Essay Individuals and Society

Words: 1058
Pages: 5

The relationship between individuals and society has been a topic of debates for generations. In these debates, individuality has been given various definitions which can be grossly summarised as “The aggregate of qualities and characteristics that distinguish one person or thing from others” ( It has been also argued that “The irony of individuality is that sometimes it is a luxury that can only be achieved by contributing something special to the group. True individualists are often innovators.” ( Interestingly, individuals may innovate by rebelling against societies, to the extent that the latter are a reflection of the …show more content…
Such cases are seen in George Orwell’s “1984”, where people gather in anticipation of the public hanging of enemy soldiers. Additionally, they reach the point of praising Big Brother, who is the very symbol of their oppression and hating Goldstein, who wants to free people all over the world. Also, parents come to the point of fearing their own children, because they might give them away to the Thought-Police. Similarly, in Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”, people are indifferent, selfish and interested only in their entertainment. They are so shallow that they consider participants in broadcasted shows as ‘’family’’. Despite their prosperity, they are extremely lonely and unhappy, which is proven by the considerably high rate of suicides. Both novels portray an inhuman society of people without critical thinking, feelings and interest for each other, which is the consequence of their no reacting against an oppressing regime.

Another great consequence of remaining passive is that people allow governments to violate their basic human rights. When this happens, the most basic needs of individuals are not met, which, in turns, causes a great degradation of the very value of human life. In such cases, it is very difficult for one to find a reason to go on living. In George Orwell’s “1984”, the right to speech along with the right to privacy do not exist, since the