Physiological Criticism in 1984 by George Orwell (8 Pages Research Paper by 11th Grader) Essay

English 10 G
21 March 2012
Physiological Criticism in 1984
In 1984, a novel by George Orwell depicts a society under the regime of a corrupt and oppressive government. This government treated the people with harshness and unfairness, that lead the people to depression and desire to look for solutions to overcome their problems. Pressure and stress in 1984 Oceania's corrupt government encourages depression and self-medication on various citizens like Winston and Julia who are looking for solutions to overcome their psychological traumas.
George Orwell creates a dark, depressing and pessimistic world where the government has full control over the citizens’ lives in the novel 1984. The protagonist, Winston Smith, is a lower-party member who has grown to resent the society he is living in and starts to lose his rationality and sanity due to the restrictions of society. "And in the general hardening of outlook that set in ... practices which had been long abandoned - imprisonment without trial, the use of war prisoners as slaves, public executions, torture to extract confessions, the use of hostages and the deportation of whole populations - not only became common again, but were tolerated and even defended by people who considered themselves enlightened and progressive."(p.130) Winston clearly hated the Party and all he wants is liberty of his actions and ideas. He will fight his hardest to revolt and stop the Inner Party’s “dictatorship.” To keep all of this in order, and to avoid revolts, the Inner Party has to think of creative and smart ways to control the public. This is done by introducing orthodox methods in the minds of the Party members such as with childhood. The first idea put into the mind of a Party member is that of Crimestop, “Crimestop means the faculty of stopping short, as though by instinct, at the threshold of any dangerous thought…. In short, means protective stupidity” (Page 212).When this is instilled in the minds of the party members, it...