In his treatise Civilization and Its Disturbances, Freud makes an interesting statement about advanced society. He argues that “the price of progress in civilization is paid by forgoing happiness through the growth of guilt,” to defend his thesis that guilt is becoming a problem in modern cultures (Civilization 35). In George Orwell's novel 1984, the party uses Freudian concepts involving guilt, repressed instincts, and physical pain to control its members. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay One of the very first Freudian concepts we see in 1984 concerns guilt. In Civilization and Its Disturbances, Freud briefly discusses the three parts of the mind: the Ego, the Id, and the Superego. According to Freud, the id represents a person's natural instincts and desires, for example the desire to have sex or to be a more independent being. However, Freud argues that the id is an unconscious part of the mind, so many people are unaware of these impulses that they have naturally. On the other hand, the superego is partially conscious and is what controls guilt. A person's superego depends on the society they live in, because society and culture determine what someone might think is right or wrong, making it easy to see what the superego is: a conscience. The ego is somewhere in the middle. Determine the choices you make every day by finding a compromise between the instincts of the id and the guilt of the superego. For all societies, Freud argues that there will be disagreements between the id and the superego that the ego cannot handle, causing unhappiness for some people. However, Orwell takes this a step further by creating a society in which there is a strong disagreement between the superego and the id. The party in 1984 creates a strong superego in its members, starting from an early age. It encourages children to abstain from sex, many even decide to join groups such as the Junior Anti-Sex League: “In an indirect way it has been instilled in every party member since childhood. There were also organizations such as the Junior Anti-Sex League, which advocated complete celibacy for both sexes” (1984 65). This society also encourages children to repress their desire to love and protect their families, rewarding them for turning family members over to the police for thought-crime-like acts and making them feel guilty for not doing so. However, guilt alone can only go so far. If someone decides that the party's morals are wrong, that person may break the rules and not have enough guilt to have any reason to stop. Because of this risk, the party adds an additional layer of control to the superego: television screens. Television screens were installed almost everywhere, even in homes. These devices gave the party a way to keep tabs on its members and ensure that none gave in to rebellious instincts and desires. If someone was caught, that person was punished, depending on the severity of the crime, with torture or sometimes death: "It was terribly dangerous to let one's thoughts wander when one was... within range of a telescreen. The most little one might betray you. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of mumbling to oneself – anything that carries with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide" (1984 62). If that wasn't extreme enough. , the party made sure that people couldn't get away with creating a special kind of crime: thoughtcrime. According to Winston, “Thought crime does not involve death: thought crime is death” (1984 28). The crime of thought.