The idea of control and fear dictates the freedoms and philosophies within a society. In George Orwell’s novel 1984, the party, Ingsoc, manipulate the characters’ lives with the creation of the Spies, establishment of the thought police, and dependence on mediums. Similarly, in Brian Percival’s film The Book Thief, the Nazi regime controls the characters’ lives through the Hitler’s Youth Movement, the fear of the Gestapo, and use of mediums. In both the novel and film, these governments focus on the manipulation of youth, fear of authority, and use of mediums influence the characters’ morals and beliefs. With the governments heavily influence on the characters’ lives, this ultimately leads to the loss of one’s individuality within the society. …show more content…
On the contrary, they adored the Party and everything connected with it” (Orwell 26). This quote explains the introduction of the party’s ideologies early ensure the continuous support from the next generation, however limits the individuality amongst youth. In comparison, the influence of Hitler’s Youth movement in Brain Percival’s film The Book Thief introduces the core beliefs of loyalty desired by the Nazi party. With Franz’s integration of the party’s ideologies, Franz forces Liesel to burn a book when Franz exclaims “Burn a book. Go on, burn a book. Go on! I'll be watching” (Percival). This emphasizes the drastic alternation of one’s beliefs results in the loss of personal uniqueness and individuality. Furthermore, George Orwell’s 1984 uses the Two Minute Hate to promote further support for the party, but also denounce those opposed to the party’s ideals. This allows citizens to openly express hatred and disapproval for those opposed, but also worship Big Brother when Winston states “At those moments his secret loathing of Big Brother
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.
Liesel’s slow development of the power of words causes her to experience the negative effects of words and misery on many occasions throughout her lifetime.
A totalitarian regime fostered on love is a government dancing atop of its deathbed. Only a relationship between an individual and the party, and a love for its leader can be tolerated by the autocratic society. Bob Dylan explains, “No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky”, depicting the totalitarian and dystopian worlds of George Orwell’s novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Steven Spielberg’s movie, Minority Report. In Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, war, hatred, and machines are the gears powering the Big Brother. By eliminating freedom and generating fear through constant propaganda, strict laws are emplaced and incessant surveillances dominate the lives of Oceanians. In Minority Report, uses futuristic software, precogs, to prevent crime before it happens. Although there is a chance that the crime may not even take place, the oppressive society does not allow for one to decide, but decide one’s faith for them. Sight will be the great flaw and attribute of all mankind.
The fear of government control is a leitmotif in many dystopian literature stories; therefore, strong, oppressive central governments feature prominently in this genre. Both Brave New World and 1984 provide examples of this type of government, which superficially appear to be quite different. Although the outward aspects of these governments appear to be in opposition, they both use conditioning and societal manipulation to maintain control of their citizens in worlds affected by industrialization.
Imagine living in a world of complete rejection of liberal ideas and absolute conformity. Citizens of this world do not have the freedom to choose their occupation. In fact, these citizens have no rights. They cannot speak freely, they do not enjoy any personal freedoms or privacy, and the media is aggressively censored. This is the world of George Orwell’s 1984 and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. The protagonist of Fahrenheit 451 is Guy Montag, and he is a fireman. His job is to destroy books completely by setting fire to them. Winston Smith is the main character in 1984, where he works as a civil servant in the lower class ruling party. Both of these men become entranced with the past and how life was before a totalitarian government. This fascination gives rise to a rebellion inside both men. Both societies that are revealed in these books face loss of freedoms, and are very highly controlled. The loss of personal freedoms allows a totalitarian government to instill loyalty in its citizens by using propaganda to condition the thinking of the citizens, stealing away the privacy of individuals, subjecting them to poverty, and constant fear of punishment as demonstrated by the novels Fahrenheit 451 and 1984.
In The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, beauty and brutality is seen in many of the characters. Rudy, Liesel, and Rosa display examples of beauty and brutality often without realizing what exactly they are doing, because it is a part of their human nature. Zusak not only uses his characters, but also the setting of the novel in Nazi Germany to allude to his theme of the beauty and brutality of human nature. The time in which the novel is set, during World War II, displays great examples of beauty and brutality, such as the mistreatment of the Jews. As a result of this time period, the characters have to go through troubling times, which reveals their beautiful and brutal nature in certain circumstances. Zusak uses his characters and their experiences to demonstrate the theme of the beauty and brutality of human nature in the novel.
The famous author, George Orwell, once wrote, “In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief tells the story of a girl named Liesel Meminger in Nazi Germany whose relationships and words define her. Upon Liesel’s arrival on Himmel Street, she is inspired to learn to read because all of her life before, words controlled her but she wanted to have the power over those words. While Liesel learns how to read, she spends an ample amount of time with her neighbor, Rudy Steiner, the boy with the hair of lemons. Rