LITERARY METHOD AS A SOCIOLOGICAL TOOL IN THE ANALYSIS OF TOTALITARIANISM (USING THE NOVEL “1984”)

Abstract

This article examines sociological approaches to society, which, when combined with a literary approach to the analysis of social phenomena, become even more expressive. The literary method itself is characteristic primarily of epic works of fiction (novels and short stories). However, it has not yet become widespread and remains poorly studied. Using a work of fiction as an example, the author demonstrates the potential of analyzing a specific social phenomenon using the literary method alongside documentary evidence. The article advances the thesis that the literary method offers sociologists additional opportunities for identifying large-scale social phenomena. World-renowned writers have achieved great success thanks to their profound understanding of social life. However, they did not set out to provide a scientific analysis of large-scale social phenomena occurring at different periods in history. This was facilitated by the profound psychologism, realism, and epic nature of these writers' approaches, which revealed the complexity of social life through the fractured relationships between individuals and society. According to the authors, only the social novel is capable of such an analysis, comparable in its universality to scientific research. Based on this, the article reveals the importance of the literary method in the comprehensive analysis of social life, which serves as an important resource for sociology in the study of society as a whole. This article presents principles for analyzing totalitarianism based on George Orwell's social novel «1984» using the literary method. This is achieved through a comparative analysis of the typical characteristics of various totalitarian regimes and a perspective on the fundamental features of the totalitarian society depicted in this novel.