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Review of 1984 by george orwell
Literary analysis of 1984 by George Orwell
How did the idea of totalitarianism affect Orwell's 1984
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George Orwell’s 1984 effectively portrays a fictional society suffering the wrath of a scheming totalitarian government. The grand party in power, encompassing the role of “big brother” is always watching. In this region named Oceania, any words spoken against the party and its beliefs are punishable by torture and/or hanging. In such a conforming society, characters like Winston Hunt, the main culprit, live repetitive lifestyles with a secret hate for big brother. Afraid to speak their minds freely, these “counter-revolutionaries” speak and think in secret unable to distinguish those they can and cannot trust. With Big Brother's’ watchful eye, change in such a brainwashed society seems nearly impossible. In 1984, the manipulation of technology, …show more content…
Located in every room imaginable and representing a modern day television; the telescreen is used for propaganda, to provide the public with war news, and to watch anyone within the confines of its location. Winston had trouble with expressing his thoughts around the telescreen, especially since it could not be shut off completely. Most importantly, “He imagined that the television could one day not only broadcast propaganda nonstop but that it could transmit back images of action in front of the screen, allowing the broadcaster to spy on its viewers” (Stanley). Not being able to act suspiciously, being accidental or intentional, strikes fear in Winston and surely Oceania’s people knowing the punishment it resulted in. The lack of privacy from the telescreens constant presence not only prevents the freedom of action, but also the freedom of speech which included the counter-revolutionary feelings Winston and his partner, Julia, shared. Its means of detecting the slightest anti- government feeling is the most appalling and frightening of all, seeming impossible for Winston and Julia to prevent detection. As Winston says, “to wear an improper expression on your face (to look incredulous when a victory was
George Orwell’s novel, 1984, is a dystopian literary text that illuminates the tenets of totalitarian and authoritarian governance in most areas where the leaders seek total loyalty and near hero worship. It was published in 1949, but has since remained relevant because its details promoted authoritarian political constructs and the political leadership concepts that evolved in the globe over time. Set at Oceania province in Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, the book displays an omnipresent government that institutes constant state surveillance on the people that it suspects to be a threat to its regime and agitators of rebellion. It infringes on human rights
Through out George Orwells 1984, the use of telescreens is very efficient and effective for the Party. On the other hand it plays a very hard role on our main character, Winston. Through out the novel, he lives in fear of the telescreen and is ultimately taken by the mighty power that is the Party, all in help by the telescreen. The watchful eye of the telescreen is not totally fiction though, in many places it all ready exists.Winston is a worker who's job is to change history to make sure that its "correct" by the Parties standards. He meets a lovely girl Julia and falls in love. They together try to find life and happiness together, and also they want to find the resistance, or the group of people that they figured existed that will help see the end of the Party and Big Broth...
Readers often find themselves constantly drawn back to the topic of George Orwell’s 1984 as it follows a dystopian community which is set in a world that has been in continuous war, has no privacy by means of surveillance and has complete mind control and is known by the name of Oceania. The story follows a man by the name of Winston who possesses the features of “A smallish, frail figure… his hair very fair, his face naturally sanguine [and] his skin roughened” (Orwell 2). The novel illustrates to readers what it would be like if under complete control of the government. As a result, this book poses a couple of motifs’, For instance part one tackles “Collectivism” which means the government controls you, while part two fights with “Romance” with Winston and Julia’s sexual tension as well the alteration of love in the community, and part three struggles with “Fear” and how it can control someone physically and mentally.
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.
Winston finds a loophole to expressing his thoughts through writing in a journal. Since Big Brother is always watching everything that Winston does through telescreens, he cannot verbally express his feelings towards The Party without being caught. Living in a world full of mostly uniformity, Winston obviously stands out as a recalcitrant individual. Winston is fully exposed to The Party at all time, leaving him without any privacy. Winston uses his writing to express his individuality, but he does not even feel completely safe because “The thought police would get him just the same. He had committed--would have committed, even if he had never set pen to paper--the essential crime that contained all others in itself. Thoughtcrime, they called it. Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed forever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were bound to get you.” (15) Even when he is not expressing any opinion verbally, Winston is still in danger of being caught by the Thought Police, leading him to have a hatred and conflict with The Party because they do not allow him to express his individuality. Winston is never alone, even when he is physically alone, which diminishes his sense of any privacy. Winston’s invasion of privacy by The Party does not end with the telescreens. In Oceania, “In the far distance a helicopter skimmed down between
Throughout the novel we see the characters’ different uses and views of technology; O’Brien’s for power, Charington to incriminate rebels and Winston’s and Julia’s avoidance and frustration of its restrictions. Through Winston’s personal tendency to resist the confinement of his individuality and his intellectual ability to express his distress regarding the control of the party, enables the reader to observe and understand the extreme danger of corrupt technology use.
