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1984 by George Orwell Development of a theme across the novel essay
1984 by George Orwell Development of a theme across the novel essay
A critical essay on the book 1984
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George Orwell created the world of telescreens, Big Brother and The Thought Police as if to be a warning to the future. The novel was later made into a film by Michael Radford. The story of 1984 revolves around the main character Winston’s life in a world of propaganda, divided into three superpowers; Oceania and its government called INSOG; Eastasia and its culture of death worship and Euroasia and its neo-bolshevism form of society. All three nations represent what would be the result of extremist political ideas in George Orwell’s eyes. There are differences between Orwell’s 1984 and Radford’s version of the novel, but there are also similarities in the physical descriptions and personalities of the characters.
In the novel 1984, people
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are not living on good conditions. Most people drink gin and smoke cigarettes and workers are given unsanitary food. Winston is the typical working man, he is thin with dark hair and eyes and has some teeth missing. On the contrary, Julia is a young and beautiful woman; “she was a bold- looking girl about twenty-seven, with thick dark hair, freckled face, and swift, athletic movements.” Winston and Julia become revolutionaries by having sex, walking in the countryside, and eating strawberry jam. Winston and Julia are two very different people with very different personalities. In the film the personalities expressed by the characters are similar to those in the novel, Orwell had created Winston as an average man who was quiet on first-glance, but inside he was curious and dared to question the party. Julia on the other hand was very outgoing and did not care much about the party. The actress who portrayed Julia did a very good job of portraying this role. In the novel authority is used as a form or intimidation between the working class societies and to keep society from corruption.
The authority figures mentioned in the book and film were the thought police, “Big Brother”, and the telescreens. The thought police were in charge of capturing the people who did things that were forbidden, this includes having impure thoughts, overthrowing the government, and not loving or believing in Big Brother. In 1984 these crimes are punishable by death. The government shown in the novel and film is referred to as Big Brother, “he” keeps society from corruption by brain-washing and by using intimidation and threats. In the film Radford did a very good job of sticking to Orwell’s description, a good example of this is the room above the shop. Orwell describes it as “an old-fashioned glass clock with a twelve hour face was ticking away on the mantle piece. Under the window was an enormous bed with the mattress still on it.”
One thing that was changed in the movie was the symbolic salute of INSOG, in the novel this is a clenched fist but in the film it was changed to having the forearms folded into an X. This makes the gesture seem less realistic and pushes the world of 1984 away from reality. In the novel Winston works at the Records Department, his job is to change history records to remove information that the party does not want society to know about. This is why Winston know more of the “truth” that the average person does, in the film this
department is called the Mini-Rec. This makes Winston’s job sound less valued. The focus of the film is also changed, in the novel the main messages behind all the events are based on extremist political ideas and propaganda, but in the film the story revolves around the relationship between Winston and Julia. The entire background story of Julia and the gripping discussion between O’Neil and Winston when him and Julia decide to join the fake brotherhood is completely left out, in the film this is changed to Winston going alone and it is not made very clear that he is going to find out about the brotherhood. The film is less thought provoking that the novel. The novel is about manipulating people in believing in something that isn’t really there and about erasing history whereas the film focuses more on the love story and how Winston gives up Julia inside Room 101. Another key piece of information that is completely left out of the film is that Eurasia and Eastasia respectively follow the ideologies of neo-bolshevism and death-worship. This again takes the focus of the film away from extremist-politics. The film version of 1984 was like a skeleton of the actual novel. The thought provoking passages from the novel make you rethink politics and open your eyes to what propaganda can do to society, these were portrayed in the movie but it was as if the emotion that grips the reader was lost.
In George Orwell's 1984, Winston a citizen in Oceania, a city that is constantly watched
In “1984,” Orwell uses Winston to portray a single individual’s attempt to take action against a powerful government, culminating in his failure and subjugation. His individual efforts failed tremendously due to the overarching power of the Party to control every aspect of social life in Oceania. Orwell uses Winston’s deeply seated hatred of the Party to portray his views on power and social change. Winston’s actions show that even in the direst of situations ...
