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The nature of george orwell 1984
The nature of george orwell 1984
The nature of george orwell 1984
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Science fiction is a genre of fiction that takes modern day reality and changes it to incorporate things like a futuristic setting and futuristic technology. It is often tied in with fantasy as fantasy does the same but instead of changing one thing, it changes almost everything. The novel 1984, written by George Orwell, is a science fiction book, but incorporates more elements of fantasy than normal science fiction stories. 1984 should be studied today because of the message it gives to readers about not following our leaders blindly. George Orwell is a pen name for Eric Blair. He named himself George Orwell during the publication of his book Down and Out in Paris because he didn’t want his family to be ashamed of him living as a vagrant in …show more content…
Due to this he presents multiple themes throughout his book. George Orwell uses technology from the novel to convey his theme of power by totalitarian governments. Technology is a key part of science fiction. Sometimes the technology shown is something the human race is far away from like a time machine; other times it is a spinoff of something we already have. In 1984, the main character, Winston Smith, describes his home as a simple house that is a replica of other people. However, all houses in Airstrip One come with a telescreen and microphone. “The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely” (Orwell 4). This telescreen was could be turned on by the Thought Police and if you were saying or doing anything suspicious they would come in and make sure the person didn’t exist anymore. “—the arrests invariably happened at night. You were abolished, annihilated: VAPORIZED was the usual word” (Orwell 24). The use of technology in 1984 portrays George Orwell’s theme because it shows how the Party attempted to control and oppress their citizens with fear. It relates to today’s world because of the similar technologies the United States has and incorporates into our daily lives. Although the Federal Bureau of Investigations will not make us readers disappear, they have the ability to monitor us by looking through our phones, texts, and social media. As a result Orwell was trying to show his readers of 1984 that the government can do this and that we should not let
Science Fiction is a genre that has the ability to reveal the truth of the society and the dystopian elements that capture today's world. The real problems are shown as well as what important pieces are missing. Fahrenheit 451 forms the idea that our world today focuses on the unimportant and ignorant things in life causing people from this book lack some basic human rights. Additionally, in Harrison Bergeron, the public is forced to wear handicaps that hides their gifts they were born with. This world is forced to be equal and anyone who speaks out against it will be executed. Through the pages of Fahrenheit 451 and the Harrison Bergeron, the real flaws in today's society leading many people to have their freedoms diminished, or taken away are shown.
In a world filled with technology we must ask ourselves, is technology taking us closer to the world of Big Brother? In the novel 1984 by George Orewell, Orwell has generated this unbelievable world in which no one would ever think to be possible, but then again pondering upon it our worlds are quite similar, it is slightly alarming. It was not noticed till recently that perhaps our technology is pulling us closer to the world of Big Brother. The technology used in the novel 1984 are correlated to the technology we use currently.
In the technology driven society of Fahrenheit 451, where books are banned and everyone’s favorite pastime is the mindless task of watching T.V, it is rare for anyone to have any intellectual curiosity. However, pale skinned Clarisse is different. She has a different view on society and is a breath of fresh air to fireman Guy Montag. Clarisse acts as a window to the path of knowledge and understanding to Montag and opens his mind to the idea of books and intellectual awareness.
Montag resides in a very advanced technological world whereas in our society, we live in a technological world that is not as advanced. When Montag asks Mildred what’s playing on the TV, she describes a show that’s about to play where the person watching the TV also becomes a character. She is given a script and throughout the show, the characters will involve her in conversations and she has to read what’s on her script, “‘It’s really fun. It’ll be even more fun when we can afford to have the fourth wall installed. How long you figure before we save up and get the fourth wall torn out and a fourth wall-TV put in? It’s only two thousand dollars.’ ‘That’s one-third of my yearly pay,’ ‘It’s only two thousand dollars,’ she replied,” (18). In this conversation, Mildred wants to get a fourth wall TV put in but Montag says no because it costs too much.
