Mob Mentality in 1984: A Mr. Butler Explanation

 One of the most striking parts of the earlier Nineteen Eighty-Four chapters is the two-minutes hate. Even though Winston has already expressed ideological dissent towards the Ministry of Truth, he is swept up in the hate-spouting of his co-workers. Enemies of the state are flashed on-screen to jeers and shouts; items are thrown in blind anger; people resort to negative emotions without thinking.

During sophomore history, we saw many examples of this sort of mob mentality. One story I remember specifically was a Jewish man's account of a Nazi rally, and the urge he felt to join the mob. It seems that succumbing to such mentalities is a step away from democracy and towards the dystopia of Nineteen Eighty-Four. Sadly, we see many of the same behaviors in today's society. From the events on Jan. 6 to occurrences online, many people seem to be succumbing to tribalism and an Us vs. Them mentality. What sort of lessons can we learn from Nineteen Eighty-Four? Do you think society is shifting towards the dystopian side?

Comments

  1. Charlotte EbelFebruary 11, 2021 at 7:44 AM

    The Us vs. Them mentality is absolutely growing in America, and it's really scary to see. I don't think we're teetering on the brink of becoming a dystopian society, but I do think that we need to closely monitor the development of this polarization. I read an interesting comparison of the widespread rejection of the election results to the widespread rejection of the fact that Germany lost WWI. In Germany, this contempt created a space for the Nazis to rise to power. Our government is definitely stronger than the Weimar Republic, but I think we can expect to see a larger extremist movement rise out of this.

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  2. L. MoffittFebruary 11, 2021 at 7:55 AM

    AGREE. Well said, and maybe that's why this book continues to resonate.

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  3. AnonymousFebruary 11, 2021 at 7:57 AM

    I think that the polarization of our Us vs. Them mentality actually is protecting us against turning to a dystopian society. In 1984, everybody thinks of themselves as "us", and Goldstein (who I don't think actually exists) is "them". Similarly, nearly all of Germany in the 1930s supported the Nazis, and it's definitely disturbing how easily mob mentality can result in authoritarianism. However, in the US today, half of the country is "us" and the other half is "them," so neither side can reach a level of power in which they could eliminate the other, as happened in 1984.

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