Jesse Overholser Joe McGeary English 12-4 October 6th, 2014 Part I The Corruption of Power Very few people have any power in George Orwell’s 1984 and his essays: “Shooting an Elephant” and “Such, Such Were the Joys.” Those without it are downtrodden and oppressed. This power, in both 1984 and the essays, corrupts those who hold it. While in the Ministry of Love, Winston is subjected to horrible torture led by O’Brien. During this time, O’Brien brainwashes Winston, and exposes him to the secrets and intentions of the Inner Party. He tells Winston, “We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. […] The object of power is power” (1984, 232). This is very true in the context of the power dynamic in Oceania. The few who hold the power corrupt the public using tactics such as doublethink in order for its citizens to believe their agenda. The Inner Party and Big Brother have no intention of holding elections, allowing free press, or permitting protests. The phrase “the object of power is power” is key. Those in the Inner Party, like Sim and Bingo in “Such, Such Were the Joys,” believe that they have they right to hold the power, and that is that. They believe that the point of having power is to use that power to the fullest extent, and become more powerful and eventually corrupt.
After Orwell wets his bed his shamed by the headmaster and his wife. Sim and Bingo caused Orwell to believe that he “was in a world where it was not possible for me to be good” (Such, Such Were the Joys, 5). Sim and Bingo are using their power to bring shame onto Orwell, and they never quit. Throughout Orwell’s schooling he is taught to feel ashamed by those who hold the power. The citizens of Oceania are also taught to feel shame for almost everything. The Party reprimands its citizens for having sex, saying anything against the party, eating certain foods, practically everything. Those in power in both “Such Such Were the Joys”, and 1984 use this power immorally to shame people for what many would consider either out of one’s control or harmless. Winston Smith, although a member of the Inner Party, is still not free. Winston is subject to torture, constant watch by the Thought Police, and cannot actively think or say what he believes. Although the Party members are considered superior to those of the Proles their lives are still miserable, and devoid of liberty. This is similar to the situation that Orwell describes in “Shooting an Elephant.” Orwell is a member of the police force in colonial Burma, therefore a member of the ruling class. Orwell describes the emotions he feels when he is faced with the critical decision of the story. He has to decide whether to kill the elephant. He writes, “I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom he destroys. He
becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy” (“Shooting an Elephant”, 152). Here Orwell shows that colonialism destroys the conqueror and the conquered. But Orwell has not only lost he freedom, he has taken away countless others’. Orwell decides to shoot the elephant, but not out of his own free will. He is pressured by the expectations of the natives. Even the dominant is not free, exactly like the members of the Party, all of the power lies at the top of the hierarchy in the hands of a select few. Orwell’s use of the word “dummy” is echoed in 1984, in his description of Syme. “As he watched the eyeless face with the jaw moving rapidly up and down, Winston had a curious feeling that this was not a real human being but some kind of dummy.” (1984, 54). Here Syme is described as robotic and completely indoctrinated. Orwell also uses words such as mask in 1984 to convey the same idea that members of the Party are brainwashed, and controlled. Orwell in his novel, and two of his essays paints a terrifying picture of the misuse of power. He portrays those in power as corrupt, and the devastating effects their corruption has on the population. His comments were meant to be critical of the totalitarian governments and socioeconomic class structure of his time. The seemingly inexplicable punishments in “Such, Such Were the Joys” are representative of the equally arbitrary punishments instituted by the
Totalitarian governments led by Hitler, Mussolini, Franco and Stalin. The Inner Party members and the ruling class in Burma represent the upper classes of society, the 1%, as it is referred to now. He argues that they control everyone even those that are under the guise that they are in power, i.e. Party members and policemen like Orwell in Burma. Orwell’s comments apply to the present day. According to Oxfam International, almost half of the world’s wealth is now owned by just one percent of the population. Even more staggering is that the 85 richest people in the world have as much wealth as the 3.5 billion poorest (Oxfam.org).
Part II A gentle breeze hit Eden’s neck as he slowly opened his eyes as the tender sun crept through the warm room. He walked to his closet full of sweaters and soft comfortable pants. He chose what he felt like that day; an autumn orange sweater and jeans. There was no dress code at the Bureau of Information. Eden walked out of his newly built condominium complex onto 5th Avenue a busy street in the heart of Paradisus the capital city of Concordia, the largest and most developed country in the world. He walked past hundreds of fellow Concordians. They all had the same complexion, but each was inherently unique. Their skin tone resembled the color of whiskey that contained an equal drop of all the ethnicities
of the world. There was no longer mention of the word “race.” Citizens of Concordia were all one people. He walked past a police officer dressed in blue armed with nothing but his fists. There hadn’t been a murder in the city, or the country as a whole for over fifty years when Concordia was founded by the unification of several large countries in Europe. There were a series of gun reform laws put in place that prevent any common citizen from carrying a weapon. There was a government program to seize all illegal weapons that worked beautifully. As Eden entered his office housed in one of the historic government buildings of Paradisus, he gave an amiable handshake to his supervisor Jen. You couldn’t really call her a supervisor though, as she rarely managed Eden. Her main duty was to provide support for him. Eden was tasked with three responsibilities: First, to disseminate information to the public from the government; second to collect information from the public and influence government officials based on what he receives; and third to keep his government accountable. His third responsibility was very easy; the government was rarely corrupt, if ever. He collated a series of requests from protesters that he received the day before. He was to accurately summarize their demands and send them to his supervisor who would send the report to the proper government official who would sincerely take in to account their
requests. The protest was whether to raise the minimum wage to 45 euros or to keep it at 40 euros. The protesters were in favor of the raise. At 3:00 he left work, pulled out his lighter, and lit a joint on his way home. He passed the same police officer and offered him a hit. The officer obliged. He had to get ready for dinner with his parents. Eden was bringing home his new boyfriend to his parents. Eden did not identify as gay because there were no longer labels such as gay, straight and bisexual. There was no longer any coming out. People were encouraged to bring home who ever they wanted to. Eden walked into his condo turned on the light, looked in the mirror, took a deep breath, put down his bag and walked into his impressive closet to chose an outfit for that night. Explanation My utopian society is a complete opposite of the dystopian society in Orwell’s 1984. It is a complete paradise in my mind. I chose to focus on the political nature of the society reminiscing Orwell’s focus in his novel. Unlike in Oceania, there is complete transparency in Concordia between the government and its citizens. I chose the name Concordia because it means unity in Latin. The political issues I brought up in my short story are being discussed today in the United States. There was mention of gun violence prevention, LGBT rights and racial equality. Orwell did not mention many specific issues like those
but focused on the larger concerns of his time. Many of the issues that we talk about today would have been unimaginable to Orwell and his peers. Works Cited Orwell, George. A collection of essays. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 1946. Print. Orwell, George. 1984. New York, N.Y.: Signet Classic, 19611949. Print. "Working for the Few." Oxfam International. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2014. .