Have you ever sat at a table surrounded by friends whose eyes were glued to their phones? According to ABC News, kids spend an average of seven and a half hours on technology and only 38 minutes of reading in a day. In Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, the society is very similar to ours. Technology has taken over and has made society very closed minded. People are unwilling to remove their eyes from large TV screens to see why things happen, and to notice all the little things in life that make it worth living. Without open-mindedness and curiosity, society would corrupt like in Fahrenheit 451, all because of an overuse of technology. Technology causes society to become a dystopia and once the society is one, there comes a point where you cannot reverse it. Bradbury emphasizes the importance of paying attention to the world and what happens when you become addicted to technology.
Technology in a Totalitarian Society. In Brave New World written by Aldous Huxley and 1984 written by George Orwell the dystopian societies depend on technology to create a totalitarian society. Brave New World is a sequel to 1984, because Brave New World is an established dystopian society which uses technology in a much more pleasureable way, whereas in 1984 the technology is used in a much more aggressive manner. The technology used in both novels aids both governments in creating a totalitarian society, technology helps the government take control over all citizens, influence all of the peoples actions, and determine the people’s emotions.
David R. Morrow stated in his article, When Technologies Makes Good People Do Bad Things: Another Argument Against the Value-Neutrality of Technologies, “the use or invention of technology is not wrong it is the users who have ‘‘vicious’’ or condemnable preferences that will affect the outcome.” Orwell used technology in a way that many people of that time would never have imagined possible and created a fear of the future for his readers. How could a man, who was unaware of what the future would hold, be so acute and on point with how the world would be today? In his last interview Orwell said, “Always there will be the intoxication of power and always and every moment there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on the enemy who is helpless.” Orwell tried to warn people not of the technology but of the danger technology might cause in the future if it landed in the wrong hands. In this paper, I will be exploring how the world of technology mimics that of Winston’s world and how “privacy” has lost its meaning due to technology just like in 1984 but the biggest issue I will research is why do we allow it the government to monitor our
In the dystopian text, 1984, by George Orwell the reader is exposed to an environment where the government or ‘party’ exerts complete control over the public. They maintain this power through the use of technology and depriving the public of any privacy or personal opinions. Throughout the novel we experience different character’s views and uses of technology; O’Brien’s use of technology to establish control, Charington use of technology to prevent rebellion against the party and Winston and Julia’s avoidance of technology to try to establish their own lives, away from the control of the government.
Ultimately, common ideas found in the novel 1984, totalitarianism, surveillance, and lack of privacy are also ubiquitous in modern society and government. Big Brother and modern day government have been able to control its citizens through surveillance equipment, and fear all for a little more power. There is much to learn from such an undesirable form of society much like the one of Oceania in 1984. Examining Big Brother government closely, alarming connections can be made to real-world government actions in the United States and the cruel world within Orwell's book.
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell, is a superb novel with outstanding themes. One of the most prominent themes found in this novel is psychological manipulation. Citizens in this society are subject to ever present signs declaring “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” (Orwell 1). Along with psychological manipulation, physical control takes place. The Party not only controls what people in Oceania think, but what they do as well. Technology is another important theme. Without the constant telescreens, microphones, and computers, the Party would be all but powerless. Big Brother is the main figure of the Party. The main symbol that drives these themes is the telescreens. It is representative of the party always watching and controlling everyone at all times.
Even though many of Orwell’s ideas in his novel 1984 seemed completely fictional, several of the concepts throughout his book have a common link to today’s society. For instance in the same way telescreens monitor people every second of their li...
[3]George Orwell wrote the novel 1984 to criticize the new trend of totalitarianism that was rising up; which, in his time period, would have been Hitler 's reign and then Stalin 's rise.
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.
People nowadays live on their phone screens with headphones in their ears.People pay more attention to their phones than people themselves.Technology has taken over our lives and has removed the importance of spending time with family and friends.Instead of living with family, we live with technology.Ray Bradbury who wrote Fahrenheit 451 describes it without directly referring to it, he introduces the ideas that people always have headphones in their ears, tv walls, and burning books.which doesn't directly refer to technology being bad, but says it in a symbolic way.Bradbury's depiction and perspective on technology is an accurate depiction of technology and how it influences people’s lives.
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.