A FROMMIAN READING OF GEORGE ORWELL’S 1984

Year 2024, Volume: 11 Issue: 2, 798 - 810, 22.10.2024

Cengiz Karagöz

https://doi.org/10.69878/deuefad.1480013

Abstract

Although George Orwell’s 1984 has been interpreted from a variety of theoretical perspectives, the narrative still reveals an opportunity to inquire into novel trajectories of arguments. It provides enough room for a reading especially in light of Erich Fromm’s theoretical views. Erich Fromm is well-known for his criticism of modern society in which sadism, masochism and the crisis of freedom are outstanding features. For Fromm, since the Renaissance, modern individuals have found themselves entangled in a psychological state of loneliness, powerlessness and meaninglessness owing to their attempt to obtain freedom. Leaving behind traditional values and religious faith has not afforded them any freedom that they can be satisfied with; rather, lack of pre-modern values has caused them to embark on a quest for suppression of a feeling of impotence. That’s why, sadist dictators like Big Brother desire to make up for a sense of insignificance by oppressing the masses while the masses become masochists by submitting blindly to his dictatorial authority as an indication of impotence. The novel offers the possibility of finding examples regarding how sadism and masochism foster the maintenance of each other in modern society in which acts of dominating and being dominated are commonly observed due to feelings of loss and emptiness.

Keywords

Erich Fromm, 1984, sadism, masochism, modern society

GEORGE ORWELL’IN 1984 ROMANINI FROMMCU AÇIDAN OKUMAK

Abstract

George Orwell'ın 1984 adlı romanı çeşitli teorik perspektiflerden yorumlanmış olsa da, anlatı hâlâ tartışmaların yeni yörüngelerini araştırma fırsatını ortaya koyar. Eser özellikle Erich Fromm'un teorik görüşleri ışığında bir okuma için yeterli alan sağlamaktadır. Erich Fromm, sadizm, mazoşizm ve özgürlük krizinin öne çıkan özellikleri olduğu modern topluma yönelik eleştirileriyle tanınır. Fromm'a göre, Rönesans'tan bu yana modern bireyler, özgürlüğü elde etme çabaları nedeniyle kendilerini psikolojik bir yalnızlık, güçsüzlük ve anlamsızlık durumunun içinde bulmuşlardır. Geleneksel değerleri ve dini inancı geride bırakmak onlara tatmin olabilecekleri bir özgürlük sağlamamış; daha ziyade modern dönem öncesi değerlerin eksikliği, onların acizlik duygusunu bastırma arayışına girmelerine neden olmuştur. Bu nedenle Büyük Birader gibi sadist diktatörler, kitleleri ezerek acizlik duygusunu telafi etmek isterken, kitleler acizliğin göstergesi olarak diktatörlük otoritesine körü körüne teslim olup mazoşistleşiyorlar. Roman, kaybetme ve boşluk duyguları nedeniyle tahakküm kurma ve tahakküm altına alınma eylemlerinin yaygınlaştığı modern toplumda sadizm ve mazoşizmin birbirini sürdürmeyi nasıl beslediğine dair örnekler bulma olanağı sunmaktadır.

Keywords

Erich Fromm, 1984, sadizm, mazoşizm, modern toplum

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