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Orwell 1984 and today
How to analyse george orwell's novel 1984
Orwell 1984 and today
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Orwell's economic views and opinions introduced are rarely in his literary works, he wrote many volumes of his political commentary, which is expressed in a totalitarian world. In "1984", his expressions on totalitarianism and controlled societies are very pessimistic and negative (Roback 127). Orwell's thoughts on technology were indifferent, he did not support it or go against it, all that mattered when technology came into the picture was who controlled it, (Roback 127). Orwell's views sync with the character in the book; Orwell's views and Smith's are the same and have the same standpoints on totalitarianism. Orwell’s "1984" creates a grim picture of humanity's existence within an extremely controlling totalitarian government. Totalitarianism is a form of government where there is an absolute dictatorship, "1984" portrays the conditions under a mind controlling government. Propaganda contaminates every corner and street; St. Martins church is now a museum for propaganda of life before the war, while also explaining Big Brothers invention of the aeroplane. Smith explains that the only evidence of historical data is a silent protest within oneself. The inner party controls the thoughts of people by telling individuals of historic conditions before the revolution, conditions of oppression and extreme poverty worse than anything people could imagine. From birth to death no one had enough to eat, everyone slept ten to a room and Capitalists owned everything in sight. The party did this to eliminate any possibility of rebellion of the people. Historical data no longer existed; every ounce of history was wiped and rewritten by the party for the necessary precautions of rebellion, (Orwell 76). The lies written by propaganda within the... ... middle of paper ... ...government operates especially if it is one that rules and does not allow contact with the outside world. Privacy is rare, and nothing can be done without someone knowing. "1984" depicts a true totalitarian society without flaw in the definition of totalitarianism. Many do not think of a true totalitarian government, but Orwell paints a grim picture of a true totalitarian government. Works Cited Orwell, George, Thomas Pynchon, and Erich Fromm. 1984. New York: Plume, 2003. Print. EasyBib. Dwan, David. "TRUTH AND FREEDOM IN ORWELL'S NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR." Philosophy & Literature 34.2 (2010): 381-93. Print. EasyBib Roback, Jennifer. "The Economic Thought of George Orwell." The American Economic Review 75 (1985): 127-32. JSTOR. American Economic Association. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. Harris, Harold J. "Orwell's Essays and 1984." JSTORE. N.p., 1959. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
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.
The novel 1984, by George Orwell, made me paranoid. It made me suspicious of our government's power and intentions. I became aware of the potential manipulation which the government could impose upon us. I came to see that the people I believe to be wholly dedicated to the well-being of society, the people I rely so heavily on to provide protection and security have the power to betray us at any given time. I realised that in my naivety I had gravely overlooked the powerful grip government has over society, and what it can do with that power.
In George Orwell’s novel, 1984 the theme is a totalitarian government has the capability to physically and mentally break down individuals and then rebuild them the way they want by using torture and the destruction of emotions and personal thought.
While government as an institution can be used for benevolent purposes, George Orwell’s novel 1984 contends that when taken to an excess in the form of totalitarianism, government becomes dangerously self-serving.
1984 was written as a warning to the western countries about having a totalitarianism government which is refers to a system of government in which lawfully electes representatives maintain the integrity of a nation state whose citizens, while granted the right to vote, have little to no participation in the decision-making process of the government. The author felt like these countries were not able to find tactics to withstand the communism that was being taken placed. When the book was written in 1949 the Cold War had not yet broke out, and most people supported the diplomacy with the democratic communism. The author found the cruelty that was committed in the communist countries very disturbing, and the technologies that were used to help these countries control the citizens intriguing. This book tells how a complete government controlled country could be. Warning those who lived during this time to that if they did not want this to happen then they better vote against totalitarianism.
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.
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.
Works Cited for: Orwell, George. 1984. The 'Standard' of the ' London: Penguin Books, 2008. Print. The.
Howe, Irving, and George Orwell. 1984 Revisited Totalitarianism in Our Century. New York: Harper & Row, 1983.
Many citizens today are truly unaware of how much of their private lives are made public. With new technological advances, the modern democratic government can easily track and survey citizens without their knowledge. While the government depicted in 1984 may use gadgets such as telescreens and moderators such as the Thought Police, these ideas depicted can be seen today in the ever evolving democratic government known to be the "equivalent" of the people's voice. Orwell may have depicted a clearer insight into modern day surveillance than one may have imagined from this "fictional" novel. Furthermore, a totalitarianism based government is a dictatorship, in which the dictator is not limited by constitutional laws or further opposition.
In conclusion, I found 1984 fascinating and Orwell’s ideas eerily accurate as a forewarning to future generations. Even though we live in a democratic nation, there are ideas to ponder and consider in today’s world, even though 1984 was written sixty years ago. The fact that in this dystopian society no one was happy is maybe a sign that it should not be a totalitarian rule. Freedom is humanities one of humanities best traits. The language that is used makes society dumb even the people that are supposed to be smart arent because of the “newspeak”. If life was like this today there wouldn’t be any happiness in the world and we all would be sad. I am glad that Mr. Orwells prediction didn’t come true because I wouldn’t be able to live in a society like that.
In 1984, George Orwell explores the many facets of a negative utopia. Orwell seems to focus on the measures that the government takes to maintain a public of plebeians who have no personality or identity and believe that they are not unique individuals, but instead are part of a greater senseless mob of people who constantly work for a hostile and oppressive government which is involved in incessant wars. These people are taught to love. They then learn to fear their government because they believe all of the propaganda that is constantly instilled into their minds. They willing follow their government without contest for the duration of their meaningless lives. The government controls all forms of the media (thus denying the people the basic right of free speech) and use it to personify the government (known as “big brother”) .The government therefore seems omnipotent, or all knowing and always correct. Forecasts are changed from one week to the next always proving the government was correct. As was mentioned before, many of the rights that present day Westerners take for gran...
In the book “1984” by George Orwell, the book deals with government power. In the book, it debates about how the power of the government affected the people. Too much power by the state creates a dystopian world where everyone is forced to follow the government’s rules.
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.