1984 George Orwell Sensory Appeal

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"The May Sunshine had made him feel dirty and etiolated, a creature indoors- the sooty dust of London in the pores of his skin" (Orwell, 125). Sensory appeal is a tactic often used by the author to evoke a particular image or emotion within the readers mind. Orwell's use of sensory appeal in Nineteen Eighty Four is an integral concept to understanding the contradiction in a seemingly utopian society. This is emphasized through references to the following senses: touch and smell. Touch is illustrated with the use of figurative devices such as parallel structure and contradiction. Smell is identified with examples of metaphors, complimented by imagery. Overall, the purpose of sensory language in the excerpt is to enhance visualization and awareness …show more content…

This type of appeal plays a significant role in the literature, as it provokes the reader's interest and raises awareness of the reality that is living in a suppressed society. "The only evidence to the contrary was the mute protest in your own bones, the instinctive feeling that the conditions you lived in were intolerable." (Orwell, 76). Orwell clearly uses the sense of touch to illustrate a greater issue of denial faced by people aware of the Party's propaganda. Specifically, Winston's perception of life is represented by individuality and the struggle against his own morals in contrast to lies of the telescreens. This is further enhanced by the use of figurative devices and descriptive adjectives. "It struck him that the truly characteristic thing about life was not its cruelty and insecurity, but simply its bareness, its dinginess, its listlessness." (Orwell, 77). Orwell's use of parallel structure compliments the emotion of touch with emphasis on the message of life's simplicity. The language used depicts a utopia formed by Winston, where life is considered straightforward despite its present gloom. Thus, connection between touch and the usage of parallel structure provokes a sense of emotion in the reader, which allows them to relate to Winston's struggles. However, it also relates to the sense of smell- as an appeal to the physical living …show more content…

The use of language creates an abundance of imagery which appeals to the reader's visualization and adds fluency to the literature. "The reality was decaying, dingy cities, where underfed people shuffled- in patched up nineteenth-century houses that smelt always of cabbage and bad lavatories."(Orwell, 77). Orwell provokes an image of London as a city in horrendous living conditions to the point of decay. In fact, the sense of smell is clearly forged to be a symbol of contrast to the Party's propaganda. Specifically, the use of metaphors articulates sensory appeal, and impacts the reader through change of Winston's values. "A world of steel and concrete, of monstrous machines and terrifying weapons- a nation of warriors and fanatics" (Orwell, 77). Comparison between the Party and of the technology provides an imaginative aspect which flows with the shift of emotions given by sensory language. However, even with the use of smell as a symbol for devastation, Orwell connects it multiple times, through moments of peaceful interaction. "He had got together a big bunch and was smelling the faint sickly smell- he went on picking bluebells" (Orwell, 124). Overall, the sensory appeal of smell is used to convey visualization of the conditions faced by people in Oceania. This refers back to sensory appeal as a method to enhance the book's theme of

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