The expression of values which surpass temporal boundaries and transcend through their contemporary relevance are shaped and moulded by a composer's context. Specifically, the differences between the dystopic perceptions represented in Fritz Lang's expressionist film Metropolis (1927) and George Orwell's politically critical novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948) captures the manner in which a shift in compositional milieu can influence composers' perspectives on the degradation of human agency through the dehumanisation perpetuated by the rise of technological use within society. The alterations in values reflect the shift in context from the culturally flourishing but socially hierarchical Weimar Germany to the fear of totalitarian control in …show more content…
As opposed to the dehumanising power of post-war industrialisation represented in Metropolis, Orwell attributes the Party's capacity to strip individuals of their identity to propaganda's capacity to degrade and alter thoughts. Indeed, the creation of Newspeak encloses people in an orthodox pseudo-reality through the denotation of language, demonstrated through Orwell's historical parallelism between the "whole notion of goodness and badness will be covered by only six words" and Stalin's policy to only allow artists to create art that fit under "Socialist realism." This system with "reduced complexity and few abstractions" [Paul Chilton] can therefore only evoke raw primal emotions, as seen through Winston's asyndetic restropection "there were fear, hatred, and pain[…], no deep or complex sorrows", from which only simple rationale arises. This decentres Winston, metaphorically transcending into a "guardian of the human spirit", framing him as an Existentialist operating within societal conformity. His inevitable indoctrination by the Party hence underscores Orwell's perspective regarding the futility in overcoming the subjugation and dehumanisation of prominent political systems. Ergo, both composers explore how individuals are debased, whether caused by oppression, Modernist pursuits or the lack of independent thought, reflective of their respective
This itself alludes to America’s extreme response to communism during the Cold War era, under the influence of Senator Joe McCarthy. Similar to the paranoia that characterized the McCarthy era, Orwell’s dystopian society was expected to betray their friends, family and co-workers for the benefit of the state and themselves. This is made explicitly evident during Winston’s visit to the cafe, in which the telescreen sang; “Under the spreading chestnut tree/ I sold you and you sold me…”Foreshadowing Winston’s eventual betrayal of Maria in order to save himself, and his conformity to the party. Furthermore, the notion that “nothing was your own except the few cubic centimetres in your skull” becomes ironic as the novel develops in which the criminalisation of unorthodox ideologies leads to the punishment of “thoughtcrime”, and the eventual “vaporisation” of dissidents. This itself alludes to the ‘great purges’ that took place under the terror that characterized Joseph Stalin’s reign. Likewise, the inherent fear of eccentricity amongst the oppressed citizens of “Airstrip one” is highlighted by the nature of “facecrime” in which the presence of an improper expression or any suggestion of abnormality could be punished. Thus, through Orwell 's effective use of allusion and characterisation, contextual audiences are provided with a didactic warning regarding the nature of a totalitarian reign, in which a “hideous ecstasy of fear” influences society’s
This essay is distinctly about how life experiences alter the way in which your writings travel. The ups and downs of life will determine the perspective you see of your life, in turn, determining how you feel or express yourself. Orwell states, “his subject matter will be determined by the age he lives in – at least this is true in tumultuous, revolutionary ages like our own” (265). This statement proves how writing develops with age and how through different time periods, has evolved. Orwell's essay focuses on the indirect wants.
...es of individuals can be used to explore a broader social wrong, in this case the injustice of a totalitarian government. Both authors use their protagonists to depict how a dictatorial state can destroy all sense of individuality, Orwell by presenting Winston in his fight against “The Party” and Niccol by depicting Vincent in his battle against society. Both authors also use individuals, who must isolate themselves in order to survive to expose how an unjust authoritative government can manufacture isolation. Orwell and Niccol also present conflicting views on the possibility of individual rebellion in an oppressive society, reflected by the success of Vincent and failure of Winston. In their prophetic dystopian texts both George Orwell and Andrew Niccol use the experiences of their protagonists to explore the broad social wrong of a totalitarian government.
One of the most essential ways in which feelings are expressed by humans is through language. Without language people are merely robotic figures that can not express their thoughts because language is in fact thought. When this speech is taken away through complete governmental power, a portion of human nature is also taken away. In 1984, due to totalitarianism, language has begun to transform into a poor representation of humanity and natural human expression. Orwell states, “But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” In the novel, a new language, Newspeak, has emerged. Newspeak has drastically limited the vocabulary of the English language
I think that Orwell’s use of strong but subtle ethos and pathos arguments in his depictions of the world that Winston lives in is effective in convincing the reader against totalitarian governmental structures.
