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Wenxin Chen
ENG4U
Mr. Toole
Jan. 20, 2014
The Fragility of the Human Psyche
Over the course of history, humans have undoubtedly become the most dominant species
on the planet, in terms of social and technological progress. This fact can be attributed to the
overwhelming power of the human mind, and its ability to create, adapt, and process
information. Even today, the processing speed of the mind is unmatched by even the worlds
fastest supercomputer. In fact, the very existence of the computer owes itself to the human brain
and its creative ability. The brain is humanitys greatest asset, and if taken care of, will ensure
the advancement of the species. However, the resilience of the human brain has its limits. If
constantly abused, the mind will eventually suffer permanent damage as a result. Oftentimes,
mental problems that arise within an individuals brain are difficult to diagnose, and finding the
underlying issue or event that caused it is more difficult still. However, the fragility of the human
psyche is undeniable. Traumatic experiences are known to alter and affect the state of an
individuals mind, sometimes permanently so. The novels 1984 by George Orwell and A
Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess explore this topic in greater detail, and accurately depict
the delicate nature of the human brain. Through the mental transformations of its protagonists,
the use of physical and psychological pain, and the portrayal of the surrounding environments
effect on an individuals mind, 1984 and A Clockwork Orange showcase the effects and causes

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of psychological damage, the connection between physical pain and psychological trauma, as
well as the lasting effects that a traumatic event leaves on an individual.
In George Orwells novel, 1984, the protagonist, Winston Smith, is initially introduced as
a critical, intelligent individual, aware of his surroundings and able to see reality for what it truly
is. Winston lives within a totalitarian-ruled state called Oceania, a dark, depressing country that
promises a false vision of prosperity and freedom for its citizens. The government, referred to as
the Party, endlessly monitors their citizens, and simple acts, such as writing in a diary, are
banned in order to prevent a large-scale rebellion. Winston, along with his love Julia, wish
desperately to rebel against the Party, but are discovered by the thought police and arrested.
During his time in prison, Winston undergoes a complete mental transformation, intended to
erase any thoughts and feelings of rebellion or hatred against the Party. Winston emerges from
his torturous experience as a completely different person, now completely ignorant and loyal to
the Party. In this novel, Orwell showcases the factors that can influence an individuals mind,
and how fragile and easily affected the brain really is.
In 1984, Winston is able to realize the true nature of his society, and how dismal and
bleak it truly is. As a result, Winston is a pessimistic individual, shown when he commits his first
act of thoughtcrime by writing in a diary. In doing so, Winston is certain that he has sealed his
fate, stating that thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed for ever. [] sooner or
later they were bound to get you (Orwell 21) and thoughtcrime does not entail death;
thoughtcrime IS death (Orwell 30). This fatalistic nature of Winstons corresponds with and is a
result of his surroundings, which are also dark and bleak in apperance. This is displayed when
Winston states Outside, [] the world looked cold. [] though the sun was shining and the sky
a harsh blue, there seemed to be no colour in anything, except the posters that were plastered

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everywhere (Orwell 4). Here, the depressing nature of the world outside is portrayed, reflected
by Winstons dark, pessimistic personality. Orwell suggests that the mental state of an individual
is sensitive and directly influenced by his or her surroundings, and that a dark and dreary
atmosphere will breed a similar personality within an individual.
Winston undergoes a major psychological transformation towards the end of the novel.
The Party utilizes physical pain in order to re-condition Winstons mind, essentially rendering
him harmless to the Partys interests. Initially, Winston refused to accept the Partys teachings,
and stayed true to his own thoughts. However, after endless rounds of torture and immense pain,
Winstons mind reached its breaking point and he accepted everything. The past was alterable.
The past never had been altered [] anything could be true (Orwell 290). This moment of
acceptance, when Winston has let go of his individual thoughts and opinions, displays the power
of physical pain and the effect that it has on the mind. Although Winston had originally believed
that the mind was the one place that the government could not penetrate and was safe from their
surveillance, this turns out to be untrue, as physical pain and is used to manipulate and alter his
mind, at the intellectual level.
Winston also undergoes a transformation at the emotional level as well, a subconscious
part of the mind that is deeper and less accessible than the intellectual level. Physical pain alone
was not enough to break down Winstons emotional state, and psychological trauma was used
instead, taking advantage of Winstons deepest fear, rats. When confronted with these rats,
Winstons mind was immediately reduced to nothing more than blind panic, rendering him
blind, helpless, mindless (Orwell 299). As a result of his panic and fear, Winston betrays his
love, Julia, desperately pleading for his tormentors to unleash the rats upon her instead. In doing
so, Winston has given up the emotional part of his brain completely and discarded every bit of

