Behavior in 1984 and V for Vendetta

Simultaneously, both dystopian novels show communities under control and ignorance.  People are controlled through various bureaucratic organisms that legitimize violence inside society.  For instance, in V for Vendetta we are shown the structure of Norsefire (the ruling party) as “The Mouth” in charge of political propaganda, “The Eye” in charge of video surveillance, “The Ear” in charge of wiretapping, “The Nose” in charge of police investigation and “The Finger” in charge of hostile suppression at the slightest sign of insubordination, as in 1984 and the Ministries and, as I discussed in my previous post, in Chile during the military dictatorship there were intelligence agencies and surveillance in charge of pursuing, kill and rule population.

In addition, constant fear is a parallel behavior in both stories and authority, accordingly, handles this fear, plays with this fear and submission. Forces people to accept everything, any order or breaking news; for instance, 1984’s Two Minutes Hate:

“The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but, on the contrary, that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Within thirty seconds any pretence was always unnecessary. A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledgehammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one’s will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic. And yet the rage that one felt was an abstract, undirected emotion which could be switched from one object to another like the flame of a blowlamp. Thus, at one moment Winston’s hatred was not turned against Goldstein at all, but, on the contrary, against Big Brother, the Party, and the Thought Police; and at such moments his heart went out to the lonely, derided heretic on the screen, sole guardian of truth and sanity in a world of lies”. (Orwell 18-19)

People hence was aware of facts that Big Brother wanted them to be aware of and they consumed created lies to manage their attention, namely the war shown in the big screen was part of a show that neither people nor the reader will never know if it was actually veridical.  Thus, what actually links these communities is a denial of evident facts; blindness towards something that they have decided not to see, maybe for comfort or, as discussed, fear. Fear that Evey and V lose, and in some moment, Winston also loses, even though all characters have different endings.

In a nutshell, it is preferable for safety not to say things the way they are, at the extent that reality gets distorted and forgotten the way it is. After fear, people accept everything and that is what Shock Doctrine shows us in both novels. Human being’s first instinct is that of survival that forces him/her, in moments of danger, to agree with anything, namely Evey losing her fear against death winning her freedom.

                                                               (Moore 4) - Vol VII, Ch. XII

Moreover, Winston’s acceptance of death:

“We are the dead,’ he said.

‘We’re not dead yet,’ said Julia prosaically.

‘Not physically. Six months, a year—five years, conceivably. I am afraid of death. You are young, so presumably you’re more afraid of it than I am. Obviously we shall put it off as long as we can. But it makes very little difference. So long as human beings stay human, death and life are the same thing.’

‘Oh, rubbish! Which would you sooner sleep with, me or a skeleton? Don’t you enjoy being alive? Don’t you like feeling: This is me, this is my hand, this is my leg, I’m real, I’m solid, I’m alive! Don’t you like THIS?’ She twisted herself round and pressed her bosom against him. He could feel her breasts, ripe yet firm, through her overalls. Her body seemed to be pouring some of its youth and vigour into his.

‘Yes, I like that,’ he said.” (Orwell 170-171)

He therefore gains some sort of freedom that keeps him living. He therefore gives communities a powerful message. Understanding that what really matters is to remain human is to understand that each human being must be able to decide, to think, to reflect, to criticize, to act, to speak their minds.

References:

- Alan Moore's Graphic Novel, "V for Vendetta" (1989)

- George Orwell's, "1984" (1949)