1984 Theme Essay

606 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: General theme of George Orwell's 1984

In George Orwell’s novel, 1984 the theme is a totalitarian government has the capability to physically and mentally break down individuals and then rebuild them the way they want by using torture and the destruction of emotions and personal thought. The first idea that is consistently shown in this novel that supports theme is torture. In the last part of the book especially torture is used to break Winston down until he is nothing but skin and bone. “They slapped his face, wrung his ears, pulled his hair, made him stand on one leg, refused him leave to urinate, shone glaring lights in his face until his eyes ran with water; but the aim of this was simply to humiliate him and destroy his power of arguing and reasoning.” (Orwell 241) Torture …show more content…

“Today there were fear, hatred, and pain, but no dignity of emotion, or deep or complex sorrows.” (Orwell 30) The Party has stripped the society of almost all emotion that they can’t have deep or complex emotions. Their people are told what to feel and if they think or feel deeper, it is thoughtcrime. Thoughtcrime is a serious offense in this society. “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow down the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it.” (Orwell 52) Even their language is used to destruct thought. Every year it becomes more and more impossible to have deep feelings or thoughts because their language gets smaller and smaller. The whole goal of Newspeak is to narrow down their words to one single word. Doing this will completely diminish thought. They won’t have words to express what they’re thinking or feeling. Eventually the whole society will be paroles, retards. “But you could not have pure love or pure lust nowadays. No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred. Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory. It was a blow struck against the Party. It was a political act.” (Orwell 126) Even when they have personal feelings it is still directed towards the Party. No emotion is fully towards one

Show More
Related

  • 1984 Conflict Essay

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today I am going to be writing an essay on the book, 1984 by George Orwell. This book is about Winston Smith and Big Brother where an external conflict arises between the two. The internal conflict that also takes place in this book was between the two ideas, democracy and totalitarianism. The reason this novel was written was to show society what it could and or would become if things continued to go down the worse of the paths: Orwell sensed of the expansion of the great communism when he was thinking of this novel. The conflict that took place between these two ideas in the year 1945 created the two characters, which were the two characters above Winston Smith and the Big Brother, in his mind. The Big Brother is head of the totalitarian

    Read More

  • 1984 Government And Totalitarianism

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    While government as an institution can be used for benevolent purposes, George Orwell’s novel 1984 contends that when taken to an excess in the form of totalitarianism, government becomes dangerously self-serving.

    Read More

  • 1984

    752 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1984 many government issues take place, for instance propaganda, secret police, brainwashing, and a wide manner of other devices to oppress their populations. The idea is to illustrate the dangers of totalitarian government whether it be Communist, Fascist, or otherwise. Totalitarianism is an imposing form of government which the political authority exercises control over all aspects of life such as their sex life, and health in general. “If you can feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can't have any result whatever, you've beaten them” (George Orwell, 1984). Also psychological manipulation and mind control are a big controversy in 1984. Psychological manipulation is a social influence that moves towards the behavior of others through deceptive, or even abusive tactics. “And so it was with every class of recorded fact, great or small. Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which, finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain” (book 1, chapter 4). The author, Orwell wants the readers to think that the government monitors and controls everything that the humans do, and that basically everything that people do are against the law.

    Read More

  • Self Control In 1984

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    In George Orwell’s dystopian novel, the government blocks almost all forms of self-expression in order to assert its authority over the people. Those within the society who show signs of defiance against the set rules, even those who act unwillingly, are seen as a threat to the success of the regime are wiped from existence. In Orwell’s 1984, the government uses different forms of propaganda and brainwashing to achieve complete control of society for their own personal benefit.

    Read More

  • The Dystopian Society in George Orwell's Novel 1984

    476 Words  | 1 Pages

    “WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.” Part 1,Chapter 1,pg. 6. These three principles were repeatedly emphasized throughout the book and helped lay the foundation of the dystopian society George Orwell imagined in his novel 1984. Fear, manipulation, and control were all encompassed throughout this dystopian society set in the distant future. The freedom to express ones thoughts was no longer acceptable and would not be tolerated under any circumstances. Humankind was rapidly transforming into a corrupt and evil state of mind.

    Read More

  • 1984 and Brave New World

    1312 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1984, George Orwell explores the many facets of a negative utopia. Orwell seems to focus on the measures that the government takes to maintain a public of plebeians who have no personality or identity and believe that they are not unique individuals, but instead are part of a greater senseless mob of people who constantly work for a hostile and oppressive government which is involved in incessant wars. These people are taught to love. They then learn to fear their government because they believe all of the propaganda that is constantly instilled into their minds. They willing follow their government without contest for the duration of their meaningless lives. The government controls all forms of the media (thus denying the people the basic right of free speech) and use it to personify the government (known as “big brother”) .The government therefore seems omnipotent, or all knowing and always correct. Forecasts are changed from one week to the next always proving the government was correct. As was mentioned before, many of the rights that present day Westerners take for gran...

