1984 Totalitarianism Essay

1283 Words3 Pages

Orwell was a Socialist and believed in the ability for a rebellion to change society, but unfortunately too often he witnessed such rebellions go wrong and develop into totalitarian rule. 1984 warns us against the idea of absolute powerthrough the analysis of the dangers of Big Brother and statist roots. 1984 remains an important work of literature because the ills of totalitarianism in all forms are still relevant in this day and age. Freedom and authoritarianism resonate with us those of us who live beyond the 20th century and those who lived around that time. In 1984, Orwell uses irony and paradox to show the difference between the novel’s major conundrums: Emmanuel Goldstein, who is the enemy of the state bt doesn’t pose any real We are first made of this idea when we are introduced to the concept of”‘war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is truth”. An idea that clearly contradicts itself, yet makes sense to the Inner and Out party members. This irony is again presented to us with the ministries of truth, peace, love, and plenty, which we quickly find are in charge of the opposite of what is proposed by their titles. ‘Victory’ items are also used by Orwell in an ironic way to emphasize the idea of blind manipulation.. These items, such as coffee, gin, and cigarettes do not live up to the grand title they are given, they are instead substandard and poorly made. Oceanic society is infact rooted in irony, nothing is as it seems but the people do not know otherwise. In fact, the only way that the totalitarian regime can function effectively in the novel is through strict and swift regulation;control. Readers are lead to believe that Winston will play the role of archetypal dystopian hero, following the definition of irony through incongruous events. This type of situational exists on two levels. Initially, Winston believes that he is destined to

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