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The Unique Characters of 1984 and Animal Farm and Burmese Days
George Orwell, an alias of Eric Arthur Blair, is know for the books 1984 and Animal Farm. In both of these, as well as in most of his others, he seems to delight in using vivid and wholly believable characters, easily believable because of their obvious and tragic faults. Another similarity seems to be the consistent use of irony, a stylistic choice which plays big in Burmese Days and in several other works. Also, Blair enjoyed placing his characters in situations and settings that were out-of-the- ordinary, constantly reversing or switching roles. It is a mark of talent that he is able to use all of these so effectively, making us believe the unbelievable and accept the incredible at the same time that he makes us emphasize with the characters and see similarities between them and ourselves, long after they were written.
Blair's penchant for extremely well-done characters, entirely believable and understandable, is shown by both his major works as well as his lesser known first fiction piece, Burmese Days. In 1984, the main focus of the story is Winston Smith, an Normal Party member living in the year 1984 except for his dislike of all that the Party stands for and distrust of its message. Of course, these qualities, questioning of authority and subtle disloyalty to unfair persecutors, are considered good by the public today. In the book however, these abilities were destroyed, smothered, and obliterated through careful means, and anyone having them was branded insane, dangerous, and antisocial. Thus, the author creates an immediate bond between us and the suffering main character by showing a little person vs. Big Brother (Blair being the first person to use the word). "The Thought Police would get him just the same. He had committed, even if he had never set pen to paper, the essential crime that contained all others in itself. Thoughtcrime, they called it. Thoughtcrime could not be concealed forever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they ware bound to get you" (Orwell 166).
This passage, particularly the final sentence, slowly builds up the reader's bond with Winston. He is being persecuted for being innocent, for thinking, and this persecution makes him seem all the more likable. The final, and perhaps most interesting part of Winston's development in 1984 is near the end of the novel.
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 ...
Returning to his diary, Winston then expresses his emotions against the Party, the Thought Police and Big Brother himself; he questions the unnecessary acts by the Party and continuously asserts rebellion. Winston soon realized he had committed the crime of having an individual thought, “thoughtcrime.” The chapter ends with a knock on Winston’s door. Significant Quotes “From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party: WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” (Orwell 7). “But there was a fraction of a second when their eyes met, and for as long as it took to happen Winston knew— yes, he knew!
... the overall increase in commerce. The benefits will also be felt through the decline in poverty and welfare by way of incorporating new jobs and revenue into the state. The State of Texas must put an end to all of the money being spent elsewhere while Texas has the capabilities and resources available to provide and profit off the same gambling experience other states provide. It has been shown through numerous states that legalized casino gambling can be a rewarding business model, just as The Lottery, pari-mutuel wagering at horse and dog tracks, and charitable bingo has proved in Texas. Due to the current state of the economy it seems to me the only logical point of view is to bring Texans home, by legalizing casino gambling in Texas, recapturing vital commerce that will help lead to financial prosperity thus, enriching The State of Texas and its residents.
George Orwell uses setting, characterization and symbols to show that true power come from following the dictates of one’s conscience. The state of power established through the imperialistic backdrop show that Orwell should have control over the Burmese. Also, the perspective and ideas given by Orwell show his true character and lessens the overall power set up for him. Lastly, the symbols Orwell uses show representation of traditional forms of power, but take on different implications in the story. These points come together to prove that power exists within one’s self and not through one’s position, conquests or by the items they possess. In the end, it can be said that man’s journey for power will be a continuous struggle until the end of time but that in order at attain power, one must learn to listen to one’s conscience.
The author Vincent Ruggiero defines critical thinking in his book Beyond Feelings: A Guide to Critical Thinking, as a “search for answers, a quest.” It is the idea that one does not accept claims, ideas, and arguments blindly, but questions and researches these things before making a decision on them. From what I learned in class, critical thinking is the concept of accepting that there are other people and cultures in this world that may have different opinions. It is being able to react rationally to these different opinions.
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.
At the end of the novel, Orwell describes Winston as a cured patient who has over come his metal disease. “He had won the victory over himself: he loved Big Brother” (Part 3, Chapter 6). Both Freud and Orwell break down the components of a person’s mind in the same way. Orwell’s character, Winston, depicts the different parts of the human mind so described by Freud. In Orwell’s 1984, he uncovers the same components of a human mind as seen by Freud, the instinctual drive of the id, the perceptions and actions of the ego, and the censorship imposed by the morality of the superego.
The process of making a decision for many is a disconcerting responsibility. While for others, making a decision is second nature. According to Browne et al., "Decisions are streams of choices. These streams contain bits of information, events, and choices (1998, p. 50)." The authors go on to state:
Olson, E. D. (2013). Natural Bottled Water Pure Drink or Pure Hype. Natural Resources Defense Council.
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.
Critical thinking is an essential tool to good decision-making. Everyone has biases or prejudices which can hinder good decision making. Critical thinking varies depending on the underlying motivation. When decisions are based on selfish intentions; they are often marked by manipulation of ideas to service one's own interest. To be an effective critical thinker one has to have the ability to look at the facts and make a decision based solely on the facts. Critical thinking is a tool to be used in every aspect of ones life. Critical thinking can help us to become better thinkers, better people, and can help us to make better decisions.
Throughout our lives we learn to interpret situations in many different ways. Critical thinking is the ability and a skill to use when making careful decisions to approve, refuse, or defer judgment of a claim. In this, critical-thinking is the method of evaluating what others say or write when deciding whether or not to consider and to believe their statement.
Critical thinking is the careful scrutiny of what is stated as true or what appears to be true and the resulting expression of an opinion or conclusion based on that scrutiny, and (2) the creative formulation of an opinion or conclusion when presented with a question, problem or issue, (Kist-Ashman, 2011, p. 33).
Critical thinking is something we should be doing throughout our whole lives. Even though it is a very important tool in business and in school, it is not limited to just that. Critical thinking can engage all different parts of your mind in any decision process. By engaging all these different parts, one can get a much more in-depth understanding and make deeper connections so it can be remembered better in the
Critical thinking is a process of applying various skills to analyze information. Critical thinking uses rationality to distinguish between emotion and fact. This paper will discuss the definition of critical thinking, and the skills it takes to think critically. It will also provide an example of critical thinking applied to my current working environment. Finally this paper will discuss the importance and benefits of critical thinking in the decision-making processes.