...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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..."If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." This quote from the book 1984, by George Orwell, portrays a theme that is consistent throughout the novel: freedom. Imagine a world where you have no freedoms; you cannot state your opinion and even having your own thoughts could be detrimental. Well, George Orwell decided to take this idea and create a story out of it called 1984. This novel is definitely worth the read and deserves to be discussed. First, I will assess the importance of reading this novel. Then, I will compare Orwell's vision of the future to our reality by looking at the government's power, our civil rights, and how technology advancements have affected our freedoms. Although...
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...The theme of Political Strife in Orwell’s 1984 Student’s name Institution name Abstract Orwell’s 1984 is another masterfully done piece of work that captures the political scenario across the world. Having written it in 1964, the book foretells the political events of the coming 1984 generations. This is a purely prophetic book that is inspired by Orwell’s sharp observation and political analytical skills. In this book, the life of the characters is purely determined by the political happenings of the time. (Bloom, 2007). Many literary and political analysts have found a place to refer to in interpreting political realities of the world in George Orwell’s works. Orwell is remembered for his other book Animal Farm that continues to spark emotional reactions from all over the world every day. A look at how the political theme gets manifested can help one to understand better the happenings in the story and their general applicability to the world we are living in. The Theme of Political Strife There are a number of themes that Orwell (1964) brings out in his book 1984. It is a prediction of the coming political sceneries in future since its publication came earlier before the year 1984. Among the major themes that can be found in the story are betrayal...
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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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...William Lutz’s essay, “No One Died in Tiananmen Square”, relates to George Orwell’s depicted government of Oceania in 1984 in a multitude of ways. Lutz’s writing is similar to those of a person working in the Ministry of Truth as shown through his compliance to the government with his manipulation of the events. The Chinese government manipulation of the mind of the people to believe their truth over reality is shown through Lutz’s essay. General Li Zhiyun uses double-think when he states “There was no such thing as bloodshed on Tiananmen Square…” and later contradicts that with the statement, “If we didn’t use military force we couldn’t have cleared the Square”. William Lutz also writes “the testimony of our own eyes cannot and should not...
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...Two Views of Totalitarianism George Orwell’s 1984 and James McTeigue’s “V for Vendetta” are very similar, but have some distinct differences in the plot. “V for Vendetta”, a futuristic version of a totalitarian government is taken over and destroyed by a masked man named V. Orwell’s 1984 is similar in this respect except that Winston, the protagonist of 1984, doesn’t seem to be as successful as V. Orwell was one to speak of how he sees the battle to be. Orwell has written several novels on the idea of revolutions against a superior government; one example would be 1984. He has inspired others to write there ideas on the thought of the future revolution from a dictatorship of extreme power. The film V for Vendetta is one example of an Orwell inspired story. In both Orwell's novel 1984 and the film V for Vendetta the protagonists Winston Smith and V live in similar difficult lives with extreme and controlling governments where they try to fight against there governments for the greater cause of freedom. There are many similar events and people in these two pieces of literature. In 1984, propaganda is broadcasted via telescreens. Similar to this, false news is broadcasted throughout the city of Oceania in 1984 by way of televisions. Both scenes have posters. 1984 has the posters with the phrase “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” similar to “STRENGTH THROUGH UNITY, UNITY THROUGH FAITH” in “V for Vendetta”.1984’s Winston and “V for Vendetta’s” Evey both experience the loss of their...
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...Winston Smith, Hero in Disguise: In George Orwell's dystopian, modernistic world of 1984, there are no true heroes or villains. There are no white knights and even the book's antagonist, O'Brien, is not clearly the main source of immorality. Yet, through all this the reader is rooting for Winston Smith. We want him to succeed and even when he ultimately fails, we have sympathy for him. In spite of his failing mind and body, we still search for that glimmer of hope in a hopeless world which probably does not exist. Winston Smith is an unconventional hero, and despite his failures he retains this status for defiance against all odds. When Winston Smith is introduced to the reader Orwell makes a conscious effort not to present him as a hero in the usual sense. At the very opening of the book in the second paragraph Orwell points out the "varicose ulcer above his right ankle" (1), setting him apart from being a glamorous protagonist. Despite this, the audience is still drawn to Winston as the book continues along. So what earns Winston his deserved status as an unconventional hero? The answer lies in his ideology. Winston is a philosophically driven person and this allows the reader to see past his flaws. In Orwell's world of 1984 Winston is completely unique in this sense. No other character is driven in the same way as him. Take for example Julia; she is largely motivated by personal gain. Julia participates in public services only to avoid being caught breaking the law. When...
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...Western hero and the Lewis and Clark Expedition written in the early nineteenth century gave readers some of their first visions of the landscape and native peoples of the West. Later explorers added to the colorful picture of the West. However, as the realities of the West changed, so did the focus of writers who used the West as subject and symbol. Land became less available and the uses of land came into question. The environmental movement led to a reevaluation of humanity’s relationship to nature. As the region was settled a mix of cultures came into play. Writers now have come to emphasize the complexity of Western life, rather than its simplicity. Contemporary Westerns sound with more diverse voices than ever before. In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, he writes about his dark vision of the future. It may not just be of the future of the West, but the way of thinking and system portrayed are particularly Western in nature. A lot of terms coined in this novel are also use widely already in the modern day English language. It is a chilling depiction of how the power of the state could come to dominate the lives of individuals through cultural conditioning. Perhaps the most powerful science fiction novel of the twentieth century, this apocalyptic satire shows with grim conviction how Winston Smith's individual personality is wiped out and how he is recreated in the Party's image...
