... norms of society. For example, George Orwell uses his book 1984 to critique the normalities found in society. To be specific, Orwell uses the novel 1984 to critique the social, political, intellectual norms of today’s society which can be seen extensively throughout the book. To start, George Orwell uses 1984 to critique to social norms of today’s society. One way he does this is through the use of telescreens. Telescreens are a propaganda tool used by the Big...
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...1984 Essay Rewrite George Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning about the dangers of a totalitarian government, as he didn’t want to see it become a reality in the future. In the novel, a young man named Winston Smith struggles to find truth about society while living under a totalitarian government. Through the use of imagery, parallel structure, and diction, he is able to demonstrate to the reader how a totalitarian government asserts its power and the impact it has on dissenting viewpoints by examining the tactics of the inner party. George Orwell showcases to the reader how a totalitarian government asserts its power. For example, O’Brien tells Winston, “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.” O’Brien explains to Winston that there is no promising future in store for him. Orwell uses the imagery of a boot stamping a face to demonstrate how a totalitarian government distills fear into its citizens to keep them under control. This evokes fear into both the reader and the citizens as it reveals the sheer power of the Inner Party. Furthermore, the Party’s slogan is, “He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” Orwell uses parallel structure to emphasize the necessity of the Party controlling the past, present, and future. This reveals how the Party wants complete control over everything. They claim they have control of the past but in reality they are rewriting it. By asserting their...
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...George Orwell’s political views have been developed throughout his life based on personal experiences, although some may argue Orwell had no political label, due to his many different facets and aspects. Orwell witnessed Stalin’s Soviet Russia, the dictatorships of Mussolini and Hitler, the Spanish civil war and World War 2. Orwell’s literary works such as 1984 and many others, touch on aspects of imperialism, anarchism, socialism, Nazism, capitalism and totalitarianism. “The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical” in 1984, is a text within a text that Winston reads to understand many things about the totalitarian world he lives in. The purpose of the text within a text is to parallel the corrupt socialist world of 1984 with that of Stalin’s USSR, expand on Orwell’s ideas of imperialism, and to sound an alarm to warn readers of what a worst case scenario totalitarian world could be like. Firstly, “The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical” was to provide greater insight, for Winston and the reader. Goldstein’s text takes apart each section of the party’s slogan “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is strength” (Orwell, 1), and explains what they mean to the party. After reading the text, Winston learned some new things, but the text mostly just reinforced things he already assumed or knew. Secondly, when thinking from a political standpoint, one could say that the point of this text within a text was to parallel the corrupt socialist world of 1984 with that of Stalin’s USSR...
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...”Nineteen Eighty-Four” – Pages 1-40 If there is any doubt of the persistent power of literature it should be banished by the novel “1984” by George Orwell. There is much that reasonant for most of us in Orwell’s dystopia in the face of Edward Snowden’s revelations about the NSA; the totalitarian State of Oceania, its menacing Big Brother, the history-erasing Ministry of Truth and the sinister Thought Police with their everpresent telescreens. Eventhough the novel “1984” was read by its readers in 1949, the novel was meant to represent a very real threat in near future: a totalitarian regime within the next thirty years. The threat against privacy is, in Orwell’s opinion, one to be fought against. Looking at “1984” while pondering over the ideological criticism, one would find traces of certain ideologies in the artifact and the artifact in this particular case being the literary work “1984” by George Orwell. The primary target when doing a ideological reading, is to discover or locate the dominant ideology or the ideologies embedded in the literary work and perhaps the ones that are muted in it. The political ideology of Big Brother in “1984” is shown through a third person narration that clearly understands what Winston experiences living under a totalitarian regime. The style that Orwell appropriates in relaying this political ideology is one of fear and control. The ‘telescreens’ are constantly watching you and listening in on your conversations; “The telescreen...
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... Writers such as George Orwell and Kurt Vonnegut created novels of dystopian societies to alert nations that communism was not as great as it sounded. British writer George Orwell wrote the novel 1984 published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. in 1949. 1984 is a political novel written with the purpose of warning readers in the West of the dangers of totalitarian government. In 1949, the Cold War had not yet escalated, and many Americans supported communism as possible political systems for the west. Therefore, Orwell wrote his novel in order to expose the cruelty and oppression of communist countries. In his dystopian nation, Orwell gave a sneak peak of what a country could become if the people gave all the power to the government. In 1984, Orwell portrays the perfect totalitarian society in which the government monitors and controls every aspect of human life to the extent that having a disloyal thought is against the law. They do so with the use of technology such as tele screens and microphones across the city which allowed the government to monitor all the citizens almost all of the times. In order to keep the citizens of London loyal and obedient to the government, they use psychological manipulation designed to overwhelm the minds capacity for independent thought. Every citizen has a giant tele screen which not only monitors their behavior, but also feed citizens with positive propaganda of the government which makes them believe their government is successful in...
