The conflict of Man vs. Society is illustrated by Winston Smith's struggle to maintain his humanity and preserve his individuality in the midst of his extremely oppressive, dangerous society. The authoritarian regime known as the Party controls virtually every aspect of Winston's society and requires citizens to completely conform and pledge their unwavering support to Big Brother. In Oceania, citizens must behave completely orthodox, continually exercise doublethink, and conform to society's standards in order to avoid being publicly executed or tortured in the Ministry of Love. Winston Smith is a free-thinking individual, who resents living in the oppressive, threatening society. Winston is aware of the Party's prevalent hypocrisy and detests his controlled lifestyle, where he is under constant surveillance. Winston takes steps to rebel against the Party by writing in his diary, which is considered a thoughtcrime, carrying on an affair with Julia , and attempting to join the...
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Brotherhood. While Winston is committing these crimes, he is fully aware that he will eventually be arrested and tortured by the Thought Police. However, Winston’s motivation to retain his humanity and preserve his individuality motivates him to rebel against Big Brother. Tragically, Winston cannot defeat the omnipotent government and is eventually brainwashed into becoming a loyal supporter of Big Brother.
The "society" of Oceania is represented by the Party. The Party demands total loyalty, and this means the individual must subordinate all of his or her desires to the will of the state.
The state is opposed to any form of individualism. It keeps individuals under constant surveillance and insists on complete conformity. Even facial expressions must be controlled. Any hint of deviance from the way the Part expects individuals to behave and think is considered a thought crime and will be severely punished.
The Inner Party has a preponderance of power and wants to keep it that way. It works to do that by dehumanizing the Outer Party members. It strips them of friendships, meaningful marital relationship, loving relationships with their children, and tacitly forbids any desires that do not support Big Brother. It is even working to eradicate the language of all but the simplest words so that individuals will not be able formulate thoughts.
In most cultures, there is a tension between the needs of the individual and the needs of the state. Oceania deals with this problem by attempting to eradicate all individuality and create a faceless mass that will mindlessly do whatever it is told.