...In 1984, Orwell gave us a perfect rendering of a totalitarian state’s use of violence, language and control of mass media to keep a people enslaved. The book describes a grim reality in this future society: the Police Patrol snoops in people’s windows, and Thought Police is always out hunting for thought criminals. Big Brother, the totalitarian figurehead, stares out from posters plastered throughout the city, and private telescreens broadcast the Party’s platform and its constant stream of propaganda. In an age where the online world allows our every move and decision to be tracked by the devices we all carry at all times along with a climate of massive political polarization in America, many argue that the country is moving towards the totalitarian dystopia so meticulously described in 1984. But is that really the case? Is the United States moving towards a Big Brother state or away from it? What elements of the novel accurately describe the American society of today? Before reaching a conclusion we must draw some parallels between the defining aspects of...
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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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...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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...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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...police”. This is the greatest fear of Winston Smith in George Orwell’s 1984, the concept of the government tracking him down and keeping him as a thought criminal due to his rampant thoughts and uncontrollable subconscious is his one fear day in and day out. Orwell’s 1984 was published in 1948, this was his idea of how civilization would turn into a dystopia completely under the control of the government where even thoughts are monitored, it was his fear of how WW II would affect the world and communism would take over. Winston becomes paranoid of his subconscious leading to his demise but soon realizes that there is no need because the government has a weak structure that relies heavily on the obedience of its...
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...Orwell's novel 1984 serves as a precaution to all readers that if we do not question government or tread into the future with caution our voices could potentially be lost. This fiction novel takes place post World War II in a totalitarian government, where Big Brother controls everything. Throughout this novel Orwell tries to warn readers that complete control within any community results in the deprivation of people’s basic freedoms, such as through, sexual relations, and speech. Throughout the novel Orwell uses Winston as an example of what mistakes could lead to a dystopia ran by a tyranny. Winston, the main character of the novel, lives in a country where organic thought is banned, only the leader, Big Brother, has a voice that matters....
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...opening. The website YouTube is the main focus of this writing although there are many other venues (i.e. Facebook or Twitter) on the internet that can exploit privacy. To some this may seem innocent, but others can find it to be disturbing and intrusive. Especially if an individual is caught doing something out of character. Some of reasons that this wonderful innovation can produce harm are, a person can be stalked, pictures can be altered and used to obtain a false identity, or you can simply be embarrassed. In this particular writing it is brought to the reader’s attention that the founders of YouTube, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karin had no idea they would be “bringing George Orwell’s 1984 novel “Dystopia to Life.” In this particular novel George Orwell expresses how the government is taking control of all aspects of our lives, such as, in a Totalitarian state. While this may not be the case with Little Brother the information highway otherwise known as the...
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...Nineteen Eighty-Four (or 1984) is an English dystopian novel by George Orwell, written in 1948 and published in 1949. It is the story of the life of the intellectual Winston Smith, his job in the Ministry of Truth, and his degradation by the totalitarian government of Oceania, the country in which he lives. It has been translated into sixty-two languages, and has deeply impressed itself in the English language. Nineteen Eighty-Four, its terms and language, and its author are bywords in discussions of personal privacy and state security. The adjective "Orwellian" describes actions and organizations characteristic of Oceania, the totalitarian society depicted in the novel, and the phrase "Big Brother is watching you" refers to invasive surveillance. In turn, Nineteen Eighty-Four has been seen as subversive and politically dangerous and thus been banned by libraries in many countries.[1] Along with Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, and Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, it is among the most famous dystopias in literature.[2] In 2005, Time magazine selected it as one of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923. Probably the most important thing to remember while reading 1984 is that Orwell never intended the book to be a prediction of the future. It was more or less a satire of political fiction, however, I believe Orwell was on the right track concerning future possibilities of a New World Order, or total government control. An interesting quotation from the book is from...
