...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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...The idea that peace can be kept by preparing war, that unlimited freedom will be detrimental, that knowing too much can hurt us, all of them comes from the premise that transformed peace, freedom, and knowledge into the level of compromise-able, value-neutral, and debatable matter. I think, under the illusion of viewpoint, two kinds of people, grey, simple-minded fence-sitters and manipulative sophists, exists. Under the illusion of viewpoint, as no true belief or values occur, fence-sitters can be persuaded by anything, which makes them vulnerable and malleable from sophist’s superficial stances. Just as in the case of George Orwell's slogan, it is even possible to persuade them to pursue exact opposite of it to achieve one...
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...destroying itself. A way authors do this is by critiquing 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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...Beale, Lewis. "Opinion: We're Living '1984' Today." CNN. Cable News Network, 3 Aug. 2013. Web. 01 Nov. 2015. Lewis Beale a CNN journalist wrote a news story on how George Orwell's 1984 is happening now in today's society. Beale goes on to tell on how the government is constantly monitoring citizens through social media and surveillance cameras in public areas. using fear to shape citizens into the civilians the government wants them to be. He compares today's society to the scary futuristic community Orwell imagined. Lewis tells on how today's society is willing to give up freedom and their right to privacy because of fear. That the government uses fear to spy on everyone, he gives the example of the government using terrorism as way to spy on citizens through social media. With this article being opinion based, Beale makes it clear and understandable for the reader to see his viewpoint. It has a easy to read layout with bold titles making it clear on what each paragraph is about. The Fact that the article was published on CNN, makes it...
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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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...Lakoff, George. "What Orwell Didn't Know About The Brain, The Mind, and Language." EScholarship. UC Berkeley, 2008. Web. 23 Oct. 2015. Lakoff tells of George Orwell’s 1984 and how he used to love the book, but now since he has more knowledge of the mind and how it works his opinion has changed. George Lakoff is Goldman Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, and Senior Fellow at the Rockridge Institute. This paper seems reliable from the credential he has and how he voices his opinion with facts to back it up. The uses of this article helps show by the authors facts and opinion how Orwell didn't know much about the brain. That how Orwell describes how the mind is working within the citizens is inaccurate, because the lack of knowledge in the time period the book was wrote. This sources is good to compare with the knowledge we have now about the brain and how realistic was Orwell's version of mind control compared to what mind...
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...What can any of us can do under peer pressure? Three messages and/or themes from George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant. Peer Pressure, peer pressure is when one person does something against their morals/beliefs or even wants because the people, usually a group of people, tell or expect this person to do. There are many ways to be pressured into doing something that one may not agree with, and there are many people who would push for whatever task to be done. George Orwell was an early twentieth century poet, he lived from 1903 to 1950. Orwell is most commonly known for his novel Animal Farm, which was set in 1984. As well as an established writer, Orwell also was the creator of the common terms such as, “big brother,” and “newspeak.” One of Orwell’s essays called Shooting...
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...Love in George Orwell’s 1984 Love can play many roles in society. It can bring many people together happily or it can tear families apart so they will never speak to ach other again. Love can also be a political force. It can be an act of rebellion by individuals. It can also be a means to control individuals. This is what has occurred in George Orwell’s book 1984. George Orwell was born on June 25, 1903 as Eric Arthur Blair, in Bengal, India. His father, Richard Walmesley Blair, was an administrator in the Opium Department of the Indian government. (Mullen 3) Eric, his mother, Ida Mabel Limouzin Blair, and his older sister left India for England in 1908. (Flynn 9) In England the family lived as a “shabby-genteel family,” in his own words, at Henley on Thames. This was a happy time in his life and an inspiration for some of his writing, such as the essay, “Such, Such Were the Joys.”(Mullen 3) Also at this time Eric first showed signs of poor health. His mother recorded in her diary her concern for his bronchitis and a weak chest. (Flynn 11-12) In 1911 Eric went to St. Cyprian’s prepatory school. He was eight. (Flynn 19) Eric’s family kept him there at a great sacrifice to his family but at reduced fee because the headmaster hoped Eric would be able to win a scholarship. At the age of thirteen Eric went to Eton College after winning two scholarships. Eric was at Eton from 1917 to 1921. (Hopkinson 276) Eric praised Eton by complimenting its tolerant and civilized atmosphere...
