Living through both World Wars I and II and its enormous political shifts, Eric Blair was a figure whose pessimism was significantly impacted by the postwar period. But what was born of Blair was a more significant person known as George Orwell, who challenged the political views of his time by writing 1984, one of the most powerful political novels of the Postmodern era written to expose the horrors of totalitarianism and impact the political thinking of the 20th Century. Born as Eric Blair in Bengal, India on June 25, 1903 (Flynn 8), Orwell was already building up his character to be a different person in the future. One of his most important influences in writing was his childhood which he later describes as a lost paradise. He spent most of his childhood in England where he appreciated nature. He would later look back at precious England before the war destroyed it in Coming Up for Air. Unsurprisingly, he wrote his first poem at the age of four. In Why I Write, Orwell said, “I knew that when I grew up I should be a writer” (Flynn 12). But his childhood was not perfect, and one of the starting points of his pessimism was his life in school. At St. Cyprian’s school he experienced what he describes as terror. Unfortunately the young Blair kept wetting his bed, and eventually the headmaster beat him for it. It was a starting point of his pessimism, and he left St. Cyprian’s with “failure, failure, failure – failure behind me, failure ahead of me” (Flynn 24). In Eton it was not easygoing either, because he slacked off and did no work. In the end he finished second to last in his class, forcing him to take on service in Burma. Blair’s experiences in wars and their political strife was the climax to his character being Orwell’s. He... ... middle of paper ... ...evil society. Even though the novel as a whole is a tragedy, Winston Smith still continues to inspire us all for firmly believing in his views right until the near end. He was tortured, interrogated and abused mentally, but he held to his beliefs before facing his fears at Room 101. The novel ends with sorrow, for Winston Smith finally succumbed to Big Brother. Alas, the circumstances are too dire, yet Winston is still an influencing character who may be the last person in Oceania to have true human reason. Among all of Orwell’s political works, 1984 is a masterpiece not only for vividly depicting the horrors of totalitarianism, but by also creating a resemblance with this world and that of 1984. Indeed, Winston Smith is Orwell himself: fearless, rebellious, a risk-taker, and a firm believer to his own views, hardly stirred by other influences other than his own.
In “1984,” Orwell uses Winston to portray a single individual’s attempt to take action against a powerful government, culminating in his failure and subjugation. His individual efforts failed tremendously due to the overarching power of the Party to control every aspect of social life in Oceania. Orwell uses Winston’s deeply seated hatred of the Party to portray his views on power and social change. Winston’s actions show that even in the direst of situations ...
It is said that 1984 is one of the greatest books ever written, a literary work that remains as transcendent as ever since its publishing date sixty-four years ago. It is a grimly realistic story crafted together by George Orwell, who takes upon particularly effective literary elements, such as the limited third-person point of view, to follow the life of Winston Smith, the average everyday, resentful civilian who attempts to fight against the seemingly omnipotent and ubiquitous powers of the Ingsoc Party. The Ingsoc Party, a totalitarian government that governs the fictional country of Oceania, holds a casket of brilliantly intelligent individuals, some of who are members of the terrifying Thought Police and the notorious Inner Party, who employ informal language against the uneducated masses of Oceania civilians. Symbolism is also a key literary element in the novel, for anything ranging from ubiquitous telescreens to the infamous Big Brother ultimately contribute to Winston’s realization of how unbreakable the power of the Ingsoc Party truly is. All throughout 1984, George Orwell exercises the elements of diction, point of view, and symbolism to bring out the novel’s theme of how futile resistance is against established totalitarian governments.
Living through the war and its enormous political shifts, Eric Blair was a figure whose pessimism was significantly impacted by the postwar period. But what was born of Blair was a more significant person known as George Orwell, who challenged the political views of his time by writing 1984, which stands as one of the most powerful political novels of the Modernist era written to expose the horrors of totalitarianism and impact the political thinking of the 20th Century.
“One of the things Orwell bequeathed us was the adjective ‘Orwellian’…. It is a frightening word, generally applied to a society organized to crush and dehumanize the individual, sometimes signifying the alienation of that individual if he dares to rebel” (Lewis 13). George Orwell, the pseudonym for Eric Arthur Blair, depicted the importance of the individual in society and the danger of too much community in his literature. Through his personal experiences, however, he explored the ideas of socialism and was torn between the individual and community ideals. In his literature and his past, Orwell spoke against movements that remove the individual, but still emphasized the importance of community. Thus, he advocated a need for balance between the two concepts.
The book, 1984 by George Orwell, is about the external conflict between Winston Smith and Big Brother; and the internal conflict between the two ideas, democracy and totalitarianism. Orwell wrote the novel to show society what it could become if things kept getting worse: he sensed of the expansion of communism when he wrote the novel. The conflict between democracy and totalitarianism at the year of 1945 created two characters, Winston Smith and Big Brother, in orwell's mind. Big Brother is the embodiment of all the ideals of the totalitarian party. In contrast to Big Brother, Winston Smith keeps the idea of democracy emphasizes freedom, he has to hide his own thought because the Big Brother's party will punish him by death if the party finds it out. George orwell criticizes of Big Brother's society by describing it as a dark and a gloomy place. It warns that people might believe that everyone must become slaves to the government in order to have an orderly society, but at the expense of the freedom of the people.
The Life and Works of George Orwell Eric Authur Blair, better known by his pen name, George Orwell, was born on January 23, 1903 at Motihari in Bengal. Orwell was brought up in what he considered a less fortunate family when it came to money. Only a few days after his only son's birth, Orwell's father, Richard Blair, retired from his position as a minor official in the Indian Customs with a small pension. The lack of wealth in his family growing up caused Orwell to see the world in different class distinctions. Everyone and everything Orwell faced in the earlier stages of his life, he immediately judged based on its place in the different financial levels of society.
