George Orwell's 1984 is truly a masterpiece of a novel. Its story continues to resonate with countless people. Its deep insight continues to astonish and captivate its readers. Published in 1949, this book was Orwell's interpretation of what a world void of freedom and overflowing with oppression would be like. The dystopian book was birthed by George Orwell during the aftermath of World War II and knowing this may shed some light on why he wrote and how he wrote it. One thing that truly sets this book apart is the way that the government or “Big Bother” is portrayed. The choosing of this name provides deep insight into the way Orwell wished for his government to be in his book and be interpreted in real life. In 1984 George Orwell chose to …show more content…
The word “brother” can be defined as “a male numbered among the same kinship group, nationality, ethnicity,profession, etc., as another; an associate; a fellow member, fellow countryman, fellow man, etc.:” by dictionary.com. Knowing this helps us to better see why Orwell chose the specific family member of a brother rather than any other. We can see that by choosing the word brother he wished to portray the government as one of the people but at the same time distant and protective. He wished for the reader to be able to almost identify with the feeling of having an at times oppressive older brother. Orwell wished to create a natural appealing name for his most hideous character so the reader would be more inclined to hear out the character's beliefs. By choosing the name “Big Brother” George Orwell wanted to make it seem that this character or body provided all that one ever needed as is expressed in this quote by O’Brien “ There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. (73)” The word “brother” not only carries meaning in itself it also carries significance in what one thinks about with it. A “brother” is part of a family and this communion of people and comradery was also another part George Orwell wanted to integrate into Big Brother. When one thinks of a brother they also think of a family …show more content…
Contrary to brother a father portrays more of a just, protective provider whose only job is to keep the child alive. Meanwhile, having the ruler be a mother would portray more of only a loving and caring body who just tends to the needs of her child. In addition to mother and father, the final option of king makes one think of a distant powerful ruler who truly only cares for himself and his well-being. Each different type of specific authority brings a different set of character qualities to its rule. George Orwell chose to phrase his government as a big brother because when a reader thinks of a big brother it provides all the things that Orwell wished for his ruling authority to possess. It provides security, love, and close
Big Brother - Big Brother is the enigmatic dictator of Oceania. In the society that Orwell describes, everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities. The people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase "Big Brother is watching you", which is the core "truth" of the propaganda system in this state. In the novel, it is unclear if Big Brother is a man or an image crafted by the Party. In a book supposedly written by the rebel Emmanuel Goldstein, it is stated that nobody has ever seen Big Brother. His function is to act as a focusing point for love, fear, and reverence.
Every part of life is regimented and controlled, but the only crime is ‘thought crime’: 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 are divided into Inner Party members, who control the government, Outer Party members, who make up the middle class, and Proletarians, or Proles, who make up the uneducated lower class. He utilizes strong but vague descriptions of the world around Winston to hint at the state of the world without directly saying it. He describes a bright cold day, which seems to perfectly depict the world's bleak state in a sort of indirect way (Orwell, 1948).
The dynamic of a typical Oceanian family is seen in the Parson’s children, who display no affection towards their parents. The children participate in activities condoning the mentality of the Party, such as watching the public executions of Thought Criminals and dressing up as spies, which, according to Winston is “not altogether a game” (24-25), which is seen when Parsons daughter eventually turns him in as a Thought Criminal. Instead of being a connection that nurtured family relationships, children born into the party have no learned loyalties to their parents, but instead have devotion to the Party. Orwell states that the purpose of a family ‘system’ “had become in effect an extension of the Thought Police” (136). In Big Brothers mission to eliminate all sense of love from the mentality of the Party members, the family is no longer a source of interpersonal love, but instead its purpose is to further enhance the Party’s
The novel 1984 is one that has sparked much controversy over the last several decades. It harbors many key ideas that lie at the root of all skepticism towards the book. With the ideas of metaphysics, change, and control in mind, George Orwell wrote 1984 to provide an interesting story but also to express his ideas of where he believed the world was heading. His ideas were considered widely ahead of their time, and he was really able to drive home how bleak and colorless our society really is. Orwell wrote this piece as a futuristic, dystopian book which contained underlying tones of despair and deceit.
