Year 12 IB Extended Essays 2018

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However, towards the end of the novel, readers become increasingly aware that their efforts to use sexual intimacy as a way of opposing the government is bound to fail. When their affair is discovered by the thought police, they are arrested and taken to the ironically named ‘Ministry of Love’, a place of torture which exploits fear as a means of regulating behaviour. The horrifying ordeal that Winston endures in the Ministry of Love and his drastic change as a result are disillusioning for the reader. Winston’s metaphorical lobotomy brings his rebellion to an end. Through the transformation of Winston, Orwell demonstrates the extent of the power of the regime and their ability to control every aspect of life. Just as Julia and Winston’s rebellion through sexual intimacy ultimately fails, John’s attempts at rebellion by holding onto his puritan Elizabethan values in regard to sex and keeping himself pure also fail. This failure is largely due to the highly successful indoctrination process undergone by the genetically engineered individuals in the World State, such as Lenina. For her, the sexual act is purely for physical pleasure rather than an expression of emotional intimacy with another human being. Her view of sex clashes with John’s view. Drawing on the morality learned from Shakespeare, he wishes to establish a ‘real’ relationship with Lenina and wants “to show [he is] worthy [of her]” (Huxley, 2014, p. 166). As John cannot accept Lenina’s perspective on sex, he becomes angry with her and her promiscuous behavior. Eventually, their relationship evolves into violence and pain. At the end of the novel, John becomes repulsed by the World State and decides to leave. He finds a quiet place that he hopes will allow him to escape government control. Unfortunately, his life is disrupted again by the numerous citizens from the World State who come to his new home to in order to observe his eccentric behavior. At one point, the crowd watches him self-flagellate and becomes titillated by his behavior and an orgy ensues. Eventually, John is overcome by the crowd and participates in the “Orgy-porgy” (Huxley, 2014, p. 229). The next morning he hangs himself, believing that