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...Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Brave New world is a dystopian novel written in England in 1931 and published in 1932 during the Modernism literary period. The setting of the novel is in London and New Mexico ruled under an imagined future one-world government called the World State. The World State of Brave New World is a totalitarian dystopia that uses technology to, deceive its citizens into loving their slavery. Dystopia is a society, in this case the World State, that is an imaginary society organized to create ideal conditions for human beings, eliminating hatred, pain, neglect, and all of the other evils of the world. Huxley wrote Brave New World as a dystopian novel due to the rise of technology and science in the 1930s, focusing on the totalitarianism evils (meaning centralized or dictatorial). Huxley imagined a future of a totalitarian state where there is no such thing as freedom of anything and happiness was forced through manipulation, called conditioning in the novel. When Huxley wrote Brave New World, it was just a little over a decade since World War I. During this time, totalitarian states were popping up in the Soviet Union and Fascist parties were gaining power in Europe. Also, there were advancements in science, technology, and the relationship between the two as the world became more industrialized. Aldous Huxley was born in Surrey, England, on July 26, 1894, to a well-known family of scientists, writers, and teachers deeply rooted in England’s literary...
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...The Novel Project Your name: Giselle Gonzalez Your Novel: 1984 – George Orwell 1. Explain how the novel represents two or more concerns of its historical time period; these concerns may be economic, political, cultural, social, or moral concerns. Clarify the author’s view on one of the following as s/he presents the concerns: right vs wrong; conservative vs radical, or elite vs commonplace. Orwell published “1984” in 1948 just after the end of World War II. Although at this time, Hitler’s reign was brought to an end, Joseph Stalin, another ruthless leader was still in power. Though they were adversaries during WW II, both men shared acute similarities in their success towards creating a totalitarian government much like the one seen in “Nineteen Eighty-Four.” The ghastly, but impressive ease with which each ruler rose and remained in power is possibly what caused Orwell to focus so heavily on political concerns in his novel. While there are no direct allusions to the Adolf Hitler or Stalin, the political devices used by the Party to control Party members in Oceania are undeniably parallel to the manipulation and brutality that each ruler used to control government. Big Brother for instance, is a fearless leader who is loved by all of the Party members. Though it is never confirmed whether or not he is a real person or just an idea, citizens praise him almost instinctively, posters of him are found in every building, and badmouthing him is not only an act of audacity, but punishable...
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...‘Dystopian fiction is less about the powerful and more about the powerless’ To what extent is this true in The Handmaid’s Tale and 1984? Dystopian fiction usually revolves over a power struggle between an oppressor and the oppressed, alternatively this can be given the label of powerful and powerless. However, the exposure given to one of these groups is often inclined to be imbalanced. For example, The Giver by Lois Lowry has biased exposure towards the powerless due to the simple fact of the third person limited narrator perspective from Jonas, a member of the aforementioned sector of respective society. This is similar to the 1984 narrator where Winston is never truly aware of what goes on when he wasn’t physically present. But, it could be for this exact reason that in 1984 the dystopian genre inclines towards the powerful, highlighting the hold over the powerless. Contrary to this, The Handmaid's Tale (THT) has blurred lines as to whether the dystopian fiction prevalent in the novels are more or less about the powerful. This is majorly due to conflicting plotlines and enigmatic characters, significant in both of the books. For example, the character of Nick could be characterized for the powerful and powerless. Nick behaves with Offred in a manner which confuses the reader about his loyalties. Ultimately, this essay will aim to prove an option that is a fusion between the two rivals of dystopian fiction offering the complex concept of the powerful powerless. The powerful...
