Comparison between texts exploring similar human experiences and values facilitates an insight into the context in which they were written. In Metropolis (1924), Fritz Lang reveals that the corrupting influence of a capitalistic society leads to the oppression and subjugation of worker thus promoting social change. In contrast, Orwell’s 1984 (1949), portrays a dystopian totalitarian society void of hope and rebellion due to the long-term oppressed state of the subservient populace. Through Metropolis Lang critiques the manipulation of technology in a materialistic society thus highlighting the subsequent capitalist exploitation of the working class. Lang’s socialist perspective of this capitalist society is influenced primarily by the rapacious …show more content…
This is followed by a wide shot of mechanical, monotonous workers, trudging synchronously as a faceless army through the dark underground corridors of Metropolis. Here, the tense music, grey colour scheme and the claustrophobic mise en scene encapsulates that the worker’s human identity has been reduced to machine-like conformity purged of any human individuality. In profound juxtaposition, the upper class are seen competing in athletics at the Club of Sons as their flamboyant movements and the luxurious expansion of the arena highlights their elite status. The monumental machinery which sustains the power and wealth of Metropolis is maintained at the sacrifice and suffering of the workers. This is symbolised through the biblical allusion to Moloch, the god of sacrifice, as the machine, in Freder’s delusion, metamorphosizes into Moloch following the death of several workers. This …show more content…
In a completely subjugated society, Winston appears to be the only sane/rebellious individual striving for autonomy. The diction “He dipped the pen into ink and faltered for just a second ... To mark the page was a decisive act” emphasises his desire for rebellion through acts of non-conformity. Furthermore, his vicious tone and repetition of the phrase “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” expresses his hate towards the oppressive conduct of the Party. As a result, much like Metropolis where Freder abandons social protocols to be among the workers, Winston and Julia both rebel against the ruling class by entering a forbidden relationship in a hotel. The “Glass Paperweight” with a fragment of coral implanted within symbolises their relationship as it is a fraction of nature which has not been destroyed by the Party. However, in stark contrast to Metropolis where Lang promotes humanity’s inherent hope, Orwell criticises such hope by crushing Winston’s rebellion as symbolised through the obliteration of the Paperweight. He further highlights how such rebellions are futile in totalitarian regimes by reflecting upon torture practises such as beatings, humiliation and electrocution which were common-place during WW2 which result in Winston’s assimilation into the Party’s doctrines. Eventually, Orwell highlights that evading the grasp of such oppressive
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 ...
The presence of an overwhelming and influential body of government, dictating the individuals of contextual society, may potentially lead to the thoughts and actions that oppose the ruling party. Through the exploration of Fritz Lang’s expressionist film, Metropolis (1927), and George Orwell’s politically satirical novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948), the implications of an autocratic government upon the individuals of society are revealed. Lang’s expressionist film delves into the many issues faced by the Weimar Republic of Germany following the “War to end all wars” (Wells, 1914), in which the disparity between the upper and lower classes became distinctively apparent as a result of the ruling party’s capitalistic desires. Conversely, Orwell’s,
Between the poem, ¨ No one died in Tiananmen Square¨ by William Lutz and the novel, 1984 by George Orwell there are multiple similarities. Subjects such as their government, their denial of history, and the use of doublethink and re-education are all parallel between the novel and the poem. For instance, both the governments have a highly strict government. Their governments are so controlling of their people that they use brute force in order to help re-educate them. For example, in 1984 the main character, Winston Smith was trying to go against their government, The Party, and because he tries to do so, he is placed in The Ministry of Love and brutally beaten by the man whom he assumed was a part of the Brotherhood, O'Brien. O'Brien claimed
In 1948, George Orwell wrote one of the most memorable dystopian novels, 1984. This novel depicts a totalitarian world where there are no ways to use freedom, express free though, or express individuality, but there are various sources of brainwashing propaganda. The Party’s slogan ‘war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength’ is where the brainwashing process in Oceania begins. Brainwashing and government control are also crucial elements in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games. In the world of Panem, 1 boy and 1 girl are chosen from each of the 12 districts to fight to the death. The game’s slogan ‘may the odds be ever in your favor’ shows the Capitol’s usage of doublethink. These slogans are used by the ruling groups as propaganda and show one of the similarities in how the governments brainwash, torture, and control the past of their people.
