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Dystopian features in the 1984 by george orwell
Dystopian features in the 1984 by george orwell
Dystopian features in the 1984 by george orwell
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Hitler’s Oceania After reading the first few pages of George Orwell’s 1984, it is easy to see the parallels of Hitler’s Germany littered throughout the story. Having been born in 1903, Orwell experienced both World Wars first hand, and he had strong feelings about what he experienced and where he thought the world was going moving forward. With writing being one of his many talents, he used it as a platform to mass produce a warning for the world. He used literary devices such as satire to project his feelings in an exaggerated, but easy to perceive way. Describing the ways Big Brother used fear to rule over Oceania, using tactics nearly identical to that of Adolf Hitler. He made characters with sadistic inklings, but relatable enough to show …show more content…
the reader that Oceania was not a storybook place, it could be the future of the world if things did not straighten out. He warped human emotion within the lines of the book, leaving the story resignationing with readers months after finishing it. Nazi Germany Pt.2 It doesn't take a genius to see the influence World War II had on this novel.
There are many aspects within the novel that parallel Hitler's Germany. But 1984 always seems to go a step further and gives us a taste of what would have happened if the Nazi Party were successful in their endeavors. First, and by far the most obvious, are the clear similarities between the figure of Big Brother and the Nazi ring leader, Adolf Hitler. They are both looming figures who exercise their tyrannical reign over their respective “kingdoms”. In March of 1933, only a few years before the publication of the novel, Hitler banned all political parties aside from the Nazi Party in Germany. This similarity makes its way into the novel in the form of “The Party”, the only political party in Oceania. It is clearly stated throughout the book that there was no rebellion that could overthrow the Party, any attempt was immediately extinguished and the perpetrators “vaporized”- never to be seen or heard from again. However, the people of Oceania never seemed to bat an eye at their “comrades” executions, continuing on with their lives as if unfazed by the sudden disappearance of individuals that they once knew. Although it is obvious that there was in fact a termination of the Nazi Party, Orwell used 1984 as a way to warn readers of what could happen if another totalitarian regime were to take …show more content…
over. Concentration Camps vs. The Ministry of Love. Another similarity between Nazi Germany and Orwell’s 1984 is the way they execute their “enemies”.
In this analogy, Hitler's enemies are Jews, homosexuals, and sympathizers that he brutally murdered in concentration camps. Truckloads of these minorities were transported to concentration camps, where the “fortunate” ones would be forced into slave labor. Eventually, as they grew weak from the little nutrients they received, they were sorted out and sent to the gas chambers. Nearly 6 million Jews were incarcerated and made to live in these horrid conditions (“Documenting Numbers of Victims of the Holocaust and Nai Persecution”). There may not seem like much of a connection here, but Big Brother had a similar way to persecuting those who hurt the Party’s cause. The act of conspiring against the Party was known as thoughtcrime. If someone committed the act of thoughtcrime, they were guaranteed to die one way or another because of it. Once these “criminals” were finally captured, they were brought to 1984’s very own version of a concentration camp- The Ministry of Love. The Ministry of Love is defined as a place that “maintained law and order” (Orwell, 4), and that it did. People who were brought here were tortured day in and day out with no inclination of when they would be let go. Here is where the two murder tactics intertwine- they make their victims wait to die. Soon enough, those who were hauled away to concentration camps knew that that was where they would eventually
perish. Those who were abused inside the walls of the Ministry of Love knew that once they got out- they were ticking time bombs, they were destined to experience what is known as being vaporized- erased from existence. These two institutions used this fear to dominate the lives of the people that dared to step out of their doctrines.
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
Many people argue whether George Orwell’s 1984 was written purely to criticize, or if it portrays society today. I believe that George Orwell wrote 1984 in order to express his feelings about how society is governed. There are many examples of irony that support my position. 1984 is a political satire, the Orwell used to criticize man’s use of power. The slogan of Oceania is War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength. These three phrases reflect some of the disturbing factors of our society today, which is why I believe that 1984 resembles Orwell’s dystopian creation.
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.
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.
