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Literary analysis of 1984
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In George Orwell’s novel 1984, there are many powerful compelling themes such as the idea of having vast amounts of power, similar to an oligarchy, the concept of mind control, and finally the theory of War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength. These three topics are all genuinely relevant to the Mongolian empire, and how Genghis Khan became one of the most influential and robust leaders of all time with similar actions of the party in the novel of 1984, but their power would be less prevailing if they did not have the support from a band of illiterate people. The idea of an Oligarchy is very prevalent in the novel 1984 with the theory of a small group of people running the territory of Oceania. This small group is known …show more content…
He would promise people better lives and that they would be more prosperous if they would consider his ways. Many joined because of the constant war of the surrounding nations and needed the hope of prosperity. As time progressed and the Mongolian Empire became more successful and powerful with many followers including: Christians, Muslims and Buddhist. The mind control in Khan’s regime was a little more subtle, he started by gaining his followers and promising them success but this was only possible by influencing his people to destroy everything and the only way to be completely victorious is to annihilate everything within other villages and countries. At first people were fleeing the acts of war but when the joined Khan the slowly became apart of dominant empire and eventually overlooked all other countries of the west. Khan later became known as Chinggis Khan or Universal ruler after vanquishing all rivals of the …show more content…
Oceania is constantly at war with other two super states, but the proles are aware of the war but also act like there is constant peace as well due to what the party brainwashes them with. Freedom is slavery is supposed to discourage people from seeking individual freedom because even in democratic governments when people have the mindset they are free they actually known as currency slaves which means they have to work to survive but still can have the things they own taken away if they do not pay taxes to the government. Last but not least ignorance is strength, this shows the importance of the proles. Oceania is 80% proles and they help lead the revolution because they are blind followers. These three paradoxes are all examples of doublethink which were created by the government, the lack of education in the society is what makes the party so fortunate. The event of the hate week is to regain the support of the proles to increase the hatred of the current enemy of the party which is always
I strongly agree with Fromm’s viewpoints and interpretations of Orwell’s 1984 text. He warns that the future federal powers will dehumanize society and leave everyone alienated. Thus, I agree with Fromm to the extent that he acknowledges the fact that humanity can indeed cease to exist as a result of our own self-destruction as well as the effect of our actions. Many of his opinions and warnings expressed by Orwell to an extent appear in contemporary society.
Deception and a blatant contradiction of facts in the spirit of impunity form the foundation of the construct of modern dictatorship and draconian governance. Leaders with this attitude treat the public office and nation as personal property and deploy the state resources at their disposal for selfish use. Their behavior takes the form of frivolous “surveillances, monitoring, and other control structures founded on lies and ambiguities” (Dean and Orwell 23). The same scenario is exactly what happens at Oceania. The nation is governed by the party headed by the big brother (“Gordon State College” n.p.).
In 1984, the manipulation of the body is an effective practice that oppresses a population. The Party maintains absolute control over Oceania’s citizens by manipulating their physical state to better repress them. This leads to them being more about their own pain and physical well being, thus distracting them from the suffering that is happening in the world around them, and distracting them from thought of rebellion. The Party uses physical manipulation via overworking them to exhaustion and torture methods.The Party keeps their citizens in a state of exhaustion as they are easier to control, as the narrator explains while Winston works in the Ministry of Truth:
It is clear that the government of Oceania in 1984 is self-serving, existing not to benefit its citizens or the elite Party members, but existing purely to exist and grow. Perhaps the most clear indication of this was O’Brien explaining the Party’s motives while torturing Winston. O’Brien explains that “the Party seeks power only for its own sake” and that “the object of power is power.” (185) This clearly indicates that the government of Oceania, a totalitarian state, seeks power not to improve the lives of citizens, but for power
George Orwell’s 1984 novel goes through the life of Winston who is trying to resist the power of the totalitarian government of Oceania known as The Party. Although the proles do seem to be marginalized by the inner party, they aren’t aware of it. They are free and have the sense of individualism to live their life. On the other hand, the outer party is aware of the Party’s manipulative powers, and they are capable of rebellion. Because of this, they are put under severe monitoring. Through showing different ways the Party exercises their supreme power, Orwell marginalizes the outer party.
Another idea for why the Mongols began there conquests has to do with Ghengis Khan again. Maybe he felt he had to prove something to himself or to the gods. He lost his father when he was only nine years old. The thought of being such a great leader would maybe have given Ghengis Khan the belief that he was pleasing his father. These thoughts could have given Ghengis Khan the strength and will power to try to bring the tribes together to begin there conquests.
