...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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...Daulerio George Orwell's famous book 1984 was written as a political novel to warn people of the dangers of facing Communism in a totalitarian government. This book not only warned the world of potential dangers of being ruled this type of government, but it also presented some controversial new societal trends and technological advancement ideas for the future. Little did society know that Orwell's technology predictions in this book would actually come true in the near future. Orwell was especially concerned with the technological role in these governments, allowing them to control and keep an eye on their citizens. People in the time period that this book was written had a hard time grasping what Orwell was predicting. Many of his ideas and concepts were said not to happen for thousands of years, some were even claimed impossible to be done. In actuality, as we know today, a good amount of Orwell's predictions in the book 1984 have already became a reality. Orwell presented these ideas to warn people of what might be ahead and to be careful, but it may have created an opposite effect. His ideas may have actually had society work towards making his predictions come true. Orwell's book 1984 revealed how powerful technology could be, as the Party, or "Big Brother", used its complex technology to monitor and implement fear into those it identifies as its enemies. One of the devices the Party used for this purpose was the "telescreen". This is one of Orwell's predictions that...
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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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...Modern Totalitarianism. In the 1940s through the 1960s, the world lived in a time of war. In September 1939 World War II broke out , and was followed by the Cold War of 1947 that lasted up until 1991. The historic wars of these times influenced literature and the writers of the time, as they shaped their novels and books around these events. 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...
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...Shanshan Huang English 103 Professor Joseph 5/7/2013 The Major Themes of Orwellian Imagine living in an environment under the surveillance of a big power, imagine being manipulated and controlled for every thought and action. The act of obeying orders from the big power leads to survival, and the rebellion for freedom leads to the most devastating punishment. Would you give in to the big power or would you fight? The novel Nineteen-Eighty Four written by George Orwell portraying through the view of the protagonist, Winston Smith, describing a nation called Oceania being under the ruling of the antagonist, a totalitarian Party or the Big Brother. In addition, it presented various methods such as constant surveillance, unending propaganda, distortion of language, historical revisionism, fear, torture, perpetual war, and lack of habeas corpus to characterize an oppressive and authoritarian government. The Party utilizes these methods to keep its citizens living in a state of fear, making them developing a feeling of dependency of the party. The novel Nineteen-Eighty Four has its significance today because all of the methods that characterize a totalitarian government are still presence, especially being currently utilized by the government of the United States. Once upon a time, the U.S used to be a land of unparalleled freedom. However, ever since the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, the U.S government, primarily under the management of the bush administration, has...
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...“No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky.” Bob Dylan said this probably not knowing its profound connection with George Orwell’s novel “1984”, but the as well could be in “1984”. Orwell depicts a totalitarian dystopian world where there is no freedom and citizens are being brainwashed constantly. Without any sense of individual fairness, people work for the party just like the gear wheels in a machine. In order to achieve this, the politicians in “1984” suppress people’s thinking and eliminate their freedom by creating fear through propaganda, strict laws and incessant surveillances. In “1984”, lies, myths and false information controls the thinking of the citizens. The Party uses propaganda as the deadliest weapon of control. Propaganda increases the citizens’ morale and makes them think that what the party tells them to do is always right. There are mainly two types of propaganda, one changes truth, so-called doublethink, and another creates fear. “Doublespeak” can be seen frequently in the world of 1984. The party’s big slogan “WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.” (George Orwell, 4) is an good example. The idea of the slogan is to convince the citizens that what they want, is what they already have. Only war can make peace and harmony, so peace is no longer peace, it becomes war; anyone who is slaved and wants freedom, he already has freedom; you can only strengthen yourself by not knowing things and being ignorant. The slogan changes...
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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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...ethics, and provide facilities and institutions to satisfy the basic needs of their people. Most importantly, a justified government will tend to the desires of the majority of a population to the best of their ability, by taking in consideration consequences and feelings. Opposite of a fair society, George Orwell, predicted a future in 1984 where life is a depressing trial for citizens in the dystopian civilization of Oceania. Manipulated by propaganda, irrational enforcements of policies, infinite surveillance, and revision of the past leads civilians feeble to the oppression of their government. They are governed by a potentially fictional dictator, whom they address as “Big Brother.” The citizens fear him and adore him. Although, Orwell’s predictions for modern culture after World War Two may seem drastic and extreme, it has been evident that the inhabitants of our world currently mimic the ignorance of the party members in Orwell’s vision. In the patriotic nation of the United States of America, the rights and freedoms of their citizens are disregarded in ways that are undetected by majority of the population. If we are consistently warned about our future by thinkers such as George Orwell, how do governments remain in power and sustain this cycle? Presently, the American government Asube 2 exploits its citizens for the sake of power; and they do this in much the same way Orwell envisioned, through the invasion of privacy and the perpetuation of war hysteria. Governments...
