George Orwell Dystopian Novel 1984

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Good morning, my name is Jasmine Rielly and I am a professor of Fine Arts at the University of Queensland and welcome to the Brisbane Arts Festival. Today we will discuss the complicated relationship between literature and society, and how it reflects the continual clash of beliefs, values and worldviews which are inherent in human society. (NEXT SLIDE)Following the political upheaval and struggle for power after the Second World War, George Orwell’s 1949 dystopian novel 1984, cautions against the dangers of totalitarian and communist governments. Totalitarianism is defined as a “centralized government that does not tolerate parties of differing opinion and that exercises dictatorial control over many aspects of life” (dictionary.com). The …show more content…

Orwell’s success can be attributed to his bluntness when it came to his political and social views. Orwell’s 1984 is a reflection of the oppressive governments that surrounded him at the time. He lived during a time in which tyrannic governments were a reality in Spain, Germany, and the Soviet Union. Orwell combined traits from both the Soviet Union’s and Germany’s totalitarian states to create the dystopia that is reminiscent of post-war London. Orwell’s utmost influence for the novel was the oppressive government led by Joseph Stalin, which began in the Soviet Union in the early 1920’s. Stalin launched a series of five-year plans, intended to transform the Soviet Union from a lowly peasant society into the industrial and military capital of the world. His plans were centred on government control of the economy and included the forced collectivization of Soviet agriculture, which meant that the government took control of farms. This forced collectivization also led to widespread famine across the Union which in turn killed millions. Many of the characteristics of Stalin’s totalitarian regime are evident both 1984, and Orwell’s earlier novella Animal Farm.
The novel takes place in a city called Air Strip One, formerly London, England. By setting 1984 in London, Orwell is able to invoke the atmosphere of a real war-torn community where people live in ‘wooden dwellings like chicken houses’ in bombed out clearings. London in 1984 then becomes not just a make-believe place where bad things happen to make-believe people, but a very real geographical spot that still holds emotion connection for the modern

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