In George Orwell’s 1984, he utilizes motif, imagery, and irony to display the negative effects of a totalitarian government can have on society. To begin, Orwell uses motif, more specifically the recurring theme of manipulation and authority, to convey his purpose. In Part I Chapter IV, Winston explains his job and what he does at the Ministry of Truth: “Every prediction made by the Party could be shown be documentary evidence to have been correct [...] Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which, finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain” (Orwell 40, 41). As Winston explains what he does for a living, readers begin to realize that Winston takes false predictions made by Big Brother and rewrites them to be true.
In Winston’s believes, liberation is an entity hidden behind a mist of futility, an endless cycle of failed uprisings caused by the insolence of the general masses. The cycle also represents the situation that Winston finds himself within, regardless of his awareness he is still paralyzed by the irrational animalistic instinct to cower in fear of the party’s promised punishment. Resulting in his apathy towards revolution which causes him to abstain from any true revolutionary undertaking; as a result, the cycle of despair continues infinitely. Moreover, the paradox may highlight the extent of Winston’s indoctrination by the party. Winston views the revolution as fantastical due to the Proles oblivious nature, which is an assumption that is made by Winson as a result of party propaganda, which states that all “proles and animals are free”.
1984 is a novel in which its government has total control over what you do, how you think, and how you behave, George Orwell’s renowned novel prophesized his view of a 1984 dystopia. An ordinary, middle aged man named Winston Smith has gone about his life living the way everyone in Oceania did, doing what they were told without questioning anything, all while under the complete and utter control of their totalitarian government. He soon discovers the truth, and struggling to keep his secret, Winston goes on to find a group that fights the dictatorship. Despite how perfect the people in oceania may think their lives are, they are unaware of how the government portrays misleading information to them that they accept as facts, slowly shaping them
George Orwell's characterization of Winston's collapse is exemplified further through the dangers of a totalitarian society. This novel acts as a social commentary on this society's mistreatment of others. Winston's failure is the only way that readers could obtain the warning of the perils involved in a totalitarian society, one where heroism is
Yash Patel Mrs. Choi AP Literature October 2015 1984 Dialectal Journals for Part 2 Text Response 1. “In front of him was an enemy who was trying to kill him; in front of him, also was a human creature… He had indistinctively started forward to help her,” (Orwell 106) This quote shows that even in this time where they live in a life where they are being manipulated, Winston is still living in a time where he is experiencing hatred, but still maintains what keeps him normal or humane, which keeps him separated from everyone else. This hate is showing that people still have hate for each other and still want to kill each other but it also shows the true human he is by helping her when she was threatened.
Appearing at Number 8 on the Radcliffe Publishing Course list of “Banned and/or Challenged Books Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century”, 1984, written by George Orwell in 1949, continues to be a controversial novel. The novel's most recent successful banning occurred in Jackson County, Florida in 1981, for its pro-communist views and explicit sexual matter (“Banned”). Despite its critical praise and awards, this novel has been challenged as an inappropriate book for school libraries and classroom reading. When those who mount these challenges take words and passages out of context to illustrate their outrage, they misinterpret the content and intention of their work. Orwell has written a well-crafted and thought provoking novel-- a work
Winston Smith, the main character in the novel, faced many emotional challenges throughout the book. The problems that he encountered were primarily a result of his strong opposition toward the government of Oceania, which was more commonly known as “the Party”. The Party controlled every aspect of people’s lives, to the point where one wrong thought or physical action could cause brutal punishment. Although Winston was a minor member of the Party, he still secretly despised the way it had inflicted a totalitarian society upon him and the rest of the nation. All citizens were brainwashed to live in complete orthodoxy, and any act, no matter how trivial, that was displeasing to the Party was looked upon as a serious crime.
The theme of conforming to others while questioning inwardly is very popular in most dystopian societies. In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, he uses this theme with the two main characters: Winston and Julia and by them joining the Brotherhood together. The idea of conformity and inward questioning is a big threat to the Party’s power and their control over the people, because they seek power over the proles. In 1984, the main character, Winston, conforms with the populace, but inside feels deep hatred towards the Party.
George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four depicts a dystopian totalitarian society and explores the interlinking concepts of time, memory and history through the examination of the ability to manipulate by censoring information and via propaganda. It also examines the power of memory and history in influencing and controlling people’s lives. This essay will explore these themes through the disillusioned protagonist Winston and his life under dictator rule. In the novel the Party controls every aspect of their citizen’s lives. They tell them what to think, how to behave and who to love all through the help of the Ministries of Truth, Peace and Love. The Party manipulate history and alter the truth so much so that Winston loses track of time and is unable to accurately recall past events or rationalize his own history. This constant manipulation also results in a loss of faith in his own memory and the unreliability of his own thoughts. Eventually culminating in Winston becoming brainwashed and wholly devoted to the Party.
Secrets exist among nearly every aspect of life. Literature is no exception. When confidences arise in works of literature, they introduce various circumstances that affect the meaning of the novel. In 1984 by George Orwell, Winston is forced to keep his love affair with Julia suppressed. Winston’s secret is rebellious, deadly, and plays a heavy role in developing the meaning of the novel.
The novel describes the journey of Winston Smith as he rebels against the Party and tries to maintain his human qualities. By creating a totalitarian government in the novel 1984, George Orwell is able to express how important humanity is to not only Winston but also
In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the main theme is of conformity to the wants of society and the government. Themes of dehumanization of our species, as well as the danger of a totalitaristic state are repeatedly expressed. Orwell demonstrates this theme by using setting and characters in the novel. The setting helps to convey the theme because of the world and kind of city that the main character lives in. Winston’s every move is watched and controlled by the governmental figurehead known as “big brother”.
Many a literary critic claims that the strongest aspect of the book 1984 by George Orwell is its plot. Indeed, there is some merit in this conclusion, as the entire purpose of Orwell’s writing of this book was not to create a literary classic, but to warn the public about the dangers of communism if it got out of hand, and what better way to do this than to write an engaging plot? Others may claim that 1984’s greatest strength is in its character development. This aspect, too, is quite strong in the book, as not only are the minor characters effected in serving the dystopian theme, but the major characters are believable and very human in their failings. Winston’s transformation from an oppressed office worker to revolutionary and finally
Standing out and individuality is frowned upon in both novels, which is one of the many elements that take place in dystopian literature. In 1984, people are watched and hunt down by the thought police. People in the society are not allowed to think their own thoughts, and they must not go against the Party and Big Brother. Winston, however, rebels against Big Brother and the Party and he wants to go “down with Big Brother!” The Party and Big Brother also frowns upon sexual relationships and love.
This moment of weakness for Winston demonstrates his ego because he is satisfying his urge to rebel against the government in an efficient and appropriate way, as described by Marie Doorey in a reference about psychoanalysis (Doorey). Winston waited until he had acquired the diary to begin conspiring his thoughts against Big Brother. Winston mistakenly thought he was writing in secret, when in fact he was not. He was always being watched by Big Brother. Moreover, Winston attempts expressing his individuality by writing his thoughts and feelings in the diary.