Title: 1984 Author: George Orwell Topic: Emotional Response

George Orwell's 1984 evokes a powerful contrast of repulsion and pity in his readers in order to convey the true corruption of the totalitarian government. Throughout Winston's experience at the Ministry of Love, the author exposes the readers to the darkest aspects of human nature. His descriptions of the thought criminals' behaviour in response to the torture imposed by the Ministry are so despicable that the readers first feel disappointed, and then even ashamed to be a member of same race. These strong emotions are manipulated to create a powerful contrast between the readers' repulsion and the heart-wrenching pity they experiences at the end of the novel. By subtly compelling the readers to conclude that the most sickening elements of man are still better than the inhuman shell that Winston later becomes, Orwell successfully insinuates the extent of the Party's debasement. This contrast is set up with the reader's appalled reaction to the description of a lady at the Ministry:

The woman hoisted herself upright and followed them out with a yell of "F------ bastards!" Then, noticing that she was sitting on something uneven, she slid off Winston's knees onto the bench.

English: Grave of Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell...

The square in Barcelona renamed in Orwell's honour

Orwell's former home at 77 Parliament Hill, Hampst...

"Beg pardon, dearie... they dono 'ow to treat a lady, do they?" She paused, patted herself on the breast, and belched. "Pardon," she said, "I ain't meself, quite." She leant forward and vomited copiously on the floor. "Thass better," she said, ... breathing beer and vomit into his face. "Wass your name dearie?"... "Smith? Why, I might be your mother!"

The woman's rude and inarticulate speech immediately suggests that she belongs to a lower class, and thus evokes disdain from the readers. To amplify their feelings of distaste, the author uses the woman's belch and vomit to disgust to the readers' sense of sound and...