Jannat Keea Mrs.Bastelica AP Language & Composition III 28 August 2015 1984 George Orwell Utopian and Dystopian Fiction Reflection 1: Identifying Subject and Theme Modern classic novel 1984 written by George Orwell targets the life of Winston Smith. Winston Smith is a member of a Party in Oceania, his every move is being watched through telescreens by the ruling Party. The leader of the Party happens to be an almighty figure, Big Brother. In the world of Oceania, the Party has complete domination over everyone, even their language and past history. The Party has very strict rules, if anyone disobeys the rules or goes against the Party, they will be punished. One of the most hideous crimes to commit is thought-crime. Thought crime is when someone …show more content…
Being trapped without the ability of free words of speech, sex and the expression of individuality kills him. This leads Winston to buy a diary to bury all of his illegal thoughts down on paper. A man from the inner party, O’Brien unites with Winston to abolish the Party and its leader Big Brother. Winston meets a dark-haired girl from work who at first thought was going to report Winston for his thought-crime but instead ends up having an illegal affair with Winston and falls deep in love. “theyll shoot me i dont care theyll shoot me in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother they always shoot you in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother--” (Orwell 19). Winston wrote this in a hurried fashion, but the problem with this writing, is that no matter how he wrote it or even if Winston did not write it, the fact it was even a thought made it illegal. This quote communicates the theme and subject of the novel which is Expressing Humane Individuality and Independence. Winston 's writing declares how in a world where everyone is brainwashed and under slavery of the Party and dictated by Big Brother. Being free means to be who you are, it does not mean wearing the same clothes, thinking the same thoughts, or looking the same. In Oceania, Winston feels that everyone should stand out because that is what makes an …show more content…
Orwell throws in various Ambiguous quotes throughout the novel, one of the examples of ambiguity happens to be… “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” (Orwell 2). This quote not only means that the leader of the Party, Big Brother is watching everyone 's every single move but it also means that the government is in control of everyone’s mind and there is no way out to freedom. The term Allusion means a casual reference in literature to a person, place or thing. It is usually known and not specifically mentioned or said. In 1984 Allusion is shown by the destruction of individuality by the Party and how they control people’s wants and brainwashes them to promote a perfect life. Big Brother demands and forces every citizen’s loyalty rather than earning loyalty. If Big Brother does not receive loyalty, he threatens to punish
The novel 1984, by George Orwell, made me paranoid. It made me suspicious of our government's power and intentions. I became aware of the potential manipulation which the government could impose upon us. I came to see that the people I believe to be wholly dedicated to the well-being of society, the people I rely so heavily on to provide protection and security have the power to betray us at any given time. I realised that in my naivety I had gravely overlooked the powerful grip government has over society, and what it can do with that power.
...ecause Winston said he was against everything the Party believed in. Winston showed he was rebellious in the book because he owned a diary, had affairs with Julia, and he joined the Brotherhood.
Winston writes, “Down with the Big Brother” (Orwell 19). From the beginning of the novel readers see Winston’s extreme disgust with the government. He expresses the views that no few in the society will. Winston rebels against the government to find meaning in his life. His journey into finding individuality shows his expression of freedom which no one else expressed. As Alex McGuinnis, a professional academic writer part of the Professional Development Collection, discusses the “Allness” language used by Big Brother to control a populous and perpetuate conformity within a society. As McGuinnis states, “Allness thinking is especially dangerous because those who influence our minds most in frequently are the people who are constantly groups using allness” (108). This quotes shows how Big Brother used “Allness” language to control the people in the society. Many times Winston is critical when talking about Big Brother and to show lack of conformity and resistance towards the regime. Tyner continues to show how Winton’s small actions show resistance towards a tyrannical regime. Winston challenges all societal behavior, such as expressing his thoughts in his journal and deciding to have an affair with Julia even though facing punishment by the government. In addition, readers see that “Allness” language is used and taught to younger generations to influence them from early in development. Winston’s change and expressions were miniscule resistance towards the whole society, but it still provides an example of an individual who choices not to conform to societies standards. Orwell express how even though with miniscule resistance towards conformity cannot get rid of it without the help of an entire
...t came out, and now there are times that I believe Orwell was right. We have not been completely overrun by the government, but there are instances that we might have to fear Big Brother in our own society. Oppression is not something I have faced in my lifetime, but fear of what could be is also its own form of oppression.