). Did Orwell realise quite what he had done in Nineteen Eighty-Four? His post-publication glosses on its meaning reveal either blankness or bad faith even about its contemporary political implications. He insisted, for example, that his 'recent novel [was] NOT intended as an attack on Socialism or on the British Labour Party (of which I am a supporter)'.(1) He may well not have intended it but that is what it can reasonably be taken to be. Warburg saw this immediately he had read the manuscript, and predicted that Nineteen Eighty-Four '[was] worth a cool million votes to the Conservative Party';(2) the literary editor of the Evening Standard 'sarcastically prescribed it as "required reading" for Labour Party M.P.s',(3) and, in the US, the Washington branch of the John Birch Society 'adopted "1984" as the last four digits of its telephone number'.(4) Moreover, Churchill had made the 'inseparably interwoven' relation between socialism and totalitarianism a plank in his 1945 election campaign(5) (and was not the protagonist of Nineteen Eighty-Four called Winston?). If, ten years earlier, an Orwell had written a futuristic fantasy in which Big Brother had had Hitler's features rather than Stalin's, would not the Left, whatever the writer's proclaimed political sympathies, have welcomed it as showing how capitalism, by its very nature, led to totalitarian fascism?
In 1984 many government issues take place, for instance propaganda, secret police, brainwashing, and a wide manner of other devices to oppress their populations. The idea is to illustrate the dangers of totalitarian government whether it be Communist, Fascist, or otherwise. Totalitarianism is an imposing form of government which the political authority exercises control over all aspects of life such as their sex life, and health in general. “If you can feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can't have any result whatever, you've beaten them” (George Orwell, 1984). Also psychological manipulation and mind control are a big controversy in 1984. Psychological manipulation is a social influence that moves towards the behavior of others through deceptive, or even abusive tactics. “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” (book 1, chapter 4). The author, Orwell wants the readers to think that the government monitors and controls everything that the humans do, and that basically everything that people do are against the law.
In the 1930s and 40s, Adolf Hitler used the Jewish people as a scapegoat on which to blame Germany’s problems. This fear of what the Jewish people had apparently created granted the German people free reign to discriminate and detest. This hatred allowed the Nazi Regime to subsist and thrive. The same is true for The Party in 1984. The Party takes away the opportunity to expand one’s mind and freely use one’s body to one’s own pleasure, essentially taking away the humanity from human beings. In George Orwell’s 1984, The Party uses racism, sexism, and anti-semitism as a way to control the masses and quell rebellion.
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.
In the beginning of 1984, Orwell expresses how those living in an oppressed society ultimately becomes oblivious to the uncontrollable power, resulting in individuals accepting the views of their leaders. The government, otherwise known as Big Brother, monitors everyone’s actions in the town of Oceania, and leaves them with no power to have any individual rights. Emmanuel Goldstein, is the head of the anti-totalitarian organization, called “The Brotherhood.” While Emmanuel was giving a speech, the telescreen switched to Big Brother who was offering words of encouragement, attempting to restore confidence within the publi...
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.
... gives in to Big Brother, and begins to praise and love him, “He loved Big Brother”. Orwells ending is very different than most novels, the ending leaves the readers questioning them selves, hoping that there is more to it, that there is hope for Winston, But no. Orwell finishes the novel with a dark and hopeless ending, to try to make it more realistic and relatable. 1984 is a dystopian novel, because Orwell wanted the readers to relate between the world of 1984 and real world, he wanted to try to make the message clearer to the readers, by making the readers think of the ending, and how relatable is it to the current world.
Upon my reading of the novel 1984, I was fascinated by George Orwell’s vision of the future. Orwell describes a world so extreme that a question comes to mind, asking what would encourage him to write such a novel. 1984 took place in the future, but it seemed like it was happening in the past. George Orwell was born in 1903 and died in 1950; he has seen the horrific tides of World War ² and Ï. As I got deeper into this novel I began to see similar events of world history built into 1984.
George Orwell’s intent in the novel 1984 is to warn society about the results of a controlling and manipulative government by employing mood, conflict, and imagery.
The year 1984 has long passed, but the novel still illustrates a possibility for the future of society. It still remains a powerful influence in all sorts of literature, music, and social theory. George Orwell envisioned a nightmarish utopia that could have very easily become a possibility in 1949 ? the year the novel was written. He managed to create such a realistic view of humanity?s future, that this story has been deemed timeless. There will always be the threat of totalitarianism, and at some moments civilization is only a step away from it. Orwell hated the thought of it, and 1984 shows that. From his work, readers who live in prevailing democratic society have a chance to consider about these very different political systems, democracy and totalitarianism.