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Commentary On Orwell'S 1984
Commentary On Orwell'S 1984
Commentary On Orwell'S 1984
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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. Nonetheless, Big Brother was the face of power, and everyone had to abide by his law. At the end of the novel, it is hinted at that Big Brother did indeed come to an end, defying the guarantee made his followers: “Big Brother will live forever”. The question is how and why Big Brother …show more content…
Knowing what I know from reading 1984, I think it is logically more conceivable that the one who killed Big Brother was himself. As mentioned earlier, it is never established whether or not Big Brother was a living human being. Hypothetically, if he is no longer alive or never existed at all, then it is safe to assume that the only power that is held by anybody is to The Party, which is a group of high ranking officers who obey Big Brother at any cost. This would mean Big Brother is nothing more than a tool used by The Party as a means to gain and hold power, and have it seem “justified”. This brings me to my theory of what happened to Big Brother’s alleged “reign”. I believe that the highest ranking members got too corrupt. In the book, The Party is shown to be willing to murder anyone, including children, if they disobey Big Brother. The have a mysterious torture chamber known as Room 101, in which you are tortured with your personal fear. If you do not agree to abide by Big Brother, you are murdered and erased from history. I do not think it is too far of a stretch to theorize that perhaps The Party got too carried away with power. What was to stop them? They had no limits, no restrictions, no reservations. They were practically
In the book “1984” by George Orwell, Big Brother has the power to decide what is real and what is not. The citizens of Oceania are told not to use their own knowledge to gather facts or information, but to get their information from Big Brother, and the party. This show that the party has great control over its citizens. Big Brother’s power can decide what is real and what is not.
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 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.
James Stacey Taylor's article, "In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance" begins reviewing the concept of "Big Brother" as it was originally presented in George Orwell's 1984. The Big Brother started off as a fictional character in 1984-- a dictator of Oceania within a totalitarian state. Set within a society in which everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities, mainly by telescreens, the people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase “Big Brother is watching you” (Wikipedia) . Taylor goes on to explain some examples of recent surveillance technology and how it is applied in lives today. An interesting note and comparison between today’s technology and that of the telescreens in 1984, is that people could be sure that they could not be watched by Big Brother’s telescreens by going out of the cities into the country, where they only had to take care that their conversations were not monitored by hidden microphones (Taylor 227). He contrasts the two, highlighting the fact that “Such an escape is not impossible, for spy satellites can be used to monitor people wherever they go” (277). From there, Taylor perpetuates the framework for his position on the Big Brother notion. Taylor argues that, "rather than opposing such an expansion of surveillance technology, its use should be encouraged -- and not only in the public realm" (227). Taylor’s argument presented in a more formal construction is as follows:
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 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.
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.
1984 is about a totalitarian form of government that has taken over the country of Oceania. In this country, Big Brother controls all. He is the leader of The Party, which is the only form of leadership present in Oceania. A mystery that presents itself throughout the book, is whether or not Big Brother, the person, does or ever actually existed. Everything The Party does, ...
Although Hitler was responsible for the lives of many people and was a real human being, him and Big Brother have many similarities. A few examples of how they are similar include their security, power, and leadership. The party in 1984 kept surveillance of their people and everything they did. Meanwhile, Hitler used guards to keep an eye on the Jews. Even though the Jews had direct supervision, both the Jews and the citizens of Oceania were closely being watched. Both Big Brother and Adolf Hitler used their power to control the people. On page (??) “Always eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or bed- no escape. Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters in your skull.” This quote refers to the eyes of Big Brother watching you. However, people of Oceania feared Big Brother more than the people of Germany feared Adolf. This is because of the fact that, despite Hitler’s violence, people still looked up to him because he tried to gain back their pride and cooperation following Germany's defeat in World War 1. Many German people felt that other nations were treating them badly. Therefore, they looked to Hitler to gain their pride and power back. “Some days in the camp you prayed to live; some days you prayed to die quick. Some days you didn't bother praying, knowing there was no sense
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...
According to Goldstein, the Big Brother will never die and is the guise in which the Party chooses to exhibit itself to the world. Big Brother is a god under the control of the inner party.
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.
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 Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth”, the king is killed so that Macbeth could become king himself. In “Macbeth” Society had to pay a price because of Duncan’s murder. Duncan was a better king than Macbeth and was king by right, but once Macbeth took over there were supernatural happenings because he had unrightfully taken that place. Relating to this is how Big brother is said to have killed off the other leaders of the revolution taking their rightful placed for which they had fought hard and fair; this would make Big Brother the highest ranked person leading Oceania. The assumption could be made that Big brother killed these others with the purpose of becoming the super power that he is. Societies price in “1984” was not to do with the supernatural. Instead the society of Oceania was made totalitarian and lived under a forceful, lying government