Even though many of Orwell’s ideas in his novel 1984 seemed completely fictional, several of the concepts throughout his book have a common link to today’s society. For instance in the same way telescreens monitor people every second of their li...
In conclusion, Orwell’s novel not only taught you lessons of oppressive wrongdoings by governments for want of power but of the sacrifice of one’s integrity, loved ones, and one’s self by committing various acts of betrayal that affect one’s soul, one’s body, the lives of many, and the future of all.
Orwell uses repetition throughout his book to emphasize what his main point. In the beginning of the book, Orwell constantly has the phrase “ BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”. Orwell uses repetition in this phrase, for he is emphasizing how people are spying on the main character. Furthermore, he uses this quote to emphasize how suspicious Winston is. Orwell vocalizes, “ War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength” (18,29). "War is peace" and "freedom is slavery" are samples of double thinking. Though these phrases are contradictory by definition, the citizens of Oceania accept them both as correct, simultaneously. Orwell emphasizes that although Oceania is a constantly in a state of war, the people pretend as if there is peace. The repetition brings light to the
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.
Big Brother uses an enemy, that may or may not be real, to bomb its own citizens. In example, “There was a roar that seemed to make the pavement heave… The bomb had demolished a group of houses two hundred meters up the street.” (72). In addition, the look of Winston creates a rough depiction of life, “His hair was very fair, his face naturally sanguine, his skin roughened by coarse soap and blunt razor blades and the cold of the winter had just ended.” (6). Correspondingly, when Winston"He knew that he was starving the other two, but he could not help it; he even felt that he had a right to do it. The clamorous hunger in his belly seemed to justify him." (163). The imagery in the story also helps create suspenseful
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.
In 1984, George Orwell presents an overly controlled society that is run by Big Brother. The protagonist, Winston, attempts to “stay human” in the face of a dehumanizing, totalitarian regime. Big Brother possesses so much control over these people that even the most natural thoughts such as love and sex are considered taboo and are punishable. Big Brother has taken this society and turned each individual against one another. Parents distrust their own offspring, husband and wife turn on one another, and some people turn on their own selves entirely. The people of Oceania become brainwashed by Big Brother. Punishment for any uprising rebellions is punishable harshly.
As Walter Anderson philosophized, “[w]e’re never so vulnerable than when we trust someone—bust paradoxically, if we cannot trust, neither can we find love or joy”. According to this quotation, trust is vital in allowing others into one’s life and creates an individuality that is brought with private relationships. At the same time though, it is at the peak of trusting others when one is the most vulnerable to betrayal and deceit. In Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, the ruling government, known as the Party, viciously suppresses any trust in others; however, it pushes the trust in Big Brother, the figurehead of the government. The Party employs the manipulative technique called doublethink, to simultaneously encourage and eliminate trust
..., and this purpose was indirectly assisted by cutting the choice of words down to a minimum.” The government must have complete and utter control of not only your liberty or freedom(s), but your thoughts as well because with them, you will always be free no matter how much you are tortured, etc. You will die as a free person. Winston states, “To die hating them, that was freedom.” Given too much power and control to the government(s) will destroy political freedom and intellectual freedom. In the appendix it states, “ It could not be used in its old sense of ‘politically free’ or ‘intellectually free’ since political and intellectual freedom no longer existed even as concepts, and were therefore of necessity nameless.” Basically, if we continue in our ways then eventually we will live a totalitarian life without even knowing it.
George Orwell uses Winston to represent truth in a deceptive world in his novel 1984. In Oceania, Big Brother is the omnipotent and all powerful leader. Everything the government dictates is unquestionably true, regardless of prior knowledge. Even thinking of ideas that go against Big Brother’s regime, or thoughtcrime, is punishable by death. Winston serves as the dystopian hero, longing for freedom and change. Orwell uses Winston to emphasize the importance of individual freedoms, as they give us the ability to fulfillingly lead our respective lives.
...e use of opposition due to the fact it is shattered as Winston is caught by the thought police.