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his former self. Orwell showcases the overwhelming power of psychological manipulation and
how it can affect even the deepest levels of the mind, beyond the conscious.
The trauma and mental damage that Winston suffers from his ordeal in the hands of the
Party affects him permanently. His brain is unable to recover to its previous state, and Winston
becomes an ignorant, mindless individual living a meaningless life. Winston states that [the
Party] could get inside you. What happens to you here is for ever, [the Party] had said. That
was a true word. There were things [] from which you could not recover (Orwell 303).
Winston admits his psychological defeat, and realizes that there are events that an individual can
never psychologically recover from. Orwell showcases the fragility of the human mind and how
mental trauma stays with an individual forever, unlike physical trauma that heals over time. The
frailty and highly sensitive nature of the human brain is a central theme within 1984 and reflects
the true nature of the human psyche.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess tells the story of a young man named Alex,
who, like Winston, lives within a totalitarian-ruled country. The teenagers in Alexs society are
abnormally animalistic and gain pleasure from causing violence and destruction. At the
beginning of the novel, Alex is described as an immoral and unethical gang-leader who revels in
causing harm to others. When Alex is caught by the police after breaking into a womans home,
he is sentenced to fourteen years in prison. When offered a chance at freedom, in the form of a
two-week rehabilitation program, Alex is more than eager to join. There, Alex discovers that the
government-run program forces its subjects to watch repeating images of violence and brutality,
intended to deeply disturb the subject and force them to develop a psychological aversion to all
forms of violence. Alex ends up losing his freedom of choice as a result, and is only able to
respond to situations in docile, socially acceptable ways, essentially becoming a mindless

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individual, incapable of free thought. The novel ends with Alex escaping from his ingrained
revulsion towards violence, and returning to society; however he finds himself somewhat
hesitant to return to his old, violent ways, instead looking towards the future and imagining his
life with a family.
Alexs mental transformation is caused by psychological pain, as opposed to physical
pain. The images displayed to Alex are unimaginably brutal, and eventually break down his
mental barrier towards violence, making him realize the full impact and cruelty of his actions.
Not only does Alexs mind veer away from violent thoughts after his treatment, his body elicits a
physical, nauseating response to any thought or observation of violence as well. This, again,
showcases the relation between physical pain and psychological trauma. In 1984, Winstons
psychological trauma was mostly induced through physical pain; inversely, in A Clockwork
Orange, it is the psychological pain of seeing the inhumane images that causes Alex to develop a
physical response. As a result, Alex has no choice but to act in a completely peaceful way at all
times. Upon seeing Alex for the first time after his treatment, and observing Alexs automatic,
non-violent response to any situation, Alexs prison chaplain comments He has no real choice,
has he? Self-interest, fear of physical pain, drove him to that grotesque act of self-abasement. Its
insincerity was clearly to be seen. He ceases to be a wrongdoer. He ceases also to be a creature
capable of moral choice (Burgress 94). Through the use of psychological torture, Alexs mind
has been manipulated and his free will taken from him. The vulnerability and frailty of the
human psyche is seen through Alexs character, as he transforms from an extremely violent and
immoral youth to a completely peaceful and docile individual.
The idea of psychological harm causing a permanent effect on an individual is also
displayed in A Clockwork Orange. After being restored to his true self, and regaining his sense of

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free will, Alex still finds himself uneasy when he returns to his former ways. Despite the removal
of Alexs physical and psychological barriers towards violence, Alex is still unable to completely
re-establish himself as a violent, animalistic youth. At the end of the novel, Alex ponders to
himself, saying that it was like something soft getting into me and I could not pony [understand]
why. [] There was something happening inside me, and I wondered if it was some disease or if
it was what they had done to me that time upsetting my gulliver [brain] and perhaps going to
make me real bezoomny [crazy] (Burgress 137). Alex has become aware of a recent increase in
his level of compassion for other beings. Although he is unable to pinpoint the exact reason,
Alex feels that it was caused by his psychological experience at the hands of the government.
Through this subconscious change in Alexs mentality towards the end of the novel, Burgress
displays the ability of a traumatic experience to permanently affect an individuals psyche.
The fragility of the human mind is seen not only in fiction, but is apparent within modern
society as well. The frailty of the human psyche manifests itself in society through mental
disorders and issues caused by traumatic events or by the individuals surrounding environment.
The Canadian Mental Health Association reports that a fifth of all Canadians will experience a
mental illness at some point in their lives, and that suicide is one of the leading causes of death
in both men and women from adolescence to middle age (Understanding Mental Illness). One
particular condition, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, loosely describes the psychological
alteration that both Winston and Alex experienced, and is also a condition that is prevalent in
North America, affecting one in thirteen individuals at any given time (What Is PTSD). PTSD
arises from the exposure of an individual to a traumatic event, or one that is very frightening,
overwhelming and causes a lot of distress (Understanding Mental Illness). One of the main
symptoms of PTSD is avoidance, in which the person will go out of his way to avoid being