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...In George Orwell’s, Nineteen Eighty Four, a totalitarian society seeks “limitless” power throughout England over a poor population in which society has an isolated nature by the use of dictatorship. As the isolated nature of the characters may be the genesis of the party’s power, this is only one factor. Telescreens, CCTV, and hidden microphones are situated in the ‘1984’ society, to manipulate the minds and alter the thoughts of the general population. The undeveloped, urban life and land of ‘1984’ portrays the dangers of totalitarianism. Furthermore, the novel is set in the future, which exposes the Party, a totalitarian government, and their control on the past and thriving strength. Truly then, the setting of the novel (isolated nature) affects the development of various themes such as psychological manipulation, dangers of totalitarianism, the party’s subversiveness, historical control leading to power. The party’s way of dealing with subversive people is to make them disappear, and eventually remove them from history, therefore giving the party absolute power to change the past and the future. In 1984, ‘people simply disappear’, their ‘name was removed from the register’ and their ‘one-time existence was denied and forgotten’. In a totalitarian society, Orwell illustrates that if citizens cast criticism or dissent, they are ‘abolished’ to conserve complete control and avoid a rebellion. Orwell’s view on this political concept was constructed through his experience of...
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...People use rhetoric in many different ways to influence and change the audience’s opinion or perception of a specific topic. Rhetoric was used by George Orwell in the novel “1984” by representing what it is like to have your freedoms taken away. The main protagonist, Winston Smith, often finds himself struggling with himself and others to find the truth. In Plato’s “The Allegory of a Cave”, the character struggles to get his point across to his friends who refuse to accept the truth. Plato and George Orwell use rhetoric to explain the importance of freedom, whether the oppressor is someone else or yourself. George Orwell’s “1984” represents what life is like under a strict totalitarian government through the use of rhetoric. In his document, “Why I Write”, Orwell describes himself as “Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for...
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...Technology through the eyes of George Orwell Summary of the story The novel 1984 published in 1949 takes a look at society of future in 1984. This society called Oceania is a totalitarian one, where state controls everything including the people’s thought. The government, which runs Oceania is called INGSOC (English Socialism). The controllers are known as “The Party”, whose leader is Big Brother. Winston Smith, the central character, a 39-year old man lives in London. He secretly hates Big Brother. He decides to rebel by keeping a diary in which he reveals his rebellious thought. He knows the crime he is committing and also that one day the thought police would discover his crime and probably kill him. The lowest class in the social hierarchy of Oceania are “proles”, who are relatively free of police surveillance. He befriends Mr. Charrington, the prole owner of a junk shop, who shares similar interest in the past life before the rule of Big Brother. A dark haired girl, in another department slips a piece of paper in Winston’s hand. It says, “I love you.” Winston is surprised and disturbed as any sexual relation between Party members is strictly forbidden. Nevertheless, he falls in love and they meet secretly. A love affair begins and the girl finally introduces herself as Julia. They are careful enough to meet in places unlikely to be watched. Winston and Julia eventually hire a room above Mr. Charrington’s junk-shop as a place for the two of them to...
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...1984 is a novel written by George Orwell, about a period of time in the future where the government known as Big Brother controls and manipulates the thoughts of the individuals. The main character, Winston Smith, is outright against the government in the beginning and struggles with going undetected. Winston is all about doing what he wants, when he wants, while Big Brother on the other hand wants to be able to control every aspect of one’s life. As the novel progresses, we see a magnitude of changes with Winston’s thoughts on Big Brother. From the very beginning we are able to see Winston setting out to defy Big Brother. Winston’s job for one of the four branches of the government is to rewrite past publications such as newspapers, magazine, or anything that the government originally published. This is the first area where Orwell is able to show the reader how the government is able to manipulate history. Winston makes a terrific point, “if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. “ and further goes on to state a government Party catch phrase ‘Who controls the past, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past” (Orwell 44). Winston starts a journal or diary in which he expresses his true thoughts on Big Brother and there want to restrict freedom. His signature tag line written repeatedly throughout the diary is “Down with Big Brother” (Orwell 24). The reader is able to see a gradual progression through the...
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...George Orwell’s use of language in Nineteen Eighty-Four Eric Arthur Blair, better known as George Orwell, has been called one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. In his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell provides readers with a look into what would happen if the government controlled every aspect of people’s lives, even their own thoughts. Orwell uses language to influence the mindset of the citizens of Oceania. Orwell’s use of language shows how people can be manipulated and deceived and led to obey their government and accepting all of its propaganda to be true. Orwell was a very productive writer. He wrote six novels, and hundreds of essays as well as four documentary studies in less than twenty years. “Orwell’s greatest influence beyond his two classic novels was as a prose stylist...he probably influenced the writing of prose more than anyone else in the first half of the 20th century.” (Rossi 1) Orwell’s use of language has inspired many other writers as well. “Sylvia Ramsey’s novel, An Underground Jewel, is set in the future and centers on a terrorist organization that wants to alter language, it’s based on George Orwell’s 1984.” (Martin)...