Winston is confronted with struggle throughout the entirety of George Orwell`s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Living within a totalitarian regime subsequently causes Winston to seek approaches for dealing with such abundant oppression; he finds liberation through self-awareness, understanding and ultimately rebellion. First, Winston realizes that “if you want to keep a secret you must also hide it from yourself”, alluding to the notion of thoughtcrime (162). This recognition exemplifies the complete cognizance that Winston has regarding the oppressive society displayed throughout the novel. Next, Syme states “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words”, alluding to the idea of Newspeak (28). This statement directly correlates to Winston speaking with other party members to gain knowledge about how others feels about policies deployed by the government. This information-seeking also connects with Winston`s rebellion, as he actively searched for others to join his uprising, which is shown when Winston tells O’Brien “We want to join [The Brotherhood]” (171). Winston’s attempt to join a rebellious organization exhibits his evident desire to release his suppressed emotions. Winston devises a very methodical approach to deal with the problematic society he resides in.
”The values, beliefs and attitudes of George Orwell’s can easily be seen in the novel 1984, as no text is neutral. These values attitudes and beliefs have shaped the novel to reflect socio-cultural context and by the use of certain discourses, ideologies, and historical influences support the idea that) “The explanation of a work is always sought in the man or women who produced it “Bathes Roland (1977).
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
Book One uncovered how the government attempted to restrict any kind of expression to gain absolute control, but there are still strains of people who were unwilling to be subordinate to it’s power, such as Winston. Im the first few chapters, Winston, an seemingly ordinary worker in the Records Department took his first step of rebellion by writing in a diary. Just this simple act of writing your thoughts into a book could be dangerous, because it would generate individual thoughts. It was very true too as seen in this quote “ His pen had slid voluptuously over the smooth paper, printing in large neat capitals- DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER ” Unknowingly, he had written this down, and this was a thoughtcrime of high caliber. Even if he had tried to stop himself, his inner thoughts couldn’t help but want to defy the government. The party had destroyed all records of the past and altered...
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.
While Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the scrivener” and Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” have unrelated plots, they both contain Marxist undertones that address alienation in the workplace as a result of capitalism. The protagonists, Gregor and Bartleby, are examples of how the working class is treated when they do not conform to the conventions of capitalism. Gregor and Bartleby alike are working class men who, through some turn of events, stop working and are deemed useless to those around them. Both of these stories end in the death of the protagonists, as these men are seen as unproductive and discarded by their capitalistic societies.
The divide between Jon Fredersen, the city master, and the lower class of underground-dwelling workers is a result of having nothing to prevent one another of gaining too much power. The result is a swing of power, where both sides experience the effects of having too much of it. Both Jon Fredersen, and the workers lose track of what is important while they have the power. Jon is unable to keep track of his son, Freder, who becomes upset after chasing his working class love into the underground, and seeing how workers have lost their lives as a result of his father’s conditions. Freder acts on an opportunity to fill the void as the mediator, switching lives with one of the workers in the underground.
One of the saddest aspects of Franz Kafka's novella, The Metamorphosis, concerns the fact that young Gregor Samsa genuinely cares about this family, working hard to support them, even though they do little for themselves. On the surface, Kafka's 1916 novella, seems to be just a tale of Gregor morphing into a cockroach, but a closer reading with Marx and Engels' economic theories, unveils an impressive metaphor that gives the improbable story a great deal of relevance to the structure of Marxist society. Gregor, the protagonist, denotes the proletariat, or the working class, and his unnamed manager represents the bourgeoisie. The conflict, that arises between the two after Gregor's metamorphosis, contributes to his inability to work. This expresses the impersonal and dehumanizing structure of class relations.
1984, a novel by George Orwell, represents a dystopian society in which the people of Oceania are surveilled by the government almost all the time and have no freedoms. Today, citizens of the United States and other countries are watched in a similar way. Though different technological and personal ways of keeping watch on society than 1984, today’s government is also able to monitor most aspects of the people’s life. 1984 might be a dystopian society, but today’s condition seems to be moving towards that controlling state, where the citizens are surveilled by the government at all times.
In Franz Kafka’s the Metamorphosis, the author conveys the consequences of the Industrial Revolution on the working class of society as they became increasingly dehumanized through Gregor Samsa’s transformation into a bug as he slowly loses his human characteristics and privileges as a human.
The idea of the future has been explored for as long as writers have been writing. The interesting concept about the future is that it will always remain a mystery. The future is always changing and never ending. In George Orwell’s 1984, Orwell ruminates on his thoughts and ideas of what the future will be like. Orwell wrote the book around 1950 during the writing era of postmodernism. Postmodernist books often expressed thoughts of the future, as well as other themes. 1984 describes the future as a place where the Party has taken over and controls everything and everyone. The residents of Oceania have no control over their bodies, their relationships, or even their thoughts. Oceania is a place of war and control. The protagonist in 1984 is a middle-aged man named Winston. Winston is one of the only living people who realize that the party is changing the facts, and he wants to do something about it (Orwell). Winston deals with the struggles of hiding from the law and who to trust. In 1984, George Orwell uses the themes of physical and mental control, forbidden love, and a “big brother” figure to exhibit characteristics of postmodernism.