    Read More

  • 1984 Body Paragraph Essay

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the most essential ways in which feelings are expressed by humans is through language. Without language people are merely robotic figures that can not express their thoughts because language is in fact thought. When this speech is taken away through complete governmental power, a portion of human nature is also taken away. In 1984, due to totalitarianism, language has begun to transform into a poor representation of humanity and natural human expression. Orwell states, “But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” In the novel, a new language, Newspeak, has emerged. Newspeak has drastically limited the vocabulary of the English language

    Read More

  • Examples Of Repression In 1984

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    In ”1984” George Orwell depicts a totelitarian dystopian world where there is no freedom and citizens are being brainwashed constantly. Without any sense of induvidial fairness, people work hard for the party, much like the gear wheels in a machine. In order to achieve this, the politicians in ”1984” supress peoples thinking and eliminate their freedom by creating fear through propagande, strict laws and incessant surveillance. The totalitarian regime force repression of natural impuses, which leads to a constant struggle in the form of a inner conflict.

    Read More

  • Definition Of Being Human

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    What does it mean to be human? Is it the millions of cells that you’re composed of? Or is it something more? In George Orwell’s book 1984, through the use of his protagonist, Orwell looks at what it really means to be human. In a world that is built on destruction and manipulation, Orwell takes a look at how a totalitarian government affects humankind and a person’s ability to stay “human”.

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    George Orwell’s haunting dystopian novel 1984 delves into the closely monitored lives of the citizens of Oceania as the Party tries to take control of society. In totalitarianism, propaganda and terrorism are ways of subjugation with a main goal: total obedience. He aimed to create a “what if” novel, what would happen if totalitarian regimes, such as the Nazis and Soviets, were to take over the world. If totalitarianism were to happen, the leader would be the brain of the whole system. Orwell emphasizes the theme of individualism versus collective identity through Winston, the protagonist, and his defiance to the Party and Big Brother, with a frightening tone, surreal imagery and a third person limited point of view.

    Read More

  • Violence In Nineteen Eighty-Four And Fahrenheit 451

    751 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Nineteen Eighty-Four, readers are presented with a cruel, most dehumanizing form of violence: psychological torture. By eliminating human emotions (like love and pleasure) and rights (like the freedom of speech and thought), Big Brother—Orwell’s omnipresent mustachioed symbol of totalitarianism—strips man of his very essence in order to convert him into a puppet of the

    Read More

  • 1984 By George Orwell Essay

    435 Words  | 1 Pages

    Yet the government controls what we place in our body, what we watch on TV, what we hear on the radio, and how much we get paid. But while our government can violate our rights, it also functions as the protest of our rights and freedoms as well. In 1984 the Party destroys all sense of independence and identity. Everyone puts on the same clothes, eats the same food, and lives in the same grungy apartments. Life is uniform and neat. No one can stand out, and no one can be unparalleled. Precisely like in the book there are times when the government enables us to effectively protect our rights and freedoms. We blindly follow the government and what it instructs us to serve. The entire government exists solely for the purpose of protecting the

    Read More

  • 1984 By George Orwell Essay

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the dystopian novel, 1984, written by George Orwell explained that government is taking over people’s thoughts and believes. The book also says that technologies are used to track people and their daily activities. In today’s world, many people are not realizing that the technologies especially mobile devices that they are using are used to watch over their actions and their privacy is also being harmed by the government. Technologies have taken society closer to the world of Big Brother which could lead to government having too much power over society and its freedom.

    Read More

  • The Themes Of Individualism In George Orwell's 1984

    1560 Words  | 4 Pages

    Keeping the public uneducated essential to their credulousness. Orwell explains, “The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of Ingsoc, but to make all other modes of thought impossible . . . literally unthinkable,” (246). If the public is unable to think of rebellion, then rebellion is unfeasible. The Party has invaded every citizen 's right to choose, including their right to think. As the ability to think decreases, so does the ability to create. Without the invention of new ideas, society will never be able to advance; they will forever be stuck in the oppression

    Read More

  • 1984 George Orwell Essay

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    George Orwell’s intent in the novel 1984 is to warn society about the results of a controlling and manipulative government by employing mood, conflict, and imagery.

    Read More

More about 1984 Theme Essay

Open Document