Like Nazi Germany, the government in 1984 also uses propaganda to control the people in Oceania. On page 72 “And so it was with every class of recorded fact, great or small. Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which, finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain.” This quote shows that the Party controls the whole society where even people’s memories are being
The fictional world of 1984 is best described as bleak. In the aftermath of the fall of capitalism and nuclear war, the world has been divided among three practically identical totalitarian nation-states. The novel takes place in London, which has become a part of Oceania, the nation state comprising the Americas and western Europe. A state of perpetual war and poverty is the rule in Oceania. However, this is merely a backdrop, far from the most terrifying aspect of life in 1984. Oceania is governed by a totalitarian bureaucracy, personified in the image of Big Brother, the all-knowing/ all-seeing godlike figure that represents the government. Big Brother is best described as a "totalitarian socialist dictator, a political demagogue and religious cult leader all rolled into one." So great is the power of Big Brother that the reader is unsure whether he actually exists or is simply a propaganda tool of the government. The party of Big Brother, Ingsoc (English Social...
In the world of 1984 readers are shown a possible future where government has complete and unchallenged control of the people. The Party exert complete domination over every aspect of the citizen’s lives.There is not a single thing that is not under the Party. Feelings, history, language, statistics, and even human nature are all monitored and limited by Party. The citizens of Oceania don’t even have the decision to fight, they must either obey or die. The intentions of the Oceania government weren’t for the people, but instead for the government. They looked out for what was best for the government, not what was best for the people. Propaganda constantly state how rich and prosperous Oceania is all the time even though the true conditions show buildings are not cared for and resources are sparse.
Instead, the Oceania government brainwashed their citizens into believing everything they had to say. The citizens of Oceania were convinced that Big Brother was always watching, the Thought Police could at any moment in time catch you for thinking something unlawful, or knowing there was nothing illegal, but if caught it would end in death or twenty-five years in a forced labor camp. 9. The Oceania society was not allowed to have thoughts or even opinions knowing their government has the capability of punishing them.
In the novel 1984, Orwell produced a social critique on totalitarianism and a future dystopia that made the world pause and think about our past, present and future. When reading this novel we all must take the time to think of the possibility that Orwell's world could come to pass. Orwell presents the concepts of power, marginalization, and resistance through physical, psychological, sexual and political control of the people of Oceania. The reader experiences the emotional ride through the eyes of Winston Smith, who was born into the oppressive life under the rule of Ingsoc. Readers are encouraged through Winston to adopt a negative opinion on the idea of communist rule and the inherent dangers of totalitarianism. The psychological manipulation and physical control are explored through Winston's journey, and with Winston's resistance and ultimate downfall, the reader is able to fully appreciate O'Briens reasoning, "Power is not a means, it is an end."
Today’s modern world may not be exactly like 1984, but there are some issues that are very similar to it. Some of the biggest issues that is becoming compromised today is the issue of privacy, which in the book 1984 was something that the people did not have much of because of things like telescreens. Not only is our privacy compromised but the government is also being too controlling. Ways today’s privacy is being compromised are through things like game consoles, phones, social media, and drones and not only is our being compromised through these things but the government is also gaining too much control by compromising our privacy.
In George Orwell’s 1984, the strategies used by Oceania’s Political Party to achieve total control over the population are similar to the ones employed by Joseph Stalin during his reign. Indeed, the tactics used by Oceania’s Party truly depict the brutal totalitarian society of Stalin’s Russia. In making a connection between Stalin’s Russia and Big Brothers’ Oceania, each Political Party implements a psychological and physical manipulation of society by controlling the information and the language with the help of technology. Many features of Orwell's imaginary super-state Oceania are ironic translations from Stalin’s Russia. In Oceania, the Party mainly uses technology as the chief ingredient to implement psychological manipulation over society by controlling the information they receive.
Nineteen Eighty-Four was written in the past yet seems to show very interesting parallels to some of today’s societies. Orwell explains many issues prominent throughout the book in which his main characters attempt to overcome. He shows how surveillance can easily corrupt those in control and how those in control become corrupt by the amount of power. Those with power control the society and overpower all those below. The novel shows what could potentially happen to our current society if power ends up leading to corruption.
The novel 1984 by George Orwell presents the readers an image of a totalitarian society that explores a world of control, power, and corruption. The main idea of government control presents itself in the novel by protecting and listening to the people of Oceania. However, Orwell suggests giving too much power to the government is a mistake because eventually the decisions they make will not be about the people anymore but rather themselves. In 1984, the power and corruption the party has is overwhelming for the people. There are no ways around the beliefs of the Party, the party attempts to control and eventually destroy any mental or physical resistance against their beliefs. The agenda for the party is to obtain mind control over its people and force them to adore their leader. The methods the Party uses to achieve its goal are: the use of constant propaganda and surveillance, the rewriting of history, and Room 101.