1984 Sexual Rebellion
Jamie Aragon English 12 B-2 17 March 2005 Sexual Rebellion The First Lady, Abigail Adams, once stated, “If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice, or representation” (BrainyQuote). This statement was intended for rebellion regarding the rights of women, however rebellion is rebellion. Due to this stand led by Adams and other women, the females in society today are fortunate enough to have received all of the rights possible.
Rebellion is not only used when citizens’ rights are needed, but as Abigail said, it is used when people “have no voice or representation. ” For example, many teenagers feel like they are never listened to or that even if they were heard, their comments would be irrelevant. What happens with these kids when this occurs? Many rebel to get their point across and their voices heard. While there are many forms of rebellion among high school and early college students, such as involving oneself in alcohol or drugs, the most common type could be agreed upon as involving oneself in sexual activity.
Similarly, Winston and Julia also rebelled against a government in which they did not have a say. These are the two main characters from George Orwell’s dystopic novel, 1984, in which the protagonist, Winston Smith, is watched every second of every day by their government that is also known as Big Brother. Big Brother’s intense control is what led Winston to do what he felt needed to be done. Despite the government’s support for goodness and purity, Winston and Julia engaged in sexual activity to rebel against Big Brother.
When an authority figure has a strong stance on a certain rule or law, those are the situations that are more likely to be broken, simply due to the fact that they are rules that are set to not be rebelled against. Winston comments to Julia, “I hate purity, I hate goodness. I don’t want any virtue to exist anywhere. I want everyone to be corrupt to the bones” (Orwell 137). These were two of the many things that Big Brother strongly supported. Therefore, when one wanted to rebel against this government and the rules that they stood for, purity and goodness were easy targets to act upon, as did Winston and Julia.
After hearing this comment, Julia responds by telling Winston that she is the epitome of what corruption to the bones is. Smith is delighted to hear this from her, understanding that this is the woman whom he will rebel with. In fact, “That was above all what he wanted to hear. Not merely the love of one person, but the animal instinct, the simple undifferentiated desire: that was the force that would tear the Party to pieces” (137). What is stated implies that Winston is not looking for a lifetime partner, rather more of just a partner in crime; someone that will join him in the rebellion.
Their dialogue that was proceeding consisted of Winston telling Julia that the more partners she had been with, the more he loved her. However, the love that he uses with her, is it real love or is it more along the lines of lust; a lust for someone to just accompany his side? Throughout the novel, it is easy for the reader to understand that one of the main themes is purity, or the lack of. While it can be looked upon in more depth, it is stated clearly that the lovemaking that the characters share is not actually love, rather just an impure “political act” to rebel against the Party.
For example, Orwell writes, “No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred. Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act” (138). There are many examples in this novel that clearly portray this relationship as just a simple act of rebellion, this being one palpable example. The author describes their embrace as a battle, implying a battle against the government; their “climax a victory,” implying that that climax had just been what they were hoping for, a blow to the face of Big Brother.
This embrace screams, “Look at us, we wanted to battle against you and we were handed the trophy just following the climax. ” However, Winston might as well have also been yelling out that he had no idea who the woman was that he just had sex with since “even now he had not found out her surname or her address. However, it made no difference [to him], for it was inconceivable that they could ever meet indoors or exchange any kind of written communication” (139). With this stated, once again, it shows that Winston is not concerned about the actual uman that Julia is, rather just the sexual aspects that she is about or believes in. He is not interested enough in Julia to even bother asking for her complete name, or finding out exactly where she lives. However, Orwell tries to defend this circumstance by writing that even if Winston knew where she lived, there would be no possible way for the two to meet there, because if they were found lying together, their lives would be over. Even though there are many instances where Julia, Winston, and the narrator use the term “making love”, as seen before, it is not actually love making that the two engage in, rather just plain sex.
While walking, Winston ponders: He wished that he were walking through the streets with her just as they were doing now, but openly and without fear, talking of trivialities and buying odd and ends for the household. He wished above all that they had some place where they could be alone together without feeling the obligation to make love every time they met. (152) Although there is a positive aspect to this quote as Winston states that he wishes he did not feel obligated to have sex with Julia every single time that they met, he still uses the term making love when describing his relationship between them.
