In George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, the protagonist, Winston Smith, finds himself questioning the reality that The Party paints for the citizens of Oceania. In Oceania, the past is mutable, and Party’s power enables them to distort the present through “doublethink” and “newspeak” (Orwell 35). The world that Salvador Dali creates in his painting, The Persistence of Memory (1931), and its literal, visual distortion, greatly resembles the metaphorical warped nature of Oceania. Not only did George Orwell and Salvador Dali craft distorted versions of the world in their respective mediums, within 1984, the Party exercises the same kind of control an artist has over their work through “Reality control” (Orwell 35). Compelling parallels can be …show more content…
made between Salvador Dali himself and Winston Smith in 1984; similarly, motifs found throughout 1984, such as ambiguity, unorthodox orthodoxy, the fluidity of time, and the warping of reality, can be found in another form in The Persistence of Memory. Salvador Dali is the most prominent member of the twentieth century Surrealist movement (Meisler). Born in Figueres, Catalunya, Spain on May 11, 1904, Dali grew up in an environment conducive to artistry. At the time, Catalunya enjoyed “an established artistic culture of its own” and it was more accepting of “the new ideas that were shaping Modernism” (Radford 5). As a child and throughout his adult life, Dalí was free of inhibitions. Dalí’s father, Salvador Dali Doménech, was “authoritarian” and had a quick temper (Meisler). By definition, authoritarian is favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority. He often rebelled against his father, blatantly disobeying him. Maria de Jesus Noreiga interprets Dalí’s The Persistence of Memory as a “manifestation of Dalí’s personal unconscious concerning his rebellion against his parental figure.” Both Winston Smith in 1984 and Dalí had a restrictive force in their life that they needed to surpass in order to reach their full potential. While Dalí illustrated his rebellion through wild acts and artistic expressions, Winston rebels quietly, silently rebuking the Party’s teachings and seeking out beauty wherever he can find it. Winston, even though through a facade of secrecy, manages to surpass the watchful eye of Big Brother to experience glimpses of the life taken away by the Party. Living in Oceania, Winston is oppressed by Oceania’s authoritarian and totalitarian government, unable to express any kind of individuality. All media that advocates free thinking is taken away: art, vocabulary, facial expressions, and love, are all foreign to the citizens of Oceania. The Party has assured that all routes of deviance are blocked off, showing meticulous attention all details in the lives of its subordinates. The scrutiny of the citizens of Oceania is apparent when Winston realizes that “like a beetle under a magnifying glass,” they have been watching him for seven years: “Even the speck of whitish dust on the cover of his diary they had carefully replaced” (Orwell 276). Just as the Party pays close attention to the minute minutiae of its citizens, Dalí reciprocates the same scrupulous attention to the details of his paintings. Salvador Dalí is thought of as the epitome of Surrealism and he is an prime example of the branch of Surrealism that “presents, with meticulous detail, recognizable scenes and objects that are taken out of natural context, distorted and combined” (Harvard and Mansfield 320). Dalí describes each of his paintings as ‘hand-painted dream photographs” (Harvard and Mansfield 331). His paintings, like the society and surveillance created by the Party in Oceania, are carefully crafted. Still, while the Party tries to control all its citizens through strict, unwritten laws and repressive governing, it fails to prevent Winston’s human nature from emerging. In 1984 Winton experiences homicidal/intrusive thoughts all throughout his lifetime.
His struggle with morality can be compared to Salvador Dalí’s. In his autobiography, Dalí recalls a memory of himself as a child imagining giving his younger sister “a terrible kick in the head,” then fleeing with a “delirious joy” (“Benefit of Clergy” 156). Dalí’s daydream of injuring his sister can be compared to Winston stealing his sister’s portion of their chocolate ration. When Winston is young, the first chocolate ration is issued in months, Winston is given three quarters of it, then proceeds to steal the other quarter from his sister. Both Winston and Dalí have little to no respect for the lives of the people around them and they show little concern for the well-being of others, including their family members. They have akin responses towards most people in their lives, until a special woman appears, and in the beginning, both have an especially violent reaction to these women. At Dalí’s initial encounter with his wife, Gala, “he is greatly tempted to push her off a precipice,” then later he envisages himself launching her off of the bell-tower of the Cathedral of Toledo (“Benefit of Clergy” 157). These feelings of animosity Dalí has towards his future wife are comparable to Winston’s sentiments regarding both his wife, Katharine, and Julia. Previously married to a “goodthinkful” woman who believed her only duty is to the Party, the antithesis of Winston, Winston had contemplated pushing her off a cliff, and is “sorry he didn’t” (Orwell 135). While the actual situation concerning Katharine and Winston is strikingly similar to Dalí and Gala’s, Winston’s life with Julia draws more parallels to the artist and his wife. When seeing Julia, Winston has a violent reaction to her, wanting to flog her to death, among other heinous things. However, when they become acquainted, Julia becomes the light in Winston’s life; he becomes healthier and more vibrant. Julia brings joy and