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...If ‘1984’ by George Orwell had been written in a different time and place, how and why might it differ? The novel ‘1984’ by George Orwell, written in 1948, is a tragic illustration of what the world would be without the freedom to think independently. The internal context of the novel, which is set in London in 1984, whose protagonist is a rebellious low ranking party member called Winston Smith, is meant to portray a world of government domination defined by fear, hatred and ultimate control. The mode of the novel is written and the tenor is close as the story is told in limited third person. The target audience of the novel is people interested in reading and politics. Orwell wrote ‘1984’ as a warning against totalitarian tendencies and...
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...The book 1984 opened my eyes to the harsh reality of the world we currently live in. It made me well aware of government control and the control within other groups of people. This control can affect not only me, but other people around the world as well. My purpose for writing this paper is to explain the things I have learned after reading 1984 by George Orwell. It was Orwell’s goal to write this book and state his ideas and theories about a strong totalitarian government. He provided clear examples in which we can recognize in our own modern day society. Before reading all of 1984, I only knew of a few situations in which the government or group can control its people. I am now familiar with multiple situations that affect people worldwide...
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...George Orwell’s 1984 was written to inform his audience of the dangers of totalitarian governments. The society George Orwell creates, can be very easily compared to that of Hitler’s time. In Oceania, the minority has absolute power just like the Nazi Party had absolute power in and Germany. The Nazi’s were there to make sure that no rebellions took place just as Big Brother is there to stop any acts of rebellion in Oceania. Control is necessary in society up to a specific point where the government takes control of every aspect of life; beyond that it is no longer effective. Winston Smith is in a society in which the people like himself are under complete control physically and psychologically through use of technology and senior party members. The Thought Police stop any citizens thinking about rebelling with telescreens, hidden microphones, and children spies. Firstly, Big Brother, the fictional character, is described to be the dictator of Oceania, has the most powerful role in society as head of the party. The people are constantly reminded that “Big Brother is Watching You (Orwell 3).” They persistently watch the people for any act of rebellion. Control is being achieved however, it is not effective as public and private life is diminished. Next, the telescreen plays another effective role in helping the party manipulate the people by blasting out propaganda. The information they provide the people with is all lies to make the party look good. Winston works...
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...George Orwell’s 1984 Winston lives in the nation of Oceania, where he is a member of the ruling party in London. Oceania is a totalitarian society with an extremely comprehensive, nationwide surveillance system. In this society, even thinking rebellious thoughts is punishable by death. Winston is increasingly frustrated with rigid regime of the party and purchases an illegal diary in which he can write his prohibited thoughts. Entangled in such criminal affairs he starts fixating on an influential Party member called O’Brien, whom he believes is a member of a secret association that aims to overthrow the party. Meanwhile, he notices a female coworker looking at him and worries that she might be an informant for the thought police. On the contrary, he eventually realizes that she loves him and they commence a relationship. Together they plan to rebel against the oppressive party and seeks aid at O’Brien’s. Yet, it turns out that O’Brien is loyal to the Party and ends up torturing Winston into not only betraying Julia but also submitting himself to the Party and its sometimes-contradictory truths. In his famous novel, Nineteen Eighty-four from 1949, George Orwell succeeds in depicting a dark, dystopian society way ahead of his time. With an ingenious ability to predict future events and technology, not seen since the time of Jules Verne, Orwell warns the western world of the danger of totalitarian states by describing a nation of inhabitants living under absolute surveillance...
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...Bill O'Reilly once said "the more laws the government passes, the less individual freedom there is". This is suggesting a very good representation of a totalitarian government, where the more laws passed the more power the government possesses. Although the laws and government actions may seem beneficial to the citizens, the party manipulates the citizens with these enforcements and actions to maintain power in 1984 by George Orwell. The party uses technology to make people stay in order and not rebel against the laws of the society. The way that the party uses public confinement allows the government to control society. The government constantly makes the citizens afraid of the party and each other so that the citizens will not rebel if they do not like something. The party stays in control because of the technology they use to manipulate the citizens. Continuous warfare is a mechanism that the party uses to dominate. By being in continuous warfare, the party needs technology built so they can participate in the war. The party needed a way to keep the people hard at work without increasing the wealth in the world. Bombs and other material “must be produced, but they need not be distributed. And in practice the only way of achieving this was by continuous warfare” (Orwell 190-191). The party makes the citizens create bombs and other warfare equipment constantly because the war never ends. This is an illusion to make it seem like the party and the people are on the...
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