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reminded of the trauma. He'll avoid speaking about it as well as any cues that may trigger
memories of the trauma. In effect, the person tries to push any memories of the experience from
his mind (Clark). This is seen in A Clockwork Orange, when Alexs torturers force him to listen
to classical music while viewing the disturbing images, thereby causing Alex to associate his
traumatic memories with the music. After Alex is released, he becomes exposed again to the
same music, and it all came over [him], the start of the pain and the sickness, and I began to
groan deep down (Burgess 123). Upon hearing the music that has been avoiding for so long,
Alex becomes so agitated and desperate to escape that he jumps out of a window, severely
injuring himself. The lengths to which Alex went in order to prevent himself from being
reminded of his traumatic experience effectively displays the symptom of avoidance in PTSD.
Another major symptom is numbness, where an individual, in response to the pain created by
the haunting memories, [] may seek out anything that can keep it away, including alcohol and
drugs. [They] may withdraw and can lose [their] ability to make and maintain relationships
(Clark). This is portrayed clearly in the final chapter of 1984, after Winston and his former love,
Julia, have both been psychologically reshaped by the government. Winston has become an
alcoholic as a result of his traumatic experience, and is no longer able to love Julia as he did
before. Winston describes alcohol as the element he swam in. It was his life, his death, and his
resurrection. It was gin that sank him into stupor every night, and gin that revived him every
morning (Orwell 307). Both Winston and Alex display significant signs of PTSD, making them
accurate depictions of a very real problem within todays society, and connecting the fragility of
the characters psyches with the fragility of human psyches in reality.
The association between physical and psychological pain, and how one can be used to
cause the other, is also evident in the minds of todays individuals. An article by Matt McMillen

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from CNN states that the brain doesn't appear to firmly distinguish between physical pain and
intense emotional pain, showcasing the ability of physical pain to alter mental states, and viceversa. The fragility of the human mind is thus compounded as it is vulnerable to all forms of
pain: emotional, physical, or otherwise.
The human brain is a powerful, resilient resource that enables humanitys progress.
However, it is evident that the mind is also a delicate, fragile part of an individual that is easily
manipulated. The novel 1984 by George Orwell displays this through the usage of physical pain
in order to reshape the mind of the protagonist, and the lasting effects that it has on his emotional
and intellectual state. Orwell also suggests that the nature of an individual is influenced by their
surroundings, shown by the mirroring of Winstons personality with the world that he lives in. A
Clockwork Orange showcases the frailty of the human mind as well, with the protagonist, Alex,
undergoing a mental transformation through psychological trauma, which also results in the
development of a physical response. Alexs traumatic experience also has a lasting permanent
effect on his psyche. The two novels also showcase the correlation between physical and
psychological pain, and how one can be used to inflict the other upon an individual.
The human mind can be viewed as an adaptive and sensitive organ that responds to its
environment. If the environment is hostile and traumatic in nature, then the psyche of an
individual will be severely affected. However, a hospitable, favourable environment will allow
an individuals mind to prosper and construct its thoughts freely, allowing for progress and
advancement as well as self-development. A brain is the very thing that makes an individual
human, and should be treated with care and respect. Psychological wounds heal much slower
than physical ones, and sometimes may not heal at all. The fragility of the human psyche means
that the task of protecting and maintaining the mind is one of great importance, and is a

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responsibility that every individual should strive for. In doing so, they ensure the preservation of
humanitys most valuable resource.
Works Cited
Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. New York: Penguin Books, 1972. Print.
Clark, Josh. "How Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Works." HowStuffWorks.
HowStuffWorks.com, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015. http://science.howstuffworks.com/ptsd2.htm
McMillen, Matt, and Copyright Health Magazine 2011. "To the Brain, Getting Burned, Getting
Dumped Feel the Same." CNN. Cable News Network, 29 Mar. 2011. Web. 16 Jan. 2015.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/03/28/burn.heartbreak.same.to.brain/
Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. St Ives: Penguin, 1949. Print.
"Understanding Mental Illness." Canadian Mental Health Association. Canadian Mental Health
Association, n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2015. http://www.cmha.ca/mental-health/understandingmental-illness/
"What Is PTSD?" What Is (PTSD) Post-traumatic Stress Disorder? PTSD Alliance. Beachway
Therapy Center, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015. http://www.ptsdalliance.org/about_what.html
Bibliography
Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. New York: Penguin Books, 1972. Print.
Clark, Josh. "How Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Works." HowStuffWorks.
HowStuffWorks.com, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015. http://science.howstuffworks.com/ptsd2.htm
McMillen, Matt, and Copyright Health Magazine 2011. "To the Brain, Getting Burned, Getting
Dumped Feel the Same." CNN. Cable News Network, 29 Mar. 2011. Web. 16 Jan. 2015.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/03/28/burn.heartbreak.same.to.brain/
Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. St Ives: Penguin, 1949. Print.
"Understanding Mental Illness." Canadian Mental Health Association. Canadian Mental Health
Association, n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2015. http://www.cmha.ca/mental-health/understandingmental-illness/
"What Is PTSD?" What Is (PTSD) Post-traumatic Stress Disorder? PTSD Alliance. Beachway
Therapy Center, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015. http://www.ptsdalliance.org/about_what.html