...“If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.” -George Orwell. The renouncement of personal privacy displayed in George Orwell’s 1984 is exponentially exploited. No one is ever granted the simple right we ought to have, which is privacy. Telescreens and police patrol see all while going unnoticed. George Orwell’s assumption of the future was not far from expected or at least has yet to come. The similarities between 1984 and present day is a lack of privacy, abuse of technology and Newspeak. In George Orwell’s 1984, he talks a lot about privacy and how it is valued and perceived. Privacy is essentially a figment of one’s imagination or simply a reminisce of a memory from long ago when the world was right. “In the far...
Words: 635 - Pages: 3
...George Orwell's novel from 1949 is a dark prediction on how the future might look like, with a totalitarian system with virtually no individual human rights. The book was written in the shadow of World War II, with inspiration from Germany under the National Socialist Party and Soviet Union at that time. The book revolves around Winston Smith, a low-ranking member of the ruling Party in London, in the nation of Oceania. The story takes place in a dark and gloomy society, where the ruling Party watches every move of the people through «telescreens», even in their own home. Everywhere Winston turns he sees the face of the ruling Party's leader, only known as Big Brother. The Party has full control in Oceania. They control people's language, history, and they even have a «Thought Police» that watches over the citizens to make sure no one thinks rebellious thoughts, which is illegal. Thoughtcrimes is seen as the worst of all crimes in Oceania. For us in 2016, I would say that the most outstanding parallel from the book is «Big Brother is watching you». In the book the ruling Party watches the people through «telescreens», sort of a two-way TV. Today websites like Facebook and Google can save our every move online. They automatically track our likes and dislikes, all of our searches online and every website we enter. On our smartphones most of us carry with us every day and uses frequently, it is possible for hackers to get in a get access to private messages, phone numbers and...
Words: 609 - Pages: 3
...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...
Words: 2560 - Pages: 11
...procreation, women are distant from the household and the familial world. Overall, the article discusses the unfair treatment of women, despite the seemingly equal genders in the Fordian society. Gavin Miller’s “Political Repression and Sexual Freedom in Brave New World and 1984” provides an unique perspective by drawing parallels about the political repression and sexual affairs in 1984 by George Orwell with Huxley’s Brave New World. In Brave New World, sexual gratification is said to result in minimal social turmoil, which is quite the opposite of the case in 1984. Maintaining a stable relationship is looked down upon and the quality of promiscuity is valued. Miller states that increased sexual activity diverts individuals from being involved in political and economic issues allowing the government to thrive. Huxley’s novel greatly differs from 1984 since in Orwell’s novel, sex is described to the society as despicable. Despite the differences, Miller discovers the striking similarities between Winston Smith (in 1984), and John the Savage (in Brave New World), as he suffers from Lenina’s sexual sadism. Both characters experience sexual repression with brutal consequences. By comparing Brave New World to 1984, the readers are illuminated to the root cause for turmoil: women....
Words: 531 - Pages: 3
...For my Independent Literary Response Project I have chosen to compare the following two texts; George Orwell’s, “1984” and” Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road”. These texts were chosen because upon researching them I developed a great deal of interest in the plots, and upon starting to read them I was immediately submerged in the capturing storyline. I very much like science fiction novel and ideals involving the topics of seemingly impossible or unimaginable scenarios, and both of the works that I chose have a certain aspect of science fiction to them. “The Road” is book solely about a young boy and his father living in an apocalyptic word that is run by gangs, rapists, cannibals and families clinging on the edge of life. Almost no life exists anymore, the conditions people face each day are unforgiving: abandoned houses, rotting corpses, raging fires and near to nothing as food goes....
Words: 578 - Pages: 3
...The book 1984 opened my eyes to the harsh reality of the world we currently live in. It made me well aware of government control and the control within other groups of people. This control can affect not only me, but other people around the world as well. My purpose for writing this paper is to explain the things I have learned after reading 1984 by George Orwell. It was Orwell’s goal to write this book and state his ideas and theories about a strong totalitarian government. He provided clear examples in which we can recognize in our own modern day society. Before reading all of 1984, I only knew of a few situations in which the government or group can control its people. I am now familiar with multiple situations that affect people worldwide...
Words: 978 - Pages: 4
...“The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself,” (Albert Camus). As this quote clearly says, authors not only use their books as a way to entertain the reader but also as a way to prevent society from 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...
Words: 1238 - Pages: 5
...Throughout the novels of 1984 and Frankenstein, the protagonist from each work shares similarities with one another. Within George Orwell’s novel, 1984, the protagonist is Winston Smith. Within Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, the protagonist is Victor Frankenstein. Winston Smith and Victor Frankenstein each experience similar life lessons as well as similar feelings; however, differences can be uncovered as well. The act of rebellion is an act that both Victor and Winston encounter. Victor was a man of rebellion, beginning to end. Victor Frankenstein would turn his back on society and the rules in which they abide. He had created a creature. He had created a creature far from the ordinary human. Creating a human, even attempting to create...