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...believed the censorship of public knowledge and surveillance of the people has been important since at least the 16th century. This outdated reasoning simply doesn’t align with the age of the internet and instant information. Just because it has been done this way in the past is not an excuse for the government to sharpen and strengthen their data spying and collection as time goes on. Any dissent from the people is usually quenched, when the government deemed it a federal safety issue. When Edward Snowden released the information about the NSA, the government deemed him an espionage, and stated that if Snowden returned to the United States, he would be tried for his charges under the Espionage Act (“Charges”). This directly mirrors George Orwell’s 1984, where Big Brother would silence those who wished to reveal the true intentions of the government. While comparisons to science fiction may be unwarranted for now, one can’t help but fear the worst, as that is what Snowden and Greenwald have all but confirmed our future to resemble. This reinforces Greenwald’s idea that the government can exert its force with little to no actual force and/or dissent. Which creates a self-imposing system of oversight, which is both dangerous and extremely difficult to overthrow once it is instated. The guise of providing protection and “national security” is extremely effective any time a government wants to instate new and potentially controversial legislation or programs. However, using it to fly...
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...Government Control Versus Independence The debate is whether America is going to have equality and independence of the people or complete government control. Complete government control, sounds familiar, many people read George Orwell’s “1984” while in school. The novel describes the dystopia where an oligarchic government has overwhelming control and surveillance and relentless mind control over the people. The philosophy described allowed “the big brother” or “Party” to control and manipulate humanity. The people were not allowed to have free thought or any expression of individuality. Our own government is not far from that imaginary world. Americans now live in a world where we no longer have the freedom to freely decide what we eat, how our children will be educated, choose healthcare insurance, and even decide what light bulb will illuminate our homes. The government has extended their power through taxation, regulations, and unremitting appeals. At what limit is government control over our daily lives too much. The rights of the people need to prevail and people should be allowed to ascertain their own individuality and independence. The Bill of Rights was ratified in December 1791 as the collective name for the first ten amendments of the Constitution (Bill). The Bill of Rights was written to clarify the limitations on the authority of the federal government, to include protecting the rights of liberty including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, free...
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...The English novel is an important part of English literature. This article focuses on novels, written in English, by novelists who were born or have spent a significant part of their lives in England, or Scotland, or Wales, or Northern Ireland (or Ireland before 1922)]. However, given the nature of the subject, this guideline has been applied with common sense, and reference is made to novels in other languages or novelists who are not primarily British where appropriate. Portrait of Samuel Richardson by Joseph Highmore.National Portrait Gallery, Westminster, England. Contents [hide] 1 Early novels in English 2 Romantic period 3 Victorian novel 4 20th century 5 Survey 6 Famous novelists (alphabetical order) 7 See also 8 References Early novels in English[edit source | editbeta] See the article First novel in English. The English novel has generally been seen as beginning with Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Moll Flanders (1722),[1] though John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1678) and Aphra Behn's Oroonoko (1688) are also contenders, while earlier works such as Sir Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur, and even the "Prologue" to Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales have been suggested.[2] Another important early novel is Gulliver's Travels (1726, amended 1735), by Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift, which is both a satire of human nature, as well as a parody of travellers' tales like Robinson Crusoe.[3] The rise of the novel as an important...
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...! ! ! Ziyao “Ryan” Li FWIS 194, Final Paper Dr. Ben Wright The End Of The World As I See It When I started to form tiny fractions of memories, China’s booming economy, its open-door policy, and big social reforms began taking places as it leaped into the 2000 millennial. All these changes lead to a more vivid and intermixing culture where novel lifestyle, alternative thoughts, and "non-traditional" religions like Christianity can thrive. I was lucky to be standing at the crossroad where China started to embrace different cultures and various religions. Thanks to the opened-up culture atmosphere, I was exposed to the clash of cultures between western ideology and traditional Confucianism thoughts. The word “apocalypse” was not even in my dictionary previously until Hollywood introduced it to me in the most dramatic ways I could possibly imagine, and ever since my speculation of the Apocalypse never stopped evolving. From more unrealistic predictions involving in zombies, Godzilla, and DNA-modified prehistoric killer dinosaurs, to more practical speculations like nuclear war and ozone depletion, I was constantly updating my Apocalypse view. With my increasing understanding of the mechanism of how the world functions as a whole, I realized that a global hot war is imminently possible since politics can exert a strong influence on the global situation. In a sense, the transformation China experienced was a direct result from the power of politics. In this essay, I will establish...
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