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George Orwell's influence on society
George Orwell's main contribution to todays society
George Orwell's main contribution to todays society
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Envision a world where individuality is a taboo, where you are controlled and monitored by your government. Imagine not being able to express yourself through different cultures, music, art, books, etc. Picture not being able to have thoughts because you are afraid of committing a “thoughtcrime”. 1984 is a novel written by George Orwell that depicts a society that is controlled by their government and freedom is restricted to a minimum. Nazi Germany and the fictional society portrayed in 1984 share similar dystopian characteristics including restriction of freedom, constant surveillance, and the use of propaganda.
Dystopias are known for a restriction of freedom and the elimination of the 1st Amendment. In Nazi Germany citizens were held
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confined to small amount of information and many resources were destroyed. “ During the Spring of 1933, Nazi students organizations, professors… By burning all their books that Nazis didn’t want German citizens being exposed to all this information. This shows that their freedom and information was restricted” (citation?). The power in the book 1984 is similar to the Nazi Germans power. The citizens had a limited amount of freedom of information and even your very own thoughts. On page 136 Winston talks about how the Party can control almost everything. “The terrible thing that the Party does was to persuade you that mere impulses, mere feelings were of no account while at the same time robbing you of all power over the material world. When are you were in the grip of the Party..” As a citizen of the world in 1984 even your thoughts are being altered and restricted. In totalitarian like governments propaganda is used to control the citizens of the society.
Hitler and the Nazi Party relied on propaganda to alter the minds of the people in Germany. “To produce anything that was in these group, you had to be a member of the Reich Chamber. The Nazi Party decided if you had the right credentials to be a member. Any person who was not admitted was not allowed to have any work published or performed. Disobedience brought with it severe punishments. As a result of this policy,Nazi Germany introduced a system of censorship. You could only read, see and hear what the Nazis wanted you to read, see and hear.” (citation ?) All the information the Germans were allowed access to where all biased information that Nazis wrote or published to brainwash the citizens.
Like Nazi Germany, the government in 1984 also uses propaganda to control the people in Oceania. On page 72 “And so it was with every class of recorded fact, great or small. Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which, finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain.” This quote shows that the Party controls the whole society where even people’s memories are being
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altered. Another dystopian characteristic that Nazi Germany portrayed was worshipping a figurehead or concept.
According to an article,,, “ By 1939 over 80 percent of Germany’s young people had joined the Hitler Youth… Both boys and girls were indoctrinated in Nazi ideology and swore an oath of love and loyalty to Hitler.” The young kids of Germany were taught to worship Hitler and the ideas that Hitler promoted were great. As seen in a movie like Schindler’s List kids are screaming at Jews awful things they were taught to think from a young age from Hitler and the Nazi Party.
In comparison to Nazi Germany the people of 1984 are worshipping a figurehead or idea. On page 24 Winston writes "It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own children." All the children of Oceania were taught to worship the Party and Big Brother and to act as spies so they could watch their parents if they were to commit a thought crime or any other illegal activities.
Living in a society where your government controls your every move exists in reality like Nazi Germany. Not only do they exist in reality but they also are portrayed through fiction novels like 1984. They both share similar dystopian characteristics including restriction of freedom, constant surveillance, and the use of
propaganda.
Imagine being watched by your own government every single second of the day with not even the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and all the above to yourself. George Orwell’s 1984 is based on a totalitarian government where the party has complete access over the citizens thoughts to the point where anything they think they can access it, and control over the citizens actions, in a sense that they cannot perform what they really want to or else Big Brother, which is the name of the government in the book 1984, will “take matters into their own hands.” No one acts the same when they are being watched, as they do when they are completely alone.
The novel, 1984, written by George Orwell, gives readers an insight to a possible frightening future where one government has complete and definite control of the people. But “control” might not be the term to describe such a rule. The Party dominates every aspect of life. There is not a single thing that is not under the Party’s rule. Feelings, history, language, statistics, and even human nature are submissive to the Party. They corrupt the mind so much that there is no longer a line that separates truth from a lie. Slogans are repeated through telescreens on a daily basis so the people are gradually forced to believe in illogical statements. Upon first glance, it may seem that a 1984 society is not even imaginable in the world we live in currently. But is it really logical to make such an assumption so quickly? Do we know that what we see on the news and read in our history textbooks is completely accurate? The Internet is one of the most powerful technologies our world has, consisting of an insurmountable amount of information, which is not always what it seems. Ultimately, there are so many things that we do not know, some of which is being held a secret from us. Modern day society shockingly has evidence of a transformation into a menacing 1984 society because of similar government actions and abuse of advanced technology.
1984 tells the story of Winston Smith who lives in Oceania, a dystopian nation ruled by a strictly totalitarian government know only as ‘The Party’. The Party controls everything in Oceania, even people's history and language. It uses telescreens which are everywhere-you can’t speak, breathe or sneeze without the government knowing about it. The Party even enforces a new language to prevent political rebellion by eliminating all words related to it. Even thinking rebellious thoughts, known as thoughtcrime, is illegal: "Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime is death."