Words: 933 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 3137 - Pages: 13
...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...
Words: 4296 - Pages: 18
...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...
Words: 3330 - Pages: 14
...SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF GEORGE ORWELL’S ANIMAL FARM By HAZEL K. DAVIS, Federal Hocking High School, Stewart, OH S E R I E S W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., E D I T O R S : UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of George Orwell’s Animal Farm 2 INTRODUCTION Animal Farm is an excellent selection for junior and senior high students to study. Although on one level the novel is an allegory of the 1917 Russian Revolution, the story is just as applicable to the latest rebellion against dictators around the world. Young people should be able to recognize similarities between the animal leaders and politicians today. The novel also demonstrates how language can be used to control minds. Since teenagers are the target not only of the educational system itself but also of advertising, the music industry, etc., they should be interested in exploring how language can control thought and behavior. Animal Farm is short and contains few words that will hamper the reader’s understanding. The incidents in the novel allow for much interactive learning, providing opportunities for students to dramatize certain portions, to expand on speeches, and to work out alternative endings. The novel can be taught collaboratively with the history department as an allegory of the Russian Revolution, allowing students to draw parallels between actual events and people...
Words: 9582 - Pages: 39
...“We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print…We lived in the gaps between the stories.” Discuss the writers’ exploration of female passivity. William Shakespeare, Margaret Atwood and Alfred Tennyson all present female passivity as a deep-rooted, normalised concept that is engrained into the framework of relationships, society and government. Whilst this is seen to remain from the 1600s all the way to the 1980s, there are subtle differences in the portrayal of, attempted reasoning behind and methods used to enforce this passivity, highlighted through analysis of language, structure and context. The writers symbolically use setting to explore links between different aspects of female passivity. Tennyson links public and private spaces and their promotion of female passivity to illustrate societal as well as psychological and domestic examples of passivity. In Mariana, the “rusted” and “crusted” atmosphere of decay is representative of Mariana’s psychological deterioration and the stagnant “blacken’d waters” and “moated grange” act as an obstruction to her integration with the outside patriarchal world. This reflects the wider Victorian attitude regarding the home as “the centre of virtue and the proper life for women” and brings to light the impact that passivity in the greater context of society has on the role she plays in her private relationship. This idea of external influences is echoed much less figuratively...
Words: 3969 - Pages: 16
...Hegemony, Cultural Hegemony, and The Americanization of Imported Media Kerry Manderbach University of Missouri @ St. Louis COMM 6700 Dr. Alice Hall April 10th, 2012 Abstract Media product from the United States has found its way across the four corners of the Earth beginning early in the last century. Films, television programs, music, and printed materials depicting and reinforcing the American way of life have been the predominant form of mass communication and have in turn influenced people from around the world in political, religious and cultural matters. When this effect becomes pronounced due to American media product dominating the local mass communications industry of another nation, it is called cultural hegemony. However, the same effect is not felt in the importation of international media into the U.S. market. Here, most foreign cultural and political meanings are replaced with “Americanized” thought through audio soundtrack dubbing and other methods. This is most often done for commercial purposes rather than any nefarious plot to keep Americans from learning about other cultures. But the effect ends up the same. Here I present some examples from the past and present… Hegemony is defined in our classroom handouts as, “…a means of convincing the audience to accept the existing power structure” (Hall 2012). Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Marxist, developed the modern concepts of hegemony and its variant, cultural hegemony. Jim Glassman (2012) said, “Gramsci’s...
Words: 4233 - Pages: 17
...of the Middle East Part 2. Middle East Terrorism and the American Ideological System Part 3. Libya in U.S. Demonology Part 4. The U.S. Role in the Middle East Part 5. International Terrorism: Image and Reality Part 6. The World after September 11 Part 7. U.S./Israel-Palestine Notes Preface to the First Edition (1986) St. Augustine tells the story of a pirate captured by Alexander the Great, who asked him "how he dares molest the sea." "How dare you molest the whole world?" the pirate replied: "Because I do it with a little ship only, I am called a thief; you, doing it with a great navy, are called an Emperor." The pirate's answer was "elegant and excellent," St. Augustine relates. It captures with some accuracy the current relations between the United States and various minor actors on the stage of international terrorism: Libya, factions of the PLO, and others. More generally, St. Augustine's tale illuminates the meaning of the concept of international terrorism in contemporary Western usage, and reaches to the heart of the frenzy over selected incidents of terrorism currently being orchestrated, with supreme cynicism, as a cover for Western violence. The term "terrorism" came into use at the end of the eighteenth century, primarily to refer to violent acts of governments designed to ensure popular submission. That concept plainly is of little benefit to the practitioners of state terrorism, who, holding power, are in a position to control the system of thought and expression...
Words: 93777 - Pages: 376
