Tuesday, 2 April 2013

What is the role of gender in George Orwell's 1984?

The Party
attempts to take the energies of the sex drive and channel them towards the Party itself.
Paradoxically, women are both rendered sexless (dressed in overalls with no makeup and
encouraged to wear the red chastity sashes around their waists) but also function as objects of
desire. , for example, feels rage towardbefore he even knows her name, and he has a desire to
physically harm her. His fantasies are unhealthy, and Winston releases these frustrated desires
through rage at whatever enemy the Party presents during the Two-Minute Hate sessions.


I would argue, however, that gender is very important to the novel. Through the love he
is able to develop for Julia, Winston regains his humanity. What begins as raw sexual desire for
both partners develops into genuine caring, mutual support, and a desire to sacrifice for the
other person. In a mid-twentieth century era of less complicated understanding of gender and
gender roles,finds in the relationship between the...

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