Authors often use their works as a way to express their own opinions and ideologies. However, it is the skill of the author that determines whether these ideas are combined with the plot seamlessly, making a creative transition of ideas from the author’s mind, to the reader’s. There is no doubt that George Orwell is a masterful writer, and one of his most popular works, 1984, clearly expresses his negative views of the Totalitarian government. A common theme in the dystopian society in 1984 is betrayal: The Party is very intolerant towards any form of disloyalty, and anyone who plots against them or Big Brother will eventually either betray their own mind and accept Big Brother as their leader, or be betrayed and revealed to The Party by one of their so-called comrades. Overall, Orwell is using this constant theme of betrayal to show how alone and alienated the protagonist (Winston Smith) is in his quest against Totalitarianism, thus showing how flawed and hopeless the political system is.
George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 follows the psychological journey of main character Winston. Winston lives in a utopian society called Oceania. There, the citizens are constantly monitored by their government coined “Big Brother” or “The Party”. In Oceania, there is no form of individuality or privacy. Citizens are also coerced to believe everything and anything the government tells them, even if it contradicts reality and memory. The goal of Big Brother is to destroy individual loyalties and make its citizenry only loyal to the government. In Orwell's novel 1984, he uses Winston's psychological journey to stress the dangers of individuality in a totalitarian regime because it can result in death. Winston’s overwhelming desire to rebel
Ultimately, common ideas found in the novel 1984, totalitarianism, surveillance, and lack of privacy are also ubiquitous in modern society and government. Big Brother and modern day government have been able to control its citizens through surveillance equipment, and fear all for a little more power. There is much to learn from such an undesirable form of society much like the one of Oceania in 1984. Examining Big Brother government closely, alarming connections can be made to real-world government actions in the United States and the cruel world within Orwell's book.
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell, is a superb novel with outstanding themes. One of the most prominent themes found in this novel is psychological manipulation. Citizens in this society are subject to ever present signs declaring “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” (Orwell 1). Along with psychological manipulation, physical control takes place. The Party not only controls what people in Oceania think, but what they do as well. Technology is another important theme. Without the constant telescreens, microphones, and computers, the Party would be all but powerless. Big Brother is the main figure of the Party. The main symbol that drives these themes is the telescreens. It is representative of the party always watching and controlling everyone at all times.
In 1984, George Orwell presents an overly controlled society that is run by Big Brother. The protagonist, Winston, attempts to “stay human” in the face of a dehumanizing, totalitarian regime. Big Brother possesses so much control over these people that even the most natural thoughts such as love and sex are considered taboo and are punishable. Big Brother has taken this society and turned each individual against one another. Parents distrust their own offspring, husband and wife turn on one another, and some people turn on their own selves entirely. The people of Oceania become brainwashed by Big Brother. Punishment for any uprising rebellions is punishable harshly.
Telescreens act just like our modern day electronic devices since they “control our lives.” The use of telescreens in 1984 has been used to control the society in what they can say and do. To Winston, telescreens represent misery because he isn’t able to get the freedom that he wants and has always wanted. He is woken up by the telescreen. He would always be tracked down wherever he went.
At first, we do not think, nor contemplate the effects that come as a result of our actions. In 1984, we get a sense of a greater authority in Big Brother. Although we never know if Big Brother actually exists, the power and authority that this idol holds over the people is unimaginable. The people of Oceania are divided into two classes, the members of the Party and the proletariat. The Party members are like machines that do the jobs of the government.
In this essay I will focus on the effect of varying oppressive governments and the way in which it causes its people to lose their freedom and individuality by using the literature ‘1984’ by George Orwell and ‘A Clockwork Orange’ by Anthony Burgess. 1984, by George Orwell, is a novel about Winston Smith- a 39 year old man residing in the dystopian, totalitarian society of Oceania. The people in Oceania are constantly monitered, controlled and tyrannized by ‘The Party’; a group led by an ubiquitous figurative ‘Big Brother’. Free speech and thought are deemed rebellious and are strongly forbidden from the people, Thought Police are everywhere and constantly monitoring the people for such crimes which are punishable by death for disobeying the Party. Winston, a somewhat lowly member of ‘The Party’ who has the tedious- yet crucial to the party’s scheme- job of rewriting historical media for the ironically named ministry of truth or minitruth.
Identity, in today’s society, is often taken for granted. We have the ability to be anything we wish to be and act in any way we wish to act, but in the novel 1984 by George Orwell, identity is not taken for granted because it does not exist at all. Winston Smith, the narrator, lives in a dystopian society based on the idea of totalitarian government rule. This government is known as Big Brother. In order for Big Brother to stay in power, a few things are necessary: identity cannot exist; everything and everyone must be uniform; the past must be controlled in order to regulate the present; and the people must constantly be practicing the ideas of Newspeak and Doublethink, a form of control the government holds over the people. By enforcing these simple laws and regulations, the government is able to keep a tight grip on its people, with few ever releasing themselves from its grasp. Winston Smith on the other hand, seeks to know the truth behind the government, he is constantly questioning everything and repressing all the ideas forced upon him. Winston “seeks truth and sanity, his only resources being the long denied and repressed processes of selfhood” (Feder 398). All identity is gone in this place called Oceania, and for the sake of Big Brother and its continuous control of the people, it will never exist again. In 1984, the absence of identity strips the people of all creativity and diversity, as well as takes away any chance the society has to advance as a people or in the area of technology.