In 1984, Orwell makes excellent use of symbolism to further enhance the novel's theme and to reveal character. He wrote 1984 as a political message to warn future generations about the dangers of totalitarian societies. He relays this message through various themes and characters, in turn utilizes powerful symbols to give them further significance. His symbolism is very vast but it can be classified into three categories: characters, places and objects. Orwell uses different historic figures to reveal characters in 1984. First, Orwell's character Winston Smith a hero, symbolizing the British statesman, Winston Churchill. Smith was name of common man in England. Presenting him as a commoner portrays this character both as common soul, and yet uncommon in many ways. Through Winston, Orwell highlights the controls imposed on individual freedom in totalitarian society. Second, Emmanuel Goldstein, the main enemy of Oceania, is a portrayed as a Jew: "It was a lean Jewish face..."(p. 14) Using Goldstein - a Jew - Orwell connects to other totalitarians, like Hitler, who had anti-Semitic ideas. They used Jews as scapegoat, i.e. according to them Jews were responsible for all evil. Similarly, in the novel, Goldstein is made a scapegoat, when a bomb goes off; the blame was on Goldstein's party. Third, Orwell's Big Brother symbolizes Joseph Stalin: ."..with heavy black moustache..."(p. 3). Big Brother's party is symbolized as communist. The author warns about the dangers of totalitarian havocs and reminds the reader of the dark side of history. Interestingly, Orwell's character not only develops the theme, but also symbolizes places. First, Orwell divides the imaginary superpowers that existed during the cold war, i.e.... ... middle of paper ... ... Winston and Julia were searching for this freedom. Orwell wants the reader to see the disadvantages and the lack of liberty given to the people in the totalitarian society. He wants the reader to see what's going to happen to the freedom of a common man. In conclusion, these symbols intensify deep insight into the theme and the characters of the novel. Orwell uses Winston to create a hatred for the society. In fact he has so well used the symbolism that the reader is compelled to empathize with all of his thoughts and feelings about the party. Orwell warns about the dangers of totalitarianism through objects, places and characters to prove his point. He through Winston's eyes and thoughts gives the reader an idea of the new society, which has no place for freedom, truth or human emotions. Bibliography: George Orwell: 1984. New York, Penguin Books, 1949.
The novel 1984 by George Orwell is a fictional future where The Party controls everything. The Party is lead by a larger than life figurehead named Big Brother. The main character is Winston Smith. The story is divided into 3 parts and chronicles Winston’s rebellion against and then re-entering of The Party.
George Orwell is thought to be one of this time 's greatest political authors that ever has become very well known.While growing up, Orwell’s family was lower-upper class, using this terminology to make a comparison of his family’s working class income and social aspirations. He lived his later years in Jura, a small and isolated island off the coast of Scotland and started working on his book (Johnson 1545-46). His novel, 1984, is used to impact the governmental judgement with enhancing it from the inside out. This literary work is fierce, yet at the same time fear to the control of one’s mind. Some critics have thought of this work as a political horror comic (Deutscher 120). 1984 is based in a society where
In conclusion, Orwell used many elements in 1984 in order to show the social status of the outer party and how they were marginalized. By showing the sheer power the totalitarian government of the Party obtained, the ways in which they monitored the outer party, and how they use Big Brother as a symbol that they are always being watched; Orwell painted the outer party to be an underprivileged and fearful group of people.
Orwell explores the social impact of government through the means of Big Brother and how it affects social conformity. Big Brother is a character presented in the novel which exercises restriction and
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.
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."
Symbols that Orwell uses pose as natural occurrences, but these symbols are those that would be considered aspects of a “normal world.” They are normal but in 1984 the symbols serve as symbolism that serves a justly purpose. These symbols are important to the theme of a dystopian society. The language is a symbol of the manipulation of the lower parties in 1984. The development of Newspeak completely rule...
In conclusion, both symbols and the three major themes played a major role on George Orwell’s novel 1984. It was through the use of the above mentioned symbols, as well as others, that Orwell managed to make his message clear to all his readers, and to create such a intense and haunting novel.
The beginning of the closing chapter (Chapter 6; part 3), starts off with imagery “A ray of sunlight slanting through a window” “A tinny music trickled from the telescreens” these terms of imagery make the reader imagine as if they were at the moment, which has a big effect on the reader. The term “a ray of sunlight” starts to confuse the readers because usually sunlight is associated with happiness, but throughout the description the readers notice that the environment is not happy. The events of the final chapter has great effect on the readers, the events that take place at the Chestnut tree café are very normal and calm, no one has reacted to Winston’s appearance after being tortured, this shows how the act of being tortured and beaten is normal, but having the waiter fill Winston’s glass unbidden shows the waiters sympathy to Winston. Winston not being able to think is a sign that points to the ending. Orwell’s uses symbolism, where he symbolizes Big Brother as the white chess peace, white symbolizes good, and this contradicts to the beginning of the book, where he shows Big Brother as a cruel, unjust person. There is a use of memory, where Orwell reminds the readers of what has happened before and how it is going to affect the ending, “They cant get inside she said” ...
George Orwell’s 1984 tells a story of a totalitarian government through the protagonist Winston Smith. Among the symbols in 1984, Big Brother is a distinct symbol of the Party as well as dictators which stays consistent throughout the novel.
As a writer, Orwell completely masters his characters so that they are the most outstanding and powerful symbols of totalitarianism, communism, and socialism in a fairy tale setting. With his characters brought to life as one unto themselves to individually portray a particular political stance. If nothing else, this book is a incredible example of the power of allegorical and fairy tale writing and is highly recommended for readers of all ages.
Orwell’s novel begins with a horrid description of the living conditions of his main character, Winston. He explains that the “hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats” (Orwell 19) which immediately strikes the senses and repulses the reader. Upon deeper examination, this portion of the story is intended to generate feelings of distaste in the reader in order to get them pondering why Winston is in this situation rather than improving his conditions. As the reader continues on in the novel, they find that Winston has no option to better the environment he lives in and the strict government he is controlled by is to blame. Winston’s deteriorating home is only one example of the degeneration of his surroundings. His home city of London is decaying with “crazy garden walls sagging in all directions” (Orwell 23) and “rotting nineteenth-century houses” (Orwell 23). An article analyzing 1984 by Sean Lynch better describes Winston’s view of London as “dark and isolating”. This devastated city creates a mind-numbing sensation in its population because there is no one that finds beauty in where they live or even a trace of...
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.
1984 is a mind boggling novel mostly in part by his abundant use of symbolism. Throughout the novel George Orwell puts meanings into small and delicate items that, until the end of the novel, one may not quite catch. The easiest example of a use of symbolism in 1984 was the glass paper weight. Winston purchased the paperweight from a parole shop owned by a man named Mr. Charrington. During this time Winston was led to believe that Mr. Charrington was a parole, a parole is person that has free thought because they are considered not t...
The social structure of George Orwell’s 1984 is based on Freud’s map of the mind and the struggles between the id, the ego and the super ego. The minds of these individuals living in this society are trained to think a certain way. Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis can be applied to Orwell’s 1984. Using Freud’s psychoanalytic approach, 1984’s main character Winston Smith is portrayed as the one who goes against the ideas of the Party. In a Freudian point of view, Winston’s character represents a mind where the id is the driving force and where the ego and superego are ill developed in the views of the Party. Freud describes the psychoanalytic process as something that is normally used to treat patients with metal disorders, and in the eyes of the party, Winston is seen as one that has a mental disorder. The procedure that Winston undergoes directly parallels Freud’s psychoanalytic process.