Interpreting Nineteen Eighty-four From The Perspective Of Sartrean Existentialism

This thesis represents an interpretation of George Orwell's novel,Nineteen Eighty-Four,from a new perspective--Sartrean Existentialism--to show how Sartrean existential thought appears throughout the novel.Prior to the present study,most scholars in China and abroad reviewed and analyzed Nineteen Eighty-Four from the perspectives of politics,anti-totalitarianism,anti-utopianism,linguistics,literary form,feminism,mass media,science and technology and privacy.The author,however,knows of only a few scholars who have even considered Sartrean existentialism in analyzing Nineteen Eighty-Four.This thesis,therefore,seeks to apply the principles of Sartrean existentialism to provide a further basis for understanding Orwell's main themes in the novel and to show what happens to the main characters as they make choices and take responsibility for their choices.Sartrean existentialism is considered by many scholars to be the most famous and highly-regarded expression of what it means to be human.The theory was propounded by the renowned philosopher,Jean Paul Sartre,and became perhaps the most popular ideological trend in the 20 th Century.It was widely debated and discussed during the years in which Nineteen Eighty-Four was written,and the author of this thesis believes that it can be used to provide a unique and deeper understanding of Nineteen Eighty-Four.Consequently,the author conducted extensive research into various resources,including available literature,and also a detailed reading of Nineteen Eighty-Four to find parallels between Sartre's theories and Orwell's writing.Among those parallels are numerous examples of how the novel's main characters try their best to make choices and decisions under very harsh circumstances to achieve their value of existence and to deal with the realities that life sometimes imposes.During the process of making choices and taking actions,they face extreme anguish or anxiety of the kind discussed by Sartre in the imaginary,absurd and meaningless totalitarian society which is the setting for the story.The research finds that Nineteen Eighty-Four is a typical Sartrean existentialist novel.This paper thus represents a new way to analyze Nineteen Eighty-Four,enriching and encouraging additional research on the works of George Orwell and also providing an understanding of how Sartrean Existentialism can be used to help the readers of certain novels more fully appreciate what the authors seek to create.There are four parts to this thesis: the introduction,the nature of Sartrean philosophy,the main body and the conclusion.The first chapter contains an overview of the significance and purpose of the thesis,and then discusses George Orwell,Nineteen Eighty-Four,and previous studies of Nineteen Eighty-Four.Chapter two introduces the key concepts of Sartrean Existentialism.Chapter three is the most emphatic part of the main body and analyzes the principal characters in the novel from the Sartrean perspectives of freedom of choice and responsibility.It includes three parts: free choice in true love,free choice in truth,and free choice in expression of thought.Chapter four reviews in detail the anguish and anxiety of the main characters in Nineteen Eighty-Four when they make their choices.It then examines the novel from the aspect of “absurdity” which is also an important aspect of Sartrean Existentialism.Chapter five contains the conclusion.