beauty to Winston’s bleak life in Oceania. Just as Julia brings a feeling of vivacity into Winston’s life, Gala becomes Dalí’s inspiration. Even after Dalí’s extremely negative reaction to her, Gala becomes his muse and she influences and shapes much of his future artwork (Radford 6). In Oceania, the past is alterable, in fact, it is Winston’s job in the Ministry of Truth to alter it. In the beginning of the novel, it is demonstrated to the reader that the concept of time is unreliable in Oceania. When writing in his diary, Winston is unable to be resolute about the date: “he did not know with any certainty that this was 1984” (Orwell 7). Because of the “mutability of the past,” time and dates are superficial (Orwell 26). The Records Department inside of the Ministry of Truth, where Winston works, is in charge of rewriting historical documents to fit the needs of the Party. The power that the Party holds over its citizens by being able to change the past, invalidates time because of the unreliability of past dates. Time also plays a role in the Ministry of Love. When Winston is imprisoned by O’Brien in the Ministry of Love, there is no darkness because there are no windows. Winston notes that he does not know what time it is, “with no clocks and no daylight it was hard to gauge the time” (Orwell 226). The lack of time telling devices, including the sun, erases time inside the building and makes Winston’s time within the “Miniluv” seem fluid, one day flowing seamlessly and unknowingly into the next (Orwell 4). The concept of the fluidity of time can also be found in The Persistence of Memory. The melted, or soft clocks depicted in the painting are a symbol of the literal fluidness of time with the world that Dalí has created. The gelatinous clocks symbolize the distorted passing of time and the concept that time, represented by the clocks, while seemingly plausible, is an illusion in the world of The Persistence of Memory, similar to the way time is portrayed in 1984. By the distortion in the physicality of the watches, the viewer can assume the the concept of time in the world of the painting is also askew. The notion of time being an illusion is supported by “the paradox of rendering [the] hardest, most mechanical of objects into its present soft, wilting form” (Radford 147). The statement, “Time is presented as something that has a life of its own, but also as something that can disappear, and not only through physical death,” written about The Persistence of Memory can also be applied Winston’s experience in Oceania (Noriega 176). Living in Oceania, Winston has had many encounters when time itself has disappeared. Winston never dies, but it seems as though he lives suspended where time is often absent.
It is said that 1984 is one of the greatest books ever written, a literary work that remains as transcendent as ever since its publishing date sixty-four years ago. It is a grimly realistic story crafted together by George Orwell, who takes upon particularly effective literary elements, such as the limited third-person point of view, to follow the life of Winston Smith, the average everyday, resentful civilian who attempts to fight against the seemingly omnipotent and ubiquitous powers of the Ingsoc Party. The Ingsoc Party, a totalitarian government that governs the fictional country of Oceania, holds a casket of brilliantly intelligent individuals, some of who are members of the terrifying Thought Police and the notorious Inner Party, who employ informal language against the uneducated masses of Oceania civilians. Symbolism is also a key literary element in the novel, for anything ranging from ubiquitous telescreens to the infamous Big Brother ultimately contribute to Winston’s realization of how unbreakable the power of the Ingsoc Party truly is. All throughout 1984, George Orwell exercises the elements of diction, point of view, and symbolism to bring out the novel’s theme of how futile resistance is against established totalitarian governments.
Between the poem, ¨ No one died in Tiananmen Square¨ by William Lutz and the novel, 1984 by George Orwell there are multiple similarities. Subjects such as their government, their denial of history, and the use of doublethink and re-education are all parallel between the novel and the poem. For instance, both the governments have a highly strict government. Their governments are so controlling of their people that they use brute force in order to help re-educate them. For example, in 1984 the main character, Winston Smith was trying to go against their government, The Party, and because he tries to do so, he is placed in The Ministry of Love and brutally beaten by the man whom he assumed was a part of the Brotherhood, O'Brien. O'Brien claimed
In 1948, George Orwell wrote one of the most memorable dystopian novels, 1984. This novel depicts a totalitarian world where there are no ways to use freedom, express free though, or express individuality, but there are various sources of brainwashing propaganda. The Party’s slogan ‘war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength’ is where the brainwashing process in Oceania begins. Brainwashing and government control are also crucial elements in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games. In the world of Panem, 1 boy and 1 girl are chosen from each of the 12 districts to fight to the death. The game’s slogan ‘may the odds be ever in your favor’ shows the Capitol’s usage of doublethink. These slogans are used by the ruling groups as propaganda and show one of the similarities in how the governments brainwash, torture, and control the past of their people.
Today I am going to be writing an essay on the book, 1984 by George Orwell. This book is about Winston Smith and Big Brother where an external conflict arises between the two. The internal conflict that also takes place in this book was between the two ideas, democracy and totalitarianism. The reason this novel was written was to show society what it could and or would become if things continued to go down the worse of the paths: Orwell sensed of the expansion of the great communism when he was thinking of this novel. The conflict that took place between these two ideas in the year 1945 created the two characters, which were the two characters above Winston Smith and the Big Brother, in his mind. The Big Brother is head of the totalitarian
In George Orwell’s novel, 1984 the theme is a totalitarian government has the capability to physically and mentally break down individuals and then rebuild them the way they want by using torture and the destruction of emotions and personal thought.