At the start of Adolf Hitler’s reign of terror, no one would have been able to foresee what eventually led to the genocide of approximately six million Jews. However, steps can be traced to see how the Holocaust occurred. One of those steps would be the implementation of the ghetto system in Poland. This system allowed for Jews to be placed in overcrowded areas while Nazi officials figured out what to do with them permanently. The ghettos started out as a temporary solution that eventually became a dehumanizing method that allowed mass relocation into overcrowded areas where starvation and privation thrived. Also, Nazi officials allowed for corrupt Jewish governments that created an atmosphere of mistrust within its walls. Together, this allowed
The time frame of this article is in 1946, a year after World War 2 has ended. Orwell takes the current situation into consideration when he appeals to his audience. Therefore, he addresses areas of politics in combination with recent events to try to persuade his audience while inducing a connection between the reader and his article. Orwell writes, “Things like the continuance of British rule in India, the Russian purges and deportations, the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan, can indeed be defended, but only by arguments which are too brutal for most people to face…”. The reader makes a connection with the article because they can remember the previous experience of the topics in their time frame. However, Orwell uses pathos to finally convince the audience of his argument when he writes “Defenseless villages are bombarded from the air, the inhabitants driven out into the countryside, the cattle machine-gunned, and the huts set on fire with incendiary bullets”. This technique is highly effective because readers automatically feel a sense of pity and sadness which in turn persuades the audience of the argument and convinces them to agree with Orwell’s
Howe, Tom. "George Orwell." British Writers Volume VII. Ed. Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Scribner, 1984. 273-287.
Many features of Orwell's imaginary super-state Oceania are ironic translations from Stalin’s Russia. In Oceania, the Party mainly uses technology as the chief ingredient to implement a psychological manipulation over society by controlling the information they receive. An example of this is the big screen television set up in every person’s home, and the poster all over the city. The giant “telescreen” in every citizen’s room blasts a constant stream of propaganda designed to make the failures and short successes of the Party appear to be glorious. In Winston Smith’s apartment, this “instrument” is always on spouting propaganda and constantly brain washing the peoples’ mind. In actual fact, “It could [only be] dimmed… there [is] no way of shutting it off”. In doing this, the Political Party is in complete control over the citizens’ mind, blasting what they want each individual to think (Orwell, 6). They psychologically stimulate each individuals mind, limiting their ability to think and have a mind of their own. In a similar way, Stalin’s created “The Poster” and The Pravda (the Russian newspaper controlled by the government during Joseph Stalin's regime) to twist and manipulate the minds of people into believing that what they were saying was absolutely right and truth. Using this power, Stalin and his regime would get people to do anything for them. (Basgen, 2010)
... middle of paper ... ... When oppressed by a Party that takes away basic inalienable rights, publicizes false information, and each individual has a common knowledge of consequences that they might receive from thinking, it is extremely difficult to maintain a sense of reality. Orwell proposes that when an individual faces all of these prohibitions, they are easily manipulated into psychological enslavement.
Psychological manipulation the Party uses on the citizens is one of the first themes Orwell exposes in this dystopian society. The Party maintains this manipulation by constantly overwhelming citizens with useless information and propaganda.
Eric Blair, also known by his pen name George Orwell, was a writer who expressed his political views in his writings. One of his successful works that presents his political views very well is 1984. In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, a totalitarian authority known as The Party, institutionalizes the way humans act everyday. Party members are required to work everyday, praise the party, and love Big Brother. The institution is made up of a false truth and a wide variety of propaganda. There are slogans promoting ideas such like, “War is Peace” and “Big Brother is Watching You”. This experience is shown by Winston, a party member. Orwell uses music to develop an idea about the evolution of music in propaganda and politics. In order to thoroughly explain this idea it is best to consider the music appeal to different social classes as well as the use of music and its comparison during World War II.
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.
Orwell’s novel begins with a horrid description of the living conditions of his main character, Winston. He explains that the “hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats” (Orwell 19) which immediately strikes the senses and repulses the reader. Upon deeper examination, this portion of the story is intended to generate feelings of distaste in the reader in order to get them pondering why Winston is in this situation rather than improving his conditions. As the reader continues on in the novel, they find that Winston has no option to better the environment he lives in and the strict government he is controlled by is to blame. Winston’s deteriorating home is only one example of the degeneration of his surroundings. His home city of London is decaying with “crazy garden walls sagging in all directions” (Orwell 23) and “rotting nineteenth-century houses” (Orwell 23). An article analyzing 1984 by Sean Lynch better describes Winston’s view of London as “dark and isolating”. This devastated city creates a mind-numbing sensation in its population because there is no one that finds beauty in where they live or even a trace of...
Based on the two essays, George Orwell is a vivid writer who uses a unique point of view and strong themes of pride and role playing to convey his messages. His writings are easy to pick out because of the strengths of these messages. Just like politicians in government, people with power turn corrupt to stay in power and keep their reputations. Anyone who takes on power must be prepared to live with the consequences of his actions. Orwell knows this challenge well and conveys this principle in his writing. After all, his narration is based on real life experiences and not fictional fantasies.