Characters, Themes And Symbolism In George Orwell's 1984

eorge Orwell’s 1949 classic 1984 is a hauntingly original entry into the dystopian science fiction genre. The main elements that elevate Orwell’s novel into a masterpiece are its setting, characterizations, theme, and symbolism, which will be discussed in this paper. The theme and main idea of 1984 is rebellion from a totalitarian regime. 1984 is set in a dystopian future named Oceania with an overarching government that has control of what everybody sees, hears, and even thinks. They can even change the past by modifying records and destroying original records. Oceania also has flat screen TV’s with cameras and microphones in them so they can monitor people at all times everywhere called telescreens. The oppressive dictatorship, headed by

The setting influences the story’s plot immensely. The main conflict of the the story is the main protagonist trying to rebel against the authoritarian government the book is set inside. The backdrop of 1984 does not move out of the dictatorship, but it does move into the society’s ironically named Ministry of Love, which is concerned with torture and transformation. This change of location creates the climax of the book. The framework of Orwell’s masterpiece is significant to us because of modern day

To Winston, and his girlfriend Julia, they would look into the glass paperweight and they would see things and get ideas. For example, Winston rents a room for him and Julia to reside in, which he thinks has no telescreens. This symbol represents peace and the harmony of heaven to them. Since religion is outlawed in the world of 1984, the glass paperweight becomes a sort of religion and adds depth to the story. Death means freedom to the main characters in Orwell’s novel. Another symbol is the memory hole. The memory hole is a wastepaper tube that sends documents to a enormous furnace where they can be burned and erased from memory. This enhances the idea in 1984’s universe that the past can be changed and erased. In fact, the Party frequently did this to people called vaporization, where all records of condemned people were removed and they were killed. The memory hole represents the mutability of the past and that in Orwell’s novel, history is unreliable.  Orwell’s classic, 1984, is a haunting, disturbing novel. Everything from constant surveillance to the mutability of the past adds to the creepy world Orwell created in his classic. Orwell’s writing style is incredibly descriptive, and paints a completely convincing picture of his dystopian setting. He does not use much figurative language, but he does rely on logical fallacies accepted as fact to shock and intrigue the reader. One