This incommodious obligation that Winston feels is understandable and is a good change from what he has been seeing him feel, however, if he really feels that what they share is love rather than sex, why did he not care to know her surname, her morals, or anything else about her that did not regard sexuality. While some may disagree, making love is exactly what it appears. It is love that is shared between two partners who love one another, not the pleasure of sex between practically strangers. While having sex and making love could be viewed as two very different acts, Big Brother does not stand for either.
Big Brother always wants the members’ energy and focus on the government and does not want for a moment otherwise, as they believe is what happens when members involve themselves in sexual activity. For example, Julia states, “‘When you make love you’re using up energy; and afterwards you feel happy and don’t give a damn for anything. They can’t bear you to feel like that. They want you to be bursting with energy all the time’” (145). What is sometimes worse than committing an act of rebellion, is the feeling deep inside when the time has come to confess to this action.
Winston and Julia arrive at what they think is the home of another rebel; they soon discover that this man had it in for both of them throughout the entire novel. However, before noticing this, Winston confesses about him and Julia. He states, “We are enemies of the Party. We disbelieve in the principles of Ingsoc. We are thoughtciminals. We are also adulterers [and] I tell you this because we want to out ourselves at your mercy” (185). Winston thinks that by confessing his sins to O’Brien, a member of the thought police, he is setting himself along with Julia free.
Little does he know that by committing this action, he was practically turning himself in by throwing both of their lives at the feet of Big Brother. This example proves that Winston and Julia committed adultery, so he says, as a pure act of rebellion against Big Brother since they are “enemies of the Party. ” However, while I, along with many others, believe that this relationship was solely based on rebellion, Albert Camus states, “Methods of thought which claim to give the lead to our world in the name of revolution have become, in reality, ideologies of consent and not of rebellion. This disagreement is stating that while it is thought to be rebellion committed by Smith and Julia, it is in fact an ideology of consent, thus having nothing to do with rebellion. Despite Camus point of view, by considering all of the statements that George Orwell provides, it is still more likely to be an act of rebellion over anything. Even though this relationship can be looked upon as an act of rebellion against the Big Brother government, Winston and Julia try their utmost hardest to not let the truth get out. They both know very well that, in this case, their rebellion could lead both of their lives to death if they were discovered.
Julia whispers to Winston, “‘And now listen, dear, we’ve got to fix up about the next time we meet. We may as well go back to the place in the wood; we’ve given it a good long rest. But you must get there by a different way. I’ve got it all planned out’” (149). While Winston and Julia actually try to keep their rebellion a secret, many teens rebel against authority for the satisfaction of being caught and being able to reflect upon the moment they were discovered. For instance, when the Columbine shooting took place, it did not occur out of the blue, nor did the two offenders attempt to not be caught.
In fact, the two boys told various people about their plan, not worrying about being disciplined before the offence. While the reader has seen proof of Winston’s lack of interest in the person who Julia is, it is time to see Julia’s side. Had she truly cared about Winston, she could have continued to strive for the overcoming of Big Brother to end up together with Winston. However, she does not feel this way and it can be seen by viewing her comment: ‘We may be together for another six months- a year- there’s no knowing. At the end we’re certain to be apart.
Do you realize how utterly alone we shall be? When once they get hold of us there will be nothing, literally nothing, that either of us can do for the other. If I confess, they’ll shoot you, and if I refuse to confess they’ll shoot you just the same. Nothing that I can do or say, or stop myself from saying, will put off your death for as much as five minutes. ’ (181) Julia reflects in-depth upon what outcomes will appear after the relationship between her and Winston is unveiled. She confidently states that when all is over and done with, the two will not have remained together.
She repeats over and over that, no matter either one of them do or say, it is impossible and nonnegotiable for the two to remain as the sexual couple that they are, not even a duo for that matter. Through George Orwell’s novel, it is clear that Winston and Julia commit adultery for the single reason of rebelling against Big Brother, despite the government’s support for goodness and purity. In society today, teenagers can be found constantly rebellion against authority for the simple sake of breaking a few rules, similar to Winston smith and Julia.
In the novel, 1984, rebellion was not viewed as something patriotic, nor was it looked at as a positive change to their society. However, rebellion does not always have to be seen as a negative action. For example, Margaret Lee Runbeck once made a statement that, if turned around, could read, “Rebellion is always learning. ” This supports the statement made early regarding rebellion as not always have a negative outcome or cause. Runbeck stated, “Learning is always rebellion… Every bit of new truth discovered is revolutionary to what was believed before. ”