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...Atwood’s and Orwell’s novels share the fundamental idea that control of language and thought are crucial to dystopian novel. George Orwell’s ‘1984’ was written after World War Two building on people’s fear of the political stability of the world. His novel includes the all-powerful Big Brother, which monitors and controls Oceania, where the novel is set. Margaret Atwood’s delve into control of thought and language is through religion. Her novel set in the near future religious state, Gilead, in North America. The inspiration for the two dystopian novels comes from the election of conservative power, Thatcher and Regan, in the western world, and the general fears that civilisation had in the 1980’s about declining birth rates and the dangers...
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...‘Controlling the minds of the people translates to the control of the body’ how far do you agree? Totalitarianism is a common theme ground between ‘The Colour Purple’ and ‘1984’ where both protagonists seem to be ‘suspended’ and ‘were lost in a period that offered no hope of progress’ George Orwell’s ‘1984’ and Alice Walker’s ‘The Color Purple’ have a society where there is complete control and oppression, which eventually translates to the control of the body, we are presented with the party members and the black women protagonists being the proletariat of society, and never truly being free because ‘As long as the mind is enslaved, the body can never be free’ however, we are presented objects and behaviour that can be described as liberating,...
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...In George Orwell’s “1984”, reality is not always what you perceive it to be. Orwell uses a theme that is comprised of the horror of a totalitarian dictatorship, which is demonstrated throughout the novel in the laws, and leaders of “The Party”. There is also a Big Brother character that helps to accentuate the totalitarian theme and brings a reality to the reader that the world is hidden behind this figure. The theme of reality versus appearance is a theme that is displayed throughout the novel in many different ways, such as characters, slogans and war. I will examine a couple of examples of reality versus appearance in George Orwell’s “1984” over the next several paragraphs. We are introduced early in the novel to a character by the name of Julia. Julia’s relationship with Winston mixes love and partnership in the strife against Big Brother. Julia is a survivalist and a rebel, she is a Party supporter, and very sexually promiscuous. Julia says, “Have you done this before? Of course. Hundreds of times – well, score of times, anyway.” (Page 104) In this quote from Julia it is first presenting to be another foolish drone of the party but Julia is uncovered to be an insurgent that uses her sex appeal and anatomy as a way to rebel....
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...Gillian Pietrowski Economic and Distribution of wealth At the end of 1984 by George Orwell, Winston Smith has been beaten down till he as no motivation to revolt and has learned to love Big Brother. Feeling hatred towards the party has caused him a lot but to him it was worth it. Living in a government that controls every aspect of your life can cause some people to become insecure and suspicious with the party. Orwell’s message to his modern day readers is that a totalitarian society is defective. The Economic system is extremely diverse. The upper class has the most valuables and the wealthiest, then the lower class is the working class which is poor and extremely limited freedoms, and last but not least the proles are the bottom of the social pyramid who lives in the poorest neighborhoods and have no intelligence whatsoever. If any one in any class disobeys Big Brother they are taken away and erased from history. Orwell did an excellent job at getting his message across. For example in the quote “For if leisure and security were enjoyed by all alike, the great mass of human beings who are normally stupefied by poverty would become literate and would learn to think for themselves; and when once they had done this, they would sooner or later realize that the privileged minority had no function, and they would sweep it away”(190). This explains how the party keeps the proles uneducated and distracted incase they ever revolt. But the party has thought-police...
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...occasionally abject characters — often afflicted with self-conscious and paralyzing irony, yet at times capable of unexpected resilience and fortitude”(Neimneh 78). The resilience shown by Winston keeps the reader rooting for him even when he is captured for his thought crime. This hope, further developed as Winston defies O’Brien as he is being tortured, is short lived when the reader is awakened to Winston’s failure in the end. According to Tim Adams, educator from TED Ed, “All too often though the anti-hero is killed or brainwashed to return to conformity with the masses”(TED Ed). In accordance with the anti-hero archetype, Winston is brainwashed and later killed. When Winston is caught for his thought crime, he is taken to the Ministry of Love, where he is tortured and brainwashed back into conformity. Orwell writes, “But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother” (Winston 298). The brainwashing of Winston is a powerful statement created by Orwell to warn the reader of how the Party abuses their power to control the minds of the civilians. In an excerpt of an article from Magill’s Survey of World Literature it...
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...that American culture is moving towards the dystopian future described by Huxley in “Brave New World,” and not the world described in Orwell’s “1984.” He does an excellent job proving facts and disturbing anecdotes, but he lacks showing the audience an opposing viewpoint. Despite this he is able to clearly show is agreement, by proving emotion supported by fact. Postman is able to connect with his audience through his credentials. The student feels that Postman shows a dangerous path that American Culture may be on, and is able to provide a warning to those who listen to his speech. Analysis of Neal Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves to Death” “What is dangerous about television is not it’s junk. Every culture can absorb a fair amount of junk, and, in any case, we do not judge a culture by its junk but by how it conducts its serious public business. What is happening in America is that television is transforming all serious public business into junk.” (Postman, 1984, p. 2) In his speech, "Amusing Ourselves to Death," Neil Postman, Columbia University graduate, and one time chair of the Department of Culture and Communication, made the point that American culture is headed for a culture like that described in Adlus Huxley's "Brave New World," and not the culture described in George Orwell's, "1984." He described the world imagined in 1984 as a place where there were no books, and where the people are prisoners to the government that controls them. In contrast, Mr. Postman...
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...constantly being renewed and produced. Our technology grows with every single day becoming newer and better possibilities. Eric Arthur Blair, known more famously by his pen name, George Orwell, wrote 1984 as a statement against totalitarian governments, surveillance techniques employed by them, and as a warning to the future. The novel’s protagonist, Winston Smith, is not allowed to rebel against Big Brother’s tyrannical rule. Rather, he must find ways to escape living a private life in a very public and exposed world. The novel has caused researchers, writers, students, and professionals to question whether our own government could become a modern day Oceania....
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