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...highest class over time. In this paper, I would focus on what part of Orwell's exposition Shooting an Elephant makes it a work of art. Moreover, I would introduce one book related novel called A Passage to India by E.M Forster and a musical composition by Bob Dylan entitled Rolling Stone. which I would be contending on why these authors and artist works are worthy of being consider classic and on the off chance that they can be considered similarly great. George Orwell is best prominent for his last two books, the anti-powerful, controlling government works Animal Farm and 1984. He was an exceptionally adroit and experienced writer . Among his most puissant essays is the 1931 self- portraying essay Shooting an Elephant, which Orwell reflects on his experience as a police officer in pioneer Burma. Shooting an Elephant can be identified as one of the most classical essays in the English language. It is an extraordinarily composed article and a dynamite for a topic of portrayal. Throughout the essay, Orwell develops his proposition on the impacts of colonialism on the general population who are abused as well on the general population abuse individuals, also. The theme, of Shooting an Elephant is to uncover the issues between the law and one's ethical feeling of good and bad as this relates to British government solidly. One major key aspect that makes Shooting an Elephant a classical is that it deals with the evils of imperialism. Imperialism has been edified throughout...
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...symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Analyze a symbol in George Orwell's 1984, and write an essay demonstrating how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. In 1984 George Orwell uses many symbolic objects such as the paperweight, the prole's, big brother, and telescreens to assist the readers in a deeper understanding of the book and its purpose. When Winston Smith, the main character, purchases the glass paperweight he represents the struggle in reconnecting with his past. This simple object essentially defines Winston's development as a character and symbolizes his unpleasant fate throughout the novel. This object is perhaps the most important symbol that resides throughout 1984. It represents many aspects of Winston's rebellion towards the party, symbolizes many characteristics of his secret life, and represents the perfect world Julia and Winston envisioned. Throughout the novel, Winston becomes very intrigued with Mr. Carrington's antique shop and the coral. Orwell states that the object "is a little chunk of history they forgot to alter", just like how rocks are unaltered object as old as earth itself. That being said, the paperweight symbolizes his desire to return to a simpler time, one in...
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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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...Introduction ‘Rhinoceros’ of Eugene Ionesco and ‘1984’ of George Orwell are two of the most successful literary works on expressing unconventionality in the human society. They represent the protagonists as non-conformists to build up the plot of the story (with unconventionality being one of its main themes). This success is mainly due to the time period in which these two literary works have been written. Both ‘1984’ and ‘Rhinoceros’ are written a few years after the end of the second world war in 1945. This was the time when many political organizations were either formed or destroyed. With the fascist Nazi party coming to an end by the powerful rival countries USA and USSR, the world seemed to be in a new war known as the cold war. It...
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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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...George Orwell’s dystopian novel, “1984”, depicts a society of which the fictional symbol, Big Brother, is the totalitarian leader, and the single party controls everything. Big Brother and the party have instilled the idea that, “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past”, meaning that the past can be altered to one's desire, in this case to Big Brother’s. Winston, the protagonist of the novel, works at the Ministry of truth in the records department, where he, with many others, has to alter information from the past, in magazines and newspapers, so it always supports the party line, as Big Brother and the party must never be wrong. Unlike everyone else, brainwashed by the party, Winston realises...
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...Eric Arthur Blair, with the pen name George Orwell, was a young man when he went to serve in the Imperial Police Force which was his firsthand look at colonialism (Larkin). After about five years, he abruptly decided to leave Burma and become a writer, and his first novel was actually set in the north of Burma. People from Burma think to believe that Orwell’s best works, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, are about the country itself (Larkin). While they may be about Burma, they were not just about the country, but how colonialism was affecting their society. Colonialism, as Orwell observed, was very harmful to the colonists and caused it’s people to become oppressed and hateful (Sobel). Because he was in authority he felt that he, even...
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