An Analysis of Sexism in George Orwell’s Novel 1984

Abstract

Sexism, as a kind of social ideology, widely exists in the social systems of various countries and regions in diverse forms. Language is equal for both male and female in its being. Meanwhile it is also the material crust of social ideology, in some way mirroring the particular culture and thinking model of people in certain areas. Sexism is ubiquitous in languages, especially in English, the most universally used one around the world. Sexism in numerous English literature texts, however, tends to be ignored so that people’s understanding of these works is invariably simple and one-sided. 

Nineteen Eighty-four is George Orwell’s worldly-acknowledged political literature and its sexism is also well worthy of researching, which makes great contribution to the comprehensive understanding of it. But at present a large majority of academic attention is paid to the positive aspects of this novel, like humanitarianism and attack against authoritarianism while the study of sexism is not thoroughly enough.

This thesis is divided into four parts. The first part mainly expounds the theoretical foundation of sexism. The second part illustrates the main content of Nineteen Eighty-four from the perspective of sexism. The third part is the analysis of the relationship between sexism and the tragic ending. The last part discusses the practical importance of the study of sexism in contemporary reality.

Key words: sexism; 1984; tragic cause