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
1984, a novel by George Orwell, represents a dystopian society in which the people of Oceania are surveilled by the government almost all the time and have no freedoms. Today, citizens of the United States and other countries are being watched in a similar way. Though different technological and personal ways of keeping watch on society than 1984, today’s government is also able to monitor most aspects of the people’s life. 1984 might be a dystopian society, but today’s conditions seem to be moving towards that controlling state, where the citizens are surveilled by the government at all times. The 1984 community provided many ways to surveill its citizens, one being The Thought Police.
When writing his novel 1984, George Orwell was conveying his disapproving thoughts about the actions of the fascist dictators that were attempting their rise to power during World War II. The dystopian society created in the novel was created as a warning to those who supported the dictators at the time, including Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini, and the negative effects that their power would bring. Although Orwell’s intentions were not to prophesy what the world would be like, society today is beginning to closely resemble that of 1984. The similarities between George Orwell’s novel 1984 and society today are becoming increasingly more significant because of an excess use of technology, a lack of privacy, and the extreme measures taken by the government.
A dystopian society can be defined as “a society characterized by human misery”. 1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury both demonstrate dystopian societies. However, that does not mean they do not their differences. In each society the government has different ways of controlling and limiting its citizens for doing only what they want them to do. In 1984, violators are brainwashed into loving and following Big Brother as if they never knew the truth and return back to their everyday lives. Fahrenheit 451 also punishes violators in a way that makes them regret and scared to ever do it again instead of making them forget.
Propaganda is the dissemination of information to influence or control large groups of people. In totalitarian regime like Nazi Germany, propaganda plays a significant role in consolidate power in the hands of the controlling party (Nazi propaganda).The propaganda used by the Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's leadership of Germany (1933–1945) was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation of Nazi policies. The pervasive use of propaganda by the Nazis is largely responsible for the word "propaganda" itself acquiring its present negative connotations (definition).
The book “1984” by George Orwell is a fictional work that was penned as a discourse on Orwell’s views of what it would be like to live in a totalitarianism society. It is my belief that his views were based on his personal life experiences as he witnessed first hand many of the violent crimes perpetuated by those in positions of authority. Often, these crimes against one segment of society were carried out by other members of the same society in the name of political advancement or at other times out of fear for one’s life. Due to his experiences, Orwell began to write of his hatred of political power and the concept of a totalitarianism society. “1984” serves as a warning to readers of how a government can become abusive when seeking total control of it’s population. Furthermore, it showcases in great detail how a society can allow itself to be controlled through a series of psychological abuses and manipulation of historical information.
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...
“WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.” Part 1,Chapter 1,pg. 6. These three principles were repeatedly emphasized throughout the book and helped lay the foundation of the dystopian society George Orwell imagined in his novel 1984. Fear, manipulation, and control were all encompassed throughout this dystopian society set in the distant future. The freedom to express ones thoughts was no longer acceptable and would not be tolerated under any circumstances. Humankind was rapidly transforming into a corrupt and evil state of mind.
...e diminished of their privacy and self esteem. We therefore can see a society of people who are depressed with no happiness of life, due to their great lack of freedom. People subjected to this form of treatment are nothing more than animals in a cage, when the Party's only goal is absolute endless and limitless power through control of people's minds. Though fictional, it is clear that there are distinct parallels between the government in 1984 and our current government.
It is of mixed opinions as to the popularity of modern society and that of the current government. Some believe the United States is, frankly, the best and most free country. They are those who enjoy the freedoms granted by the government and indulge themselves into the American culture. Others are not as fond; always searching for an excuse to criticize the current happenings, whether they be in the government or on the streets. In previous decades, such as the 1940s, the majority of citizens shared the more patriotic view. When comparing the current United States as a whole to that of a dystopian society, it becomes clear that the former faction may be looking through rose colored glasses. The dystopian motifs in George Orwell 's 1984 stemmed
The background of 1984 is mainly divided into the social class of the people and the government system of Oceania. The social class is divided into the upper-class Inner Party, the middle-class Outer Party, and the lower-class Proles. As for the government, its divid...
Dystopian Literature is the complete opposite of Utopian literature, which is an ideal society where everything is perfect, in which the world is ruled by a Totalitarian leader, or a post-apocalyptic world. Dystopian literature, unlike other genres, adapts to changing times and norms in society; although, we might not find Russians as scary as our parents or grandparents, our children or grandchildren may not find ISIS as scary as we do. The first work considered to be a part of dystopian literature is Utopia, published by Thomas More in 1516, it’s written as a dialogue between the narrator and a fictionalized version of More. Gulliver’s travels are considered dystopian, due to him finding that he and the people of London are no better than the Yahoos. Franz Kafka’s