The approach towards freedom is hard to achieve against a totalitarian government but possible to win with the people’s belief. 1984 by George Orwell and James McTeigue’s V for Vendetta portray the same idealism of the anti-heroes, Winston and V. An anti-hero is “a protagonist who lacks the attributes that make a heroic figure, as nobility of mind and spirit, a life or attitude marked by action or purpose” (“Antihero”). Winston is not courageous, peaceful, and self-centered along the path of freedom for Oceania, whereas the anti-hero, V is violent in his actions, impatient and careless in his pursuit to free London from the totalitarian government. As a matter of fact, V and Winston have the opposite behaviours; this is significant because it helps to compare the approach of the anti-heroes toward freedom. At the end of 1984 and V for Vendetta, the result of their approach is different from each other; Winston gives up on the liberation of Oceania, while V dies knowing that London is freed from Norsefire Party. In 1984 and V for Vendetta, the different behaviours of the anti-heroes, Winston and V, illustrate their approach to attaining freedom from the totalitarian government.
North Korea, China, and even Cuba are similar to 1984. They try to control their people just the same as in 1984, and just like in Jonestown. The only people who were free in 1984 were the Proles. The community in Jonestown began as everyone wanting to be there, and then as conditions worsened the people wanted to leave. They were not allowed to, much like 1984. The people in both situations are similar, in that they are oppressed by their governments, but only the people in Jonestown are given the ability to think they are even able to
George Orwell’s haunting dystopian novel 1984 delves into the closely monitored lives of the citizens of Oceania as the Party tries to take control of society. In totalitarianism, propaganda and terrorism are ways of subjugation with a main goal: total obedience. He aimed to create a “what if” novel, what would happen if totalitarian regimes, such as the Nazis and Soviets, were to take over the world. If totalitarianism were to happen, the leader would be the brain of the whole system. Orwell emphasizes the theme of individualism versus collective identity through Winston, the protagonist, and his defiance to the Party and Big Brother, with a frightening tone, surreal imagery and a third person limited point of view.
Some people think that if they could only change one aspect of their lives, it would be perfect. They do not realize that anything that is changed could come with unintended consequences. “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs and “The Third Wish” by Joan Aiken both illustrate this theme. They demonstrate this by granting the main character three wishes, but with each wish that is granted, brings undesirable consequences. The main idea of this essay is to compare and contrast “The Monkey’s Paw” and “The Third Wish.” Although the “The Monkey’s Paw” and “The Third Wish” are both fantasies and have similar themes, they have different main characters, wishes, and resolutions.
Why do directors choose to stay faithful to or depart from a text when they are producing a film? Many directors choose to either alter or maintain literary elements such as characters, plot, and resolution from a text. The presence or lack of these specific features affects the audience. For instance, in the story “The Monkey’s Paw”, a classic short horror story written by W.W. Jacobs, and its accompanying film, the similarities and differences in the characters, plot, and resolution have an effect on the readers and viewers.
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.
A dystopian society can be defined as “a society characterized by human misery”. 1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury both demonstrate dystopian societies. However, that does not mean they do not their differences. In each society the government has different ways of controlling and limiting its citizens for doing only what they want them to do. In 1984, violators are brainwashed into loving and following Big Brother as if they never knew the truth and return back to their everyday lives. Fahrenheit 451 also punishes violators in a way that makes them regret and scared to ever do it again instead of making them forget.
In the beginning of Nineteen Eighty Four, George Orwell’s description parallels Winston’s bland and depressing life. Orwell describes the world as “cold” and “the sky [as] a harsh blue, [and that] there seemed to be no color in anything” (Orwell 4). Orwell wrote that in Winston’s apartment “the hallway smelt like boiled cabbage and old rags” (3). This dull setting allowed for the Big Brother posters and Party slogans to stand out. In addition, the Ministries had an intimidating and ominous effect due the fact that their Ministry buildings were white and grand compared to the grey, dirty buildings most comrades lived in. Throughout the first half of the novel, this trend of uninteresting setting and descriptions continued to mirror Winston’s
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.
The idea of the future has been explored for as long as writers have been writing. The interesting concept about the future is that it will always remain a mystery. The future is always changing and never ending. In George Orwell’s 1984, Orwell ruminates on his thoughts and ideas of what the future will be like. Orwell wrote the book around 1950 during the writing era of postmodernism. Postmodernist books often expressed thoughts of the future, as well as other themes. 1984 describes the future as a place where the Party has taken over and controls everything and everyone. The residents of Oceania have no control over their bodies, their relationships, or even their thoughts. Oceania is a place of war and control. The protagonist in 1984 is a middle-aged man named Winston. Winston is one of the only living people who realize that the party is changing the facts, and he wants to do something about it (Orwell). Winston deals with the struggles of hiding from the law and who to trust. In 1984, George Orwell uses the themes of physical and mental control, forbidden love, and a “big brother” figure to exhibit characteristics of postmodernism.