The Use Of Symbolism In George Orwell's '1984'

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George Orwell in his novel 1984 includes many symbolic objects that are important for a deeper understanding of the book. Orwell expresses his apprehension through different themes and characters mentioned in the book, but more importantly with the use of symbolism. George Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning about future generations and of the dangers of a totalitarianism society. Physical control and intellectual rebellion are some themes that relate to the symbols Orwell mentioned in his novel. The paperweight in 1984 represent Winston and Julia’s relationship in the room upstairs of Mr. Charrington’s store. In the beginning of the book, Winston goes to an antique shop in the prole district and purchased a paperweight. “The coral was Julia’s life and his own, fixed in a sort of eternity at the heart of the crystal” (147). In the society that Winston lived in, the Party took control of everyone’s past through propaganda and other methods. They made the people believe what the Party saw as the truth and this caused struggles for the society to recover from their own memories and express a bigger picture of what had happened to the world. The Party wanted people to believe that the place they were living in before was uglier than the society they are in now because of Big Brother, but Winston vaguely understood this principle. George Orwell displays that the coral is delicate and represents how Julia is precious to Winston and the glass around the coral was hard and sturdy which displays the protection Winston provided for her in the room in which they both tried to reconnect with their past. And just like the coral trapped in the glass, Winston and Julia are surrounded in the world controlled by Big Brother. “Someone had picked up th... ... middle of paper ... ...if the thought police ever caught him talking bad about Big Brother or the Party, he’d be arrested, so Winston carefully placed his journal in a safe place. “To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free, when men are different from one another and do not live alone--to a time when truth exists and what is done cannot be undone: From the age of uniformity; from the age of solitude, from the age of Big Brother, from the age of double-think—greetings” (28)! The people of Oceania have no freedom in their thoughts or actions because of the government they live in. Winston’s journal symbolizes the reality that he is living in and the struggles he goes through daily. All in all, George Orwell’s use of symbolism in 1984 enhanced the theme of the novel. By including symbols, it helped intrigue the reader and developed a profounder meaning to the book.

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