George Orwell's Dystopian World. "Nineteen Eighty-Four" and the Pragmatics of (Mis)Understanding

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2015 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, , language: English, abstract: Occupying a central position in the political inner debate of Winston Smith, the main character in Orwell-s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, is the following statement/promise/threat: -We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness- (25). This cryptic illocutionary speech act is initially heard by Winston in a dream, then is distinctly associated with, and equivocally reiterated, later on in the novel, by O-Brien who embodies, at the same time, the main character-s ideological mentor, intellectual tormentor and physical torturer.
As the story unfolds, the initially promising trope, -the place where there is no darkness,- becomes more and more of a sibylline utterance representing a locus of (mis)understanding and a space of radical misreading. The representation of this place is stripped of its dream-like, metaphorical significance and reveals a dark, deictic and literal meaning. -[T]he place where there is no darkness- turns out the infamous Room 101, which is precisely the opposite of what it initially passes for, that is, a -utopian- space of enlightenment.
On the contrary, Room 101 is a -dystopian- place, in the novel, where the light is deliberately never switched off as a torture inflicted upon political dissidents like Winston Smith. Likewise, the story line seems to operate a series of ironical degradations such as utopia becoming dystopia; metaphor dwindling into synecdoche; and euphemism signalling a glaring -statement- (25) charged with a sense of utter (mis)understanding, foreboding and warning, culminating in the irreversible destruction of the main character. Winston-s revolutionary dream of a better world turns into a horrible nightmare full of equivocation and despair.
The mutual (mis)understanding between Winston and O-Brien leads to complete brainwash and emasculation of the former. Winston-s political resistance to, and hate of, Big Brother-s regime are annihilated, his dream is shattered. The story ends with Winston being ultimately defeated, ironically depicted as follows: -[h]e had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother- (297); whereas at the beginning of the narrative he has emphatically written in his secret diary in distinct capital letters: -DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER- (18).