In the novel 1984, the author George Orwell expresses his idea of rebellion in society as a desire which is greatly sought out but never obtained but instead destroyed by means of physical and mental torture. Orwell shows that members of the society in 1984 put their pursuit of rebellion as a high priority in their life. Orwell displays this with the motive behind Julia’s decision to choose Winston as her partner, “‘It was something in your face, I thought I’d take a chance, I’m good at spotting people who don’t belong. As soon as I saw you I knew you were against them the Party'”(page 122). When Julia says this she puts a lot of emphasis on how the only trait she liked in Winston was his unorthodox view towards the party, “I knew you were against them”. Secondly, Orwell shows how rebellion is never truly obtained in the society of 1984.
He does this by showing how all of Julia and Winston’s efforts are wasted when they were caught, “‘We are the dead,’ he Winston said. ‘We are the dead,’ echoed Julia dutifully. ‘You are the dead,’ said an iron voice behind them. They sprang apart… ‘Remain exactly where you are. Make no movement until you are ordered.’ It was starting, it was starting at last!” (Orwell 221). The last thing Orwell shows his readers about rebellion is how it can be destroyed through the torture of both the body and the mind.
Physical punishment of Winston is shown on page 240, “Always there were five or six men at him simultaneously. Sometimes it was fists, sometimes it was truncheons, sometimes it was steel rods, sometimes it was boots. There were times when he rolled about the floor writhing”.
In this section Orwell repeatedly uses the phrase “Sometimes it was” implying that Winston has been beaten many times but trying to endure the pain just for his belief of rebellion. The destruction of Winston’s mind is done after he has been