1984 was written in 1948 and published in 1949 by Eric Arthur Blair under the pen name ‘George Orwell’. It is set in the year 1984 in Airstrip One, which is a province in the country of Oceania. The world is in a constant state of war between Oceania, and the other two countries, Eurasia and Eastasia. Oceania is controlled by English Socialism, or INGSOC in Oceania’s language, Newspeak. The powerful Inner Party controls the country using omnipresent surveillance, and manipulation. Every part of life is regimented and controlled, but the only crime is ‘thoughtcrime’: independent thinking and individualism. Big Brother is the figurehead of the Inner Party, and throughout the book, it is heavily implied that he may not really exist. The people
The novel 1984 by George Orwell is a fictional future where The Party controls everything. The Party is lead by a larger than life figurehead named Big Brother. The main character is Winston Smith. The story is divided into 3 parts and chronicles Winston’s rebellion against and then re-entering of The Party.
1984 is a dystopian novel set inn Airstrip One, which used to be Britian. Oceania is always at war with another superpower, and their main goal is to achieve the most power throughout their world. The main character is Winston Smith, a man who works for the party and is supposed to change history to match what the party has told him. Winston lives in a society where he is constantly listened to and watched by telescreens and microphones to make sure he is enthusiastic about hate, and to make sure he doesn’t commit any crimes. Everywhere Winston goes he always sees posters that say, “Big Brother is Watching You.” Big Brother is the party leader that may or may not be real. The official language of Oceania, the country where Airstrip one is located, is Newspeak. Newspeak is the only language in Oceania that lessens it’s words each year so that it is harder for people to commit thoughtcrime. Winston is a dedicated worker, but often thinks about rebellion against Big Brother. Winston idolizes a man named O'Brien that he thinks is part of the Brotherhood, a terrorist group who constantly sabotages the party. Winston begins to like a woman named Juli...
Things to know: 1984 was a book written about life under a totalitarian regime from an average citizen’s point of view. This book envisions the theme of an all knowing government with strong control over its citizens. This book tells the story of Winston Smith, a worker of the Ministry of Truth, who is in charge of editing the truth to fit the government’s policies and claims. It shows the future of a government bleeding with brute force and propaganda. This story begins and ends in the continent of Oceania one of the three supercontinents of the world. Oceania has three classes the Inner Party, the Outer Party and the lowest of all, the Proles (proletarian). Oceania’s government is the Party or Ingsoc (English Socialism
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.
Totalitarianism is one of the main themes in 1984. In WWII Europe, Oceania became the ruling power with the so called “Party” ruling everybody and have the “Big Brother” at its head. Some examples of totalitarianism is how they make people workout, they put tele-screens everywhere to monitor the peoples actions, also they refuse to allow any sexual intercourse outside of marriage. “Winston kept his back turned to the tele-screen. It was safer, though, as he well knew, even a back can be revealing” (Book 1, Chapter 1). This quote represents how fearful Winston is that he ...
George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four portrayed a fictional character named ‘Big Brother,’ whom acted as the enigmatic dictator in a totalitarian state (Orwell, 1949). In the society where every citizen is under the surveillance of ‘Big Brother,’ most conform to the rulings and orders of the authorities out of fear, with the exception of a few.
In the novel 1984, Orwell produced a social critique on totalitarianism and a future dystopia that made the world pause and think about our past, present and future. When reading this novel we all must take the time to think of the possibility that Orwell's world could come to pass. Orwell presents the concepts of power, marginalization, and resistance through physical, psychological, sexual and political control of the people of Oceania. The reader experiences the emotional ride through the eyes of Winston Smith, who was born into the oppressive life under the rule of Ingsoc. Readers are encouraged through Winston to adopt a negative opinion on the idea of communist rule and the inherent dangers of totalitarianism. The psychological manipulation and physical control are explored through Winston's journey, and with Winston's resistance and ultimate downfall, the reader is able to fully appreciate O'Briens reasoning, "Power is not a means, it is an end."
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.
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.
Authority was used as a form of intimidation between the working class societies and to keep society from corruption. The authority figures mentioned in the book and film were the thought police, “Big Brother”, and the tele. The thought police were in charge of capturing the people who did things that were forbidden and against the laws of the government. Some of the laws that the society couldn’t go against were having impure thoughts, overthrowing the government, and not loving or believing in “Big Brother”. In which committing these crimes are punishable by death. Authority was used to conform and control society.
Dystopian novels are written to reflect the fears a population has about its government, and they are successful because they capture that fright and display what can happen if it is ignored. George Orwell wrote 1984 with this fear of government in mind and used it to portray his opinion of the current government discretely. Along with fear, dystopian novels have many other elements that make them characteristic of their genre. The dystopian society in Orwell’s novel became an achievement because he utilized a large devastated city, a shattered family system, life in fear, a theme of oppression, and a lone hero. Orwell’s novel begins with a horrid description of the living conditions of his main character, Winston.
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.