George Orwell creates a dark, depressing and pessimistic world where the government has full control over the masses in the novel 1984. The protagonist, Winston, is low-level Party member who has grown to resent the society that he lives in. Orwell portrays him as a individual that begins to lose his sanity due to the constrictions of society. There are only two possible outcomes, either he becomes more effectively assimilated or he brings about the change he desires. Winston starts a journey towards his own self-destruction. His first defiant act is the diary where he writes “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER.” But he goes further by having an affair with Julia, another party member, renting a room over Mr. Carrington’s antique shop where Winston conducts this affair with Julia, and by following O’Brien who claims to have connections with the Brotherhood, the anti-Party movement led my Emmanuel Goldstein. Winston and Julia are both eventually arrested by the Thought Police when Mr. Carrington turns out to be a undercover officer. They both eventually betray each other when O’Brien conducts torture upon them at the Ministry of Love. Orwell conveys the limitations of the individual when it comes to doing something monumental like overthrowing the established hierarchy which is seen through the futility of Winston Smith’s actions that end with his failure instead of the end of Big Brother. Winston’s goal of liberating himself turns out to be hopeless when the people he trusted end up betraying him and how he was arbitrarily manipulated. It can be perceived that Winston was in fact concerned more about his own sanity and physical well-being because he gives into Big Brother after he is tortured and becomes content to live in the society he hated so much. Winston witnesses the weakness within the prole community because of their inability to understand the Party’s workings but he himself embodies weakness by sabotaging himself by associating with all the wrong people and by simply falling into the arms of Big Brother. Orwell created a world where there is no use but to assimilate from Winston’s perspective making his struggle utterly hopeless.
Eric Arthur Blair, commonly known under the pseudonym George Orwell, led a fascinating life, from working as a member of the Indian Imperial Police Force, to experiencing poverty firsthand in both London and Paris, to fighting in the Spanish Civil War. Orwell’s diverse life experiences gave him very strong political opinions that carried through to his writing career, during which he addressed issues such as education, poverty, and communism. George Orwell was a master of the modern political satire, through which he powerfully illustrates the political and social issues of the twentieth century.
Howe, Tom. "George Orwell." British Writers Volume VII. Ed. Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Scribner, 1984. 273-287.
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.
In the novel 1984, Orwell produced a social critique on totalitarianism and a future dystopia that made the world pause and think about our past, present and future. When reading this novel we all must take the time to think of the possibility that Orwell's world could come to pass. Orwell presents the concepts of power, marginalization, and resistance through physical, psychological, sexual and political control of the people of Oceania. The reader experiences the emotional ride through the eyes of Winston Smith, who was born into the oppressive life under the rule of Ingsoc. Readers are encouraged through Winston to adopt a negative opinion on the idea of communist rule and the inherent dangers of totalitarianism. The psychological manipulation and physical control are explored through Winston's journey, and with Winston's resistance and ultimate downfall, the reader is able to fully appreciate O'Briens reasoning, "Power is not a means, it is an end."
The novel 1984, written by George Orwell in 1949, details the life of a one Winston Smith and his constant, life long battle to defeat Big Brother. This dystopian vision of the future serves as a reminder to the reader that anything can happen, but it is up to humanity to shape what kind of future is wanted in the end. Although Orwell’s novel is rather convincing to the people of this time, it serves only as a warning to one of many outcomes that the world could face. This book was Orwell’s idea of how life could have ended up; had people not realized that there is always a way to change what we do not like in life. Through the author’s many literary techniques, he was able to weave in meaning and importance to simple everyday objects
Authors often use their works as a way to express their own opinions and ideologies. However, it is the skill of the author that determines whether these ideas are combined with the plot seamlessly, making a creative transition of ideas from the author’s mind, to the reader’s. There is no doubt that George Orwell is a masterful writer, and one of his most popular works, 1984, clearly expresses his negative views of the Totalitarian government. A common theme in the dystopian society in 1984 is betrayal: The Party is very intolerant towards any form of disloyalty, and anyone who plots against them or Big Brother will eventually either betray their own mind and accept Big Brother as their leader, or be betrayed and revealed to The Party by one of their so-called comrades. Overall, Orwell is using this constant theme of betrayal to show how alone and alienated the protagonist (Winston Smith) is in his quest against Totalitarianism, thus showing how flawed and hopeless the political system is.
Based on the two essays, George Orwell is a vivid writer who uses a unique point of view and strong themes of pride and role playing to convey his messages. His writings are easy to pick out because of the strengths of these messages. Just like politicians in government, people with power turn corrupt to stay in power and keep their reputations. Anyone who takes on power must be prepared to live with the consequences of his actions. Orwell knows this challenge well and conveys this principle in his writing. After all, his narration is based on real life experiences and not fictional fantasies.
In the words of Bob Dylan, “No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky.” It is ironic how this saying profoundly explains the political satire of the novel, 1984. Living under a tyrannical system, no one is safe in the novel, including 39-year-old, Winston Smith who lives in a society where he is taken away of all his rights and freedoms, in which even a tiny facial gesture can be deemed a detriment to society. 1984, written by George Orwell, depicts a dystopian future, where freedom and individuality are lost to totalitarian government systems like “Big Brother” and “The Party” who brainwash society through inhuman tactics of psychological and physical control forcing its citizens into submission. Therefore, in a society where a totalitarian government exists, freedom is restricted through technology, psychology and history, and resistance is futile.