A Critical Analysis of George Orwell’s 1984 The loss of freedom and individuality would completely change modern life, and yet, these privileges can not be truly appreciated until long after they’re gone. George Orwell’s 1984 forewarns of the dangers of letting society’s freedoms slip away. In his novel, Orwell tells the story of a world divided into three countries constantly at war with one another. Orwell’s world is a bleak place where all individualism and freedom is stifled. 1984 follows the story of an ordinary man named Winston Smith. In the story, Winston begins to question and doubt the oppressive government he lives under. He finds a girl named Julia, who, like him, questions and rebels against their society. However, before long, …show more content…
The story he tells in 1984 reflects on these ideas and fears. Orwell's novel serves to tell a story, but also as a warning. 1984's world, as Orwell depicts it, does not appear to be far away from society today. The book does not directly tell its theme, but instead depicts a world that functions as a foil to modern day. 1984 portrays a world completely devoid of personal freedoms. By showing the horrible reality that comes with such control, 1984 expresses its theme by making the reader appreciate their own individuality as they read the novel. Orwell does not highlight the advantages of freedom, but instead shows the bleak world of control and oppression. 1984 could have been a book about a utopian futuristic society, but the impact of its theme would have been lost. By threatening the guarantee of freedom, Orwell shows the importance of it. 1984 leaves a lasting impact because it not only shows a world of control and oppression, but it makes this grim future appear inevitable. This uncertainty and doubt is the root of 1984's most important message. The realization that freedom is fragile and that control is secure is the book’s main theme. Seeing Orwell’s world controlling all aspects of citizen’s lives shows the rut humanity could become entrenched in indefinitely. Even through active effort, the control of Big Brother in 1984 cannot be escaped. As the protagonist searches for the truth of the past, he realizes that it has been completely overwritten, and that “He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past” (Orwell 248). Orwell’s warning is clear. Once freedom has been swept aside, it cannot return and uproot control. The novel’s warning stems from the realization that freedom is an unstable lynchpin holding modern society away from a life of control and oppression. To show this dark truth was Orwell’s
1984 George Orwell’s 1984 created a society that created men that work like machines, this allows for anyone to be submitted to do the unthinkable. George Orwell captured this concept by forming unusually long sentences to give the audience a true understanding of how machine like the people of Oceania are by explaining ideas so in depth. Also the use of connotation and specific diction, gives the reader a chance to really see how different the views and responses of the people of Oceania are, compared to the views and responses today. Along with diction, connotation, and unusually long sentences, George Orwell utilized periodic sentences to help the audience understand how a character was feeling or describe a situation in ‘layman's terms’
1984 Essay There’s no point in trying to fight the government; it will always have control over us, no matter how hard we try to fight it. Americans are like the members of Oceania in Orwell’s 1984 today due to the use of photo and media manipulation by the government in order to rewrite the past. Some people may believe that the government does not have complete control because the public voices their anti-government opinions through protesting, but little actually comes out of these protests. Manipulation by the government has been proven time after time in America, and Orwell predicted that.
Many a literary critic claims that the strongest aspect of the book 1984 by George Orwell is its plot. Indeed, there is some merit in this conclusion, as the entire purpose of Orwell’s writing of this book was not to create a literary classic, but to warn the public about the dangers of communism if it got out of hand, and what better way to do this than to write an engaging plot? Others may claim that 1984’s greatest strength is in its character development. This aspect, too, is quite strong in the book, as not only are the minor characters effected in serving the dystopian theme, but the major characters are believable and very human in their failings. Winston’s transformation from an oppressed office worker to revolutionary and finally
1984 controls the characters through the Party’s means of control from the use of limited language to force the people to think the way they do to the constant watch they have over the people, never giving them a moment to think on their own or have any free will to say or think of what they wish. Through these laws and actions, the characters get separated into different groups, those who will respect and obey the Party. These characters follow and worship Big Brother through any means necessary, even when they are wronged in the end due to their loyalty or a slip up, no matter what they had done in the past. The characters can fall into fear and hate as well, the two emotions the Party values. This allows them to live, always following the
George Orwell’s 1984 tells the story of a man named Winston Smith attempting to escape the constant oppression he must face in a post-World War II totalitarian society. Winston struggles to be himself in a place that holds him back. With non-stop monitoring, Winston has to figure out how to rebel against Big Brother without dying. He does so by acquiring a book and a lover. His response to the poor standard enable him to experience happiness and some sort of freedom for a brief amount of time.
In George Orwell’s 1984, the society is negatively impacted by Big Brother and the Party’s totalitarian control, the limitations on individual expressiveness, and what it means to be “human”. Through the customs of one society, Orwell predicts what our future world could look like if we allow our government unregulated control. Issues such as the lack of input from community members and the lack of question towards laws and the customs created solely by Big Brother and the Party pose a largely negative effect on the improvement and survival of our society. Additional issues with a totalitarian government include the issue of persuasion over true belief. The society depicted in “1984” is fully monitored and leaves no room for privacy, this
George Orwell’s 1984 is a precautionary tale of what happens when the government has too much control in our lives. The protagonist, Winston Smith, is at odds in a world in which he is not allowed to counter the government’s surveillance and control. Perhaps more striking is the noticeable relationship between the novel and modern society. In George Orwell’s novel 1984 the book predicts the surveillance of Big Brother in modern day societies.
The novel, 1984, is a dystopian story of corruption and describes the dangers of a totalitarian government. The story highlights Julia and Winston’s journey to bring down the party and Big Brother. It is clear that the novel, published just four years after World War II ended, was designed to inflict fear. Orwell’s vision of the tyrannical style of government demonstrated in 1984, serves to enforce the notion that power and manipulation are treacherous. Throughout the novel, Orwell uses unique diction, and sense of fear in order to appeal to pathos and logos and represent his idea of an authoritarian society.
The novel describes the journey of Winston Smith as he rebels against the Party and tries to maintain his human qualities. By creating a totalitarian government in the novel 1984, George Orwell is able to express how important humanity is to not only Winston but also
Living through the first half of the twentieth century, George Orwell watched the rise of totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Soviet Union. Fighting in Spain, he witnessed the brutalities of the fascists and Stalinists first hand. His experiences awakened him to the evils of a totalitarian government. In his novel 1984, Orwell paints a dark and pessimistic vision of the future where society is completely controlled by a totalitarian government. He uses symbolism and the character’s developments to show the nature of total power in a government and the extremes it will go through to retain that power by repressing individual freedom and the truth.
The society of this novel was a dystopia and it is how George Orwell viewed the world. In the novel 1984, Orwell portrays the acts of betrayal and
Although it is based in 1984, the social commentary it provides is most definitely applicable in this day and age. This novel analysis will touch briefly upon a few different subjects, such as symbolism and style, and the theme of the novel. Orwell has the amazing ability to keep the image of a dull,
One of the themes of 1984 by George Orwell is how it represents living in a dictatorship. There are many troubles that come with living in a dictatorship. In the book, everyone is ruled by a dictator called Big Brother. No one knows if he is real or not, but he makes all of the rules. An example from the book about dictatorship is, “Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters inside your skull.
Firstly, 1984 portrays a society that is run by totalitarian authority. Totalitarianism in a manner permits no individual freedom and seeks to lower all aspects of individual life to authority. One
1984 tells the story of man, Winston Smith, a man living in Oceania, a dystopian society, finding a way to escape the tyranny of Big Brother. John Steinbeck and George Orwell are greatly affected by the state of society in their lifetimes. Both authors use their novels to highlight the themes of control and the affects of change