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...1984 or 2017? Our modern day technology is starting to mirror George Orwell's vision in 1984. Throughout the years, our technology has progressed and has become more efficient than it has been in previous years. Even our smartphones that we sit in our back pocket or the laptops we carry around us are more innovative than all of the technology combined in the 60s and 70s. This may be an advantage to our everyday life, but at what cost? The government can be recognized as “all knowing”. You may think that you are safe within the privacy of your own home or think you’re safe when it comes to your location settings being disabled, but is that always the case? Simply being routed back to a Wi-Fi connection, a hacker or government officials can...
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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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...Andrew Katz 1984 Control: The government wants it; the people fight against it. In the book 1984, by George Orwell, people are losing the fight. Oceania will forever be enslaved by Big Brother, due to the dependence Oceania citizens have for their government, physical and intellectual control the Party has over the people, and the inability to think against Big Brother. Government dependence will forever enslave the people of Oceania. People simply cannot live without Big Brother. Orwell writes, “a member of the Outer Party received only three thousand clothing coupons annually” (Orwell 31). The Party provides clothing for the people, thus ensuring government dependence. In the book, people work at different ministries such as the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Love, and the Ministry of Plenty. Big Brother is the sole employer, and, as a result, the government is the only means of support. Recreational rewards such as smut movies, cigarettes, and gin are all part of the Party’s incentives as well. They capitalize on society’s weakness to addiction. Thus, if the people wish to feed their addictions, they must obey Party rules. If people were to revolt against the Party, they lose these benefits. The Party creates these addictions to ensure the citizens compliance. Above all, the Party provides food. This guarantees dependence on the Party. Without food, there is simply no way to live; in this way, the...
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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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...However, they are on your trail. Once you get caught, there is no hope. This was what life was like for the inhabitants of 1984 and V for Vendetta. It was an existence full of ironic satirical tragedies, fruitless hope and rebellion. The people that are living in George Orwell’s 1984 and Wachowski brothers’ V for Vendetta are both the victims of a dystopian society. The society of 1984 and V for Vendetta heavily influenced by the possible alternate future in which Germany and the Soviet Union wins WWII and the conquered Great Britain is forced to become a fascist or a communist state. The government is shown to be playing a manipulative puppet-master role to the people in both societies. The two governments have gained absolute power over their people due to psychological motivation by the use of propaganda. Humanity is often criticized to be nothing more than evolved Neanderthals, striving for our own survival. These two novels show that human will turn a blind eye to any wrong-doing if there is a benefit for them. It analyzes how extreme human greed can be and how humans have great amounts of weakness. Both the text 1984 and V for Vendetta is a satire that ridicules the enemy leaders of World War II, exaggerates government manipulation, and criticizes humanity. The two satires ridicule the World War II leaders and the tactics involved. The society in 1984 is a ridiculed society that support communism; this is similar to the Stalin Russia in WWII. “… the Russian Communists came...
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...Animal Farm is George Orwell’s allegory in which every character and situation to make a point for real life characters and situations. Orwell being born in the twentieth-century created “some of the sharpest satirical fiction,” said by Biography. Addressing major political movements of his time such as imperialism, communism, and fascism all while including his personal. Opinion about each political movement was not necessarily allowed during the twentieth century. Living life as a son from a British civil servant, Orwell moved from India after birth to England when he went to boarding school. In 1911 Orwell experienced England’s class system while attending St. Cyprian a costal town of Eastbourne. While attending school Orwell noticed the...
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...Human rights are a set of principles used to bring the world to freedom and equality; consequently, if they are not followed, injustice and imparity plagues the world. In Barbara Kingsolvers’ The Poisonwood Bible, there are key moments where an individual’s freedom of religion, opinion, and expression are denied, suppressing people’s ability to join society openly. This can also be recognized in 1984, a dystopian novel by George Orwell, where the citizens living in its world face restrictions to their right to life and liberty, and freedom from inhumane treatment, all taken by their very own government. The fact is that individuals, or a group of individuals, seek authority by taking the human power of rights and freedoms, ultimately taking...
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