While Winston Smith is helping his neighbor Mrs. Parsons, her children show odd behaviors. Her son unexpectedly threatens Winston, "shouting 'Traitor!' and "Thought-criminal!'" (29) Winston soon realizes the boy is only playing pretend, however he compares Mrs. Parsons' children to playful "tiger cubs which will soon grow up to be man-eaters." (30) The children hope to be thought police when they grow up.
This scene seems to be taken straight out of Nazi Germany. The novel implies that the children in 1984 turn many of their parents in to the government: "It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own children." (31) Similarly, Hitler had a program called Hitler's Youth, which awarded children for turning their parents in. For example, an article from Military History Online states that "One case involved a teenaged HJ [Hitler's Youth] member named Walter Hess who turned in his father for calling Hitler a crazed Nazi maniac. His father was then hauled off to the concentration camp at Dachau under Schutzhaft (protective custody)."
Children in both of these societies are raised almost completely by their governments. This idea poses the question: how much of an influence should a government have on a child's development? This question is still heavily debated in our own United States government today. The dystopian world in 1984 is an extreme society, where families are second to a child's nationality. By showing this extreme, Orwell hopes to warn a government like ours of the dangers of overpowered governments.
The question you raise at the end of your post is a really interesting and important one. What do you think Orwell's answer, or your own answer, to this question would be?
ReplyDeleteI believe that there should be a balance between parents and the government in the development of our nation's youth. In 1984, however, the children are affiliated with their government first and family second, which is much too extreme. Orwell most likely is showing this extreme to suggest that families should have more influence over a child.
DeleteI believe that there should be a balance between parents and the government in the development of our nation's youth. In 1984, however, the children are affiliated with their government first and family second, which is much too extreme. Orwell most likely is showing this extreme to suggest that families should have more influence over a child.
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