Summary:
A comparison of the theme of tragedy in George Orwell's "1984" and "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles. "Oedipus Rex" is a true tragedy while "1984" is not, according to the author. The elements any tragedy are sympathy from the audience, the loss of a loved one, and the downfall of a great person.
Tragedy, in my own words, is a disastrous event which occurs. By disastrous I mean loss of a loved one, the downfall of a great man, and in the audience's point of view, sympathy. This definition is both similar yet different than Aristotle's view on tragedy. He stated that "Tragedy, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its katharsis of such emotions." Aristotle focuses more on fear and pity being evoked on the audience. Our definitions are somewhat similar in the idea of empathy for the main character. The play Oedipus Rex is widely viewed as "the perfect tragedy" and this statement is correct in every way, shape, and form. It is indeed, more tragic than 1984.
By my definition of tragedy, there must be a feeling of sympathy from the audience to the main character. In the end of 1984, it was said that Winston Smith, "was sitting in a blissful dream." (p. 308) He was tortured, into believing that he was happy and loves Big Brother and the Party. He now lives a normal life and has no reason to be upset, giving the audience no reason to feel sympathetic for him. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus loses his mother/wife after she hanged herself. He realized his fateful doom of killing his father and marrying his mother is true and was inevitable and responds to this information by gouging out his own eyes. It is obvious that one would feel more sympathy towards Oedipus, rather than Winston. Oedipus has lost a wife/mother, gouges out his own eyes in despair, and realized his fate all in one day while Winston is happy and now loves Big Brother and the Party. This makes it clear and obvious that Oedipus Rex is more tragic than 1984.
The downfall of a great man is also listed as one of the characteristics of a tragedy. In 1984, Winston hated the Party, as well as Big Brother. This was viewed as the greatest crime possible in the society. It is improbable that Winston was viewed as a great man, not even in Oceanic society, but also in the eyes of the reader. Oedipus thought of himself as a great man and is revealed as the priest says, "Great Oedipus, O powerful king of Thebes! You see how all ages of our people cling to your altar steps."(p. 720) He saved Thebes from the Sphinx by answering the riddle, became King, and was loved by all the people of Thebes. After comprehending that he killed his father and married his own mother, he becomes nothing and gouge out his eyes. In a single day, Oedipus goes through his downfall from being the beloved King of Thebes to a blind wanderer. Choragos illustrates this in saying, "Men of Thebes: look upon Oedipus. This is the king who solved the famous riddle and towered up, most powerful of men. No mortal eyes but looked on him with envy, yet in the end ruin swept over him." This explains how Oedipus had everything almost every man desires: power, wealth, and family, and loses it all. Oedipus was a greater man than Winston, and also experienced a larger downfall than Winston did.
Of course, it is always disastrous when one loses a loved one as Winston did, but the question is brought up if Winston still loved Julia in the end. In the process of being tortured, Winston is faced with giant rats, which he is horrified of. Soon before these rats are released on him, he screams for this torture to be done to Julia, rather than him. At that very moment, it becomes clear that he no longer loves Julia. It is also said later in the book that the same method has been used on Julia. In discovering Winston no longer loves Julia, nor does Julia love Winston, it can be concluded that neither of them missed each other after being tortured. Neither Winston nor Julia felt sad that they had lost each other in a sense. Julia reveals this when saying, "Sometimes, they threaten you with something - something you can't stand up to, can't even think about. And then you say 'don't do it to me, do it to somebody else, do it to so-and-so.' And perhaps you might pretend, afterwards, that it was only a trick and that you just said it to make them stop and dint really mean it. But that isn't true. At the time when it happens you do mean it." (p. 302) If the character is not greatly missed by anybody, how is it possible for this novel to be a tragedy? In Oedipus Rex, he grieves the death of his mother/wife, he loses power as King, and is greatly missed. Oedipus differs in Winston in the fact that people actually cared when this happened to Oedipus as opposed to Winston.
The novel, 1984, by my standards, is not a tragedy. The three features any tragedy must have are: sympathy from the audience, the loss of a loved one, and the downfall of a great man. None of these characteristics occur in 1984, making it not a tragedy. No sympathy is given from the audience after being informed of Winston's new appreciation for Big Brother and the Party. Technically, Winston never loses a loved one. Although he is never able to demonstrate his love towards Julia, he never loved her after the incident with the rats. In the audience's eyes, Winston is not a great man. He does not possess any superior qualities than any other person in the society, and has no reason to be considered a great man. Therefore, a downfall of a great man is impossible to occur; one of the features needed for a tragedy. In all aspects, 1984 is not a tragedy.
Oedipus Rex is, without a doubt, a greater tragedy than 1984. Oedipus Rex contains every characteristic of a tragedy in the play, whereas 1984 has none. It leaves the audience with no sympathy for Winston Smith, there was no downfall of a great man, and he never lost a loved one. The audience is left with a great deal of sympathy for Oedipus, he undergoes a downfall, and as he lost a loved one, the city of Thebes lost Oedipus. There is no question pertaining to whether Oedipus Rex or 1984 was more tragic than the other. It is clear that Oedipus Rex is much more tragic.
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