Indoctrination, Subjectivity, and Double Consciousness in George Orwell’s 1984

Abstract

George Orwell’s 1984 has received intensive critical attention from critics, which mainly concentrated on the novel’s grim prediction of a futuristic dystopian society. This research, nonetheless, focuses on the novel’s unexplored and hidden themes related to the protagonist’s journey of self-awakening or consciousness. The research first identifies the strategies and mechanisms the totalitarian state in the novel employs to indoctrinate and consequently build up false consciousness among the population. Secondly, the research follows the protagonist’s path towards subjectivity through a subversive consciousness, which enables him to question and challenge the basic tenets and principles of the totalitarian state’s ideology. Finally, the research identifies the process through which the totalitarian state uses to re-indoctrinate the protagonist, as well as the moral value and humanistic outcome of the protagonist’s subversive acts. The research is significant for it offers a contemporary reading of unexplored themes in the novel like ‘subjectivity’, ‘dual consciousness’, and ‘re-indoctrination’.