political ideologies of control through technology. This essay examines how George Orwell essentially borrows from the tenets of the Marxist theory of Karl Marx by showing how the government exerts and maintains political control over the working class.

Marxist theory is evident in Nineteen Eighty-Four through the themes of Totalitarianism. Ingrained in its definition, Marxism is a form of class difference where the ruling class has complete control over the lower class in society (Claeys 23). This ruling class controls all elements of society, including their way of life. This stance is reflected in 1984 with the dominant notion that one leader who renders absolute and oppressive rule over the people should satisfy society. The totalitarian state achieves its rule through technology and mass communication, which were particularly prevalent at the time the book was published. Technology played a role in keeping people ignorant, as it was used to propagate the masses' ignorance, essentially keeping them ill-informed, which is inherent in the concept of orthodoxy's unconsciousness. According to George Orwell, not only does orthodoxy mean not needing to think, but it also stands for not wanting to think. George Orwell cites that "The consciousness of the masses needs only to be influenced in a negative way" (Orwell 214). Orwell's artistic mind echoes what happens in his society and exposes war and control that the people are subject to by spreading lies through mass media. This aspect transcends the notion of control in the book 1984, which is ingrained in the quote, "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength" (Orwell 6). This slogan is an example of doublethink inherent in the political orthodoxy controlling how humans think by manipulating information and language. Big Brother either distorted or forbade anything that would keep the people informed. In this dominant totalitarian state, keeping books and diaries, as the character Winston does, is punishable by death. The government looks forward to distorting the report about the various daily events to fit their aesthetics. In essence, totalitarian leadership through Big Brother is tyrannical, which is essentially achieved by keeping the people ignorant.

The Marxist oeuvre subtly rejects the idea of capitalism and echoes a revolutionary transition from such a social construct through a rising class. In his works, Marx cites, "History does nothing; it 'possesses no immense wealth,' it 'wages no battles.' It is man, real, living man who does all that, who possesses and fights" (Marx and Engels, 1). This stance of social revolution against the oppressive ruling class is represented in the story of rebellion in George Orwell's 1984 through Winston. Still, his rebellion is a stark failure because of the ingrained fear of the state that drives loyalty among its people. The individual's thoughts against the government are not practical enough to keep him in a rebellious state because the party's effect is so strong among the people. The party creates and manipulates an opposition against Big Brother, through which the rebels are identified and punished accordingly. Those who wish to rebel against the tyranny are eventually perfectly adjusted to the logical sense of Big Brother by being willing to conform to his ways, even though it means more tyrannical stunts. In essence, Winston joins the Brotherhood and admits to being prepared to betray the people to ensure that Big Brother's reign ends. George Orwell cites in his interview where he is asked a series of questions, one of the being "' You are prepared to cheat, to forge, to blackmail, to corrupt the minds of children, to distribute habit-forming drugs, to encourage prostitution, to disseminate venereal diseases — to do anything likely to cause demoralization and weaken the power of the Party?'. (Orwell, 273). In a grandiose aesthetic sense, the mask of passion towards change is presented as a form of anarchy, keeping in mind that the underlying issue is free will, which has more significance than the wholesale erotic oppression from without. Even though he fails in this endeavor, George Orwell passes on his message: to win against an oppressive state, the oppressed must make it a collective endeavor.

There is no doubt that George Orwell wrote 1984 with political poetics depicting the literal theory of Marxism in mind. However, his literary tradition dates back to the earliest storytellers and theorists, such as Karl Marx. In 1984, he echoed the use of the seemingly perfect world, a utopia, as literary aesthetics that he effectively distorts to convey his relevant information. Within its Marxist aesthetics, Nineteen Eighty-Four depicts that those in power are less concerned about the people and only about maintaining their power over the people. George Orwell is most successful in his book because he presents society with a mirror of its time as a warning to society and the government.

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