The book, 1984 by George Orwell, is about the external conflict between Winston Smith and Big Brother; and the internal conflict between the two ideas, democracy and totalitarianism. Orwell wrote the novel to show society what it could become if things kept getting worse: he sensed of the expansion of communism when he wrote the novel. The conflict between democracy and totalitarianism at the year of 1945 created two characters, Winston Smith and Big Brother, in orwell's mind. Big Brother is the embodiment of all the ideals of the totalitarian party. In contrast to Big Brother, Winston Smith keeps the idea of democracy emphasizes freedom, he has to hide his own thought because the Big Brother's party will punish him by death if the party finds it out. George orwell criticizes of Big Brother's society by describing it as a dark and a gloomy place. It warns that people might believe that everyone must become slaves to the government in order to have an orderly society, but at the expense of the freedom of the people.
Orwell has real concerns about the way in which society worked, particular when considering hierarchies and the way the powerful manipulate information. As can be seen there is a strong hierarchy system in the novel 1984 with references to poor and wealthy classes, the proles being lower class and the inner party members being higher class. Orwell spent time in boarding school, wasn’t wealthy and saw disparity between people who had and hadn’t, there are many references towards headmaster and control “ When he spoke it was in a schoolmasterish kind of way” (3.5.297). Orwell also used Hitler’s actions as a leader and incorporated them into 1984; this is evident through the propaganda of Big Brother, dictatorship and the way the Inner party was able to manipulate society to change their beliefs. “The German Nazis and the communist came very close to us in their methods…” (3.3.276) Orwell’s values and beliefs about communism and democracy have strongly been developed through his trepidation in power and historical references to Hitler.
Orwell explores the social impact of government through the means of Big Brother and how it affects social conformity. Big Brother is a character presented in the novel which exercises restriction and maximum control of the mass. Winston writes, “Down with the Big Brother” (Orwell 19). From the beginning of the novel, readers see Winston’s extreme disgust with the government.
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.
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.
I strongly agree with Fromm’s viewpoints and interpretations of Orwell’s 1984 text. He warns that the future federal powers will dehumanize society and leave everyone alienated. Thus, I agree with Fromm to the extent that he acknowledges the fact that humanity can indeed cease to exist as a result of our own self-destruction as well as the effect of our actions. Many of his opinions and warnings expressed by Orwell to an extent appear in contemporary society.
The fictional world of 1984 is best described as bleak. In the aftermath of the fall of capitalism and nuclear war, the world has been divided among three practically identical totalitarian nation-states. The novel takes place in London, which has become a part of Oceania, the nation state comprising the Americas and western Europe. A state of perpetual war and poverty is the rule in Oceania. However, this is merely a backdrop, far from the most terrifying aspect of life in 1984. Oceania is governed by a totalitarian bureaucracy, personified in the image of Big Brother, the all-knowing/ all-seeing godlike figure that represents the government. Big Brother is best described as a "totalitarian socialist dictator, a political demagogue and religious cult leader all rolled into one." So great is the power of Big Brother that the reader is unsure whether he actually exists or is simply a propaganda tool of the government. The party of Big Brother, Ingsoc (English Social...
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.
He loved Big Brother”(Orwell, 637). Although ultimately prevented from living in the
In this novel I was astounded to see how far ¨Big Brother” would go in order to, forcibly, change the minds of those who were opposed to his view. Everyone is born with natural rights, and this novel explores the exploitation of them by using a person's worst fear against them, repeatedly, until they believe what you want them to believe. My view is completely opposite to ¨Big Brother's”, I believe if you are human you have the right to believe anything you wish to believe. ¨Big Brother¨ was making an obsequious reference to the government. In this novel,¨Big Brother” was supposed to represent a dangerous totalitarian government, which he saw firsthand in Spain and Russia in 1949. One quote from the book that supports my thoughts is ,“Power
In George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, a malevolent force known only as “Big Brother” looms over humanity, particularly one nation, Oceania. Big Brother was/is never referred to by any other name. We are not given any hint as to who he is, if he was ever even a real person to begin with. Several theories suggest Big Brother is merely an image. Others say he was an active dictator, or was one long ago and that they are keeping his memory alive through Big Brother.