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A critical essay on the book 1984
1984 critical analysis
Analysis of the book 1984
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Light and dark symbolism has ascended to the public eye over the course of the last few decades. There are various interpretations of this simple theme, from Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” and Justin Kurzel’s “Assassin’s Creed” where protagonists work in darkness to serve the light, being the greater good. However, in other forms light and dark imagery serves to show that light is bad and dark is good. During the day the protagonist is confined and oppressed, but at night he is free to do as he wishes. This can be seen in George Orwell’s 1984 and Ayn Rand’s Anthem. The central characters are subject to their governing bodies rules and are essentially ruled over during the day, but at night they are able to indulge in whatever actions, …show more content…
thoughts, or activities they choose. In George Orwell’s 1984 and Ayn Rand’s Anthem, the motif of light and dark imagery works to convey the theme that in the light a character’s true self is covered as they are confined to the rules of their government, and in the dark a character is able to release their inner thoughts and feelings. In both George Orwell’s 1984 and Ayn Rand’s Anthem, a theme conveyed is darkness is when central characters can release their innermost thoughts and feelings.
This is illustrated by Rand’s main character’s thoughts in one of the opening scenes of Anthem: “ And in the darkness, in the secret hour, when we awoke in the night and there were no brothers around us, but only their shapes in bed and their snores, we closed our eyes, and we held our lips shut, and we stopped our breath, that no shudder might let our brothers see or hear or guess, and we thought that we wished to be sent to the Home of the Scholars when our time would come” (Rand 9 ). In George Orwell’s 1984, when the main character is reflecting upon unconscious thoughts, he realizes that in the night when one is sleeping that he is most vulnerable to stray from his government's doctrine: “The most deadly danger of all was talking in your sleep. There was no way of guarding against that, so far as he could see,” (Orwell 64). In the former Anthem quote above, Equality 7-2521 is breaking one of his communities’ laws by wishing for a specific assignment from his governing body. Equality does his wishing in the dark when none of his brothers can see him or guess what he is thinking. This means that at night, under the cover of darkness, people are finally able to indulge in thoughts forbidden by their governing body during the light of day. The quote from 1984 also shows how people’s inner feelings surface, albeit …show more content…
a different method. Winston Smith is saying that when the people go to sleep, they don’t have any control over the façade that they portray during the day. It is most vulnerable at night when they go to sleep because they have no method of sustaining their illusion of love for the Party active, and their inner dislike for the Party may come out when there is the least amount of control over it. Another common theme in both George Orwell’s 1984 and Ayn Rand's Anthem is that both governing bodies seem to lose control over their citizens in the nighttime darkness compared to the control they have in daytime.
Winston Smith realizes that when it is dark and the telescreen cannot hear him, he will be able to think without as much fear of detection by the Party on page ---. “ It was not till twenty-three hours, when he was home and in bed—in the darkness, where you were safe even from the telescreen so long as you kept silent—that he was able to think continuously “ (Orwell ). Equality 7-2521 is also able to find a safe area to think away from prying eyes and ears under the cover of darkness in Anthem: “Thus did it come to pass that each night, when the stars are high and the Street Sweepers sit in the City Theatre, we, Equality 7-2521, steal out and run through the darkness to our place… Each night, for three hours, we are under the earth, alone” (Rand 16). These quotes show the reader that time periods when it is dark are the safest times to think because the government will not be able to know that someone is breaking the rules. The government has control and knows what the people do during the day but at night most of their power is gone. Winston will finally be able to think deeply at night because during the day there is too much risk of his facial expressions slipping or demeanor changing. Deep thinking during the day is dangerous as he might have been forced
to do strenuous labor as punishment, or sent to the Ministry of Love. Equality is able to go to his area underground during the night because that is the only time that his government does not control his time by keeping him busy during the day. Light and dark imagery in George Orwell’s 1984 and Ayn Rand’s Anthem show that the central characters are constantly watched over by their government during the day, but at night they break free from this supervision to do what they choose. During the day, each government has power over their citizens and they know what the people are doing and thinking because of the responsibilities that the people have. Under the cover of darkness, the governments lose this power as they can’t see them or assign jobs for the people to do. During the day, each protagonist's face can be seen and their thoughts can be read, and if someone believes that what the they are thinking is against the government’s rules, they are likely to be reported to the government which would imprison him. However at night, nobody can see a face, so they are free to think what they want without fear of being reported. Light and dark imagery in 1984 and Anthem sho
Throughout the course of the play Romeo and Juliet and the novel Lord of the Flies, there is a common motif of light versus dark that affects the way characters grow and view the world. Contrasting sharply between the two written works is the usage of this idea. In Romeo and Juliet the light is treated as a problem that will bring their forbidden love to “light” whereas the darkness provides a covering for their rendezvous. In Lord of the Flies it is the opposite, with the darkness being representative of the boy’s hidden savagery as well as providing fear of the unknown while the fire, a symbol of light, provides safety in warmth and food as well as the ability to see through the dark.
Imagine a world where people are only expected to live up to 45 years old. In today's society, there are countries that experience this. In the novel Anthem, by Ayn Rand; there are many factors like lifestyle, government, medicine, and education that lead to this. There are a couple of ways where the world in the novel is similar and different to today's society.
The Society of Anthem is a striking instance of a dystopian society in which daily life is dominated by fear. The society is headed by a group of elders, who attempt to destroy the concept of individuality and promote the idea of collectivism. The society controls all aspects of life including roles and profession, emotions, mating and the freedom of choice. Equality 7-2521 undergoes a transformation that is contrary to the principles of Anthem’s society. In Anthem by Ayn Rand, Prometheus (formerly Equality 7-2521) should not feel guilty when he writes “why the best in me had been my sins and transgressions; and why I had never felt guilt in my sins.” because what he learned about himself over the course of the story.
As society continuously expands, building new structures, light pollution becomes increasingly problematic. Paul Bogard addresses this problem and argues against the increasing light pollution in his writing, “Let There Be Dark.” Through his use of the ethos and pathos, Bogard attempts to persuade his audience of the beauty of natural darkness.
Why can a plant not grow in the shade? When a population is kept in the dark, no progress is made. One example of a community kept in ignorance is from the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand, a place where there is total control by the government. This technology deprived world insinuates that science and technology can spur rebellion, division, and change, showing that technological progress develops from the freedom of oppression.
Have you ever read a book or seen a movie set in a dystopian society? Well the book “Anthem” written by Ayn Rand is about the main character Equality 7-2521 breaking away from the teachings of his dystopian society and finding his true identity. Ayn Rand is a brilliant writer. Equality realizes that collectivism is a way to strip him, Liberty, and all their brothers of their individuality, happiness, joy, love and freedom. Equality comes to this realization from internal conflicts he has with himself.
Question: Aside from very rare exceptions there is literally no opposition to the leaders in this society. Why is this? What ideas must the people in this society have accepted to live a life of obedience, drudgery, and fear?
Ralph Waldo Emerson once stated that, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Emerson’s words parallel with the words of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Ayn Rand’s Anthem as they each depict a society that is in ruins because the people within are not achieving that “greatest accomplishment.” In Anthem, Rand paints the reader a picture of a society where only one man has the idea of individuality, among so many other machine-like people, constantly doing their work because a detached government told them to. Meanwhile, in Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury portrays a society where there are only a few remnants of hope left, only a few individual people. These are people that memorize books so that they may keep human ingenuity going, a hope for a future generation. Although Anthem and Fahrenheit 451 both tell us how we must keep and expand our individuality, Rand uses a much darker, hopeless society through her characters and lack of advancements in technology while Bradbury gives a glimpse at a technology- obsessed society with some dwindling sparks of hope left in a few characters.
It is a rare conception where a human being is completely and utterly alone. One problem we tend to overlook due to our primitive ideals of staying as a group, is the fact of us becoming solely to that group. In the book Anthem ,by Ayn Rand, a man named Equality 7-2521 sees this problem evolve and how it becomes a nuisance to his society. The book has made me open my mind up to the ideals of doing things for yourself and not always for those around you. The feeling of the story showing a world where many are brought down for being unique and talented hurts me as I imagine a time where all are mere specs of the world. The book hits the hard points of what can easily go wrong with our society if we decide to go over the line. I can see a life
Anthem is a book about a society that is ruled by few and has very limited individualism and freedom of self-expression. The society is split into ‘jobs’ that designate what each person will do the whole rest of their life. According to the group you are designated to be in that will be the only people you will communicate with for the rest of your life. This means the community lacks in social skills and communication throughout groups. This shows that the leaders of the communities have supreme control over the community and organize everything in the order that supports their interests and themselves best. Speaking to other people out of a persons work force was not allowed so equality had to stand out to try new things. First, he discovers electricity and what it can do because he wanted to change the community and how it worked so he ventured out to find something new. Next, he shows the scholars of the community because he wanted to change the community into a new community with his discovery of electricity. The community in the book does not know of any modern technology and they should not unless they want to.
“The creator served nothing and no one. He lived for himself” (Soul of an Individualist). The novel, Anthem written by Ayn Rand, creates a dystopia where individual impression is prohibited, and all citizens are forced to put their fellow citizens, called brothers, before themselves. In this strictly collectivist society the word ‘I’ is replaced with the word ‘We’, and personal thought is considered a transgression. Anthem follows the life of the main protagonist, Equality on his journey to break free from this society. To liberate himself from his collectivist society and altruistic way of life, Equality must think only for himself, and become an egotist.
A. The "Night." The "Sun." World Views Classic and Contemporary Readings. Sixth ed.
Throughout its entirety, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness utilizes many contrasts and paradoxes in an attempt to teach readers about the complexities of both human nature and the world. Some are more easily distinguishable, such as the comparison between civilized and uncivilized people, and some are more difficult to identify, like the usage of vagueness and clarity to contrast each other. One of the most prominent inversions contradicts the typical views of light and dark. While typically light is imagined to expose the truth and darkness to conceal it, Conrad creates a paradox in which darkness displays the truth and light blinds us from it.
Thinking back into history, many important events have occurred in history since the publication of 1984 by George Orwell in 1949. In no specific order there would be the Holocaust, The creation of the United Nations, NATO (North Atlantic treaty Organization), and even The Iron Curtain being established. After 1984 was published huge events also occurred in history. There was the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Korean war, the Vietnam War, the creation of the Berlin Wall, and the destruction of the Berlin wall, Joseph Stalin dies, and Khrushchev gains power....etc, etc. No matter when a book is published the events in history will always surround it, such as this book.
The "Heart of Darkness," written by Joseph Conrad in 1899 as a short story, is about two men who face their own identities as what they consider to be civilized Europeans and the struggle to not to abandon their themselves and their morality once they venture into the "darkness." The use of "darkness" is in the book's title and in throughout the story and takes on a number of meanings that are not easily understood until the story progresses. As you read the story you realize that the meaning of "darkness" is not something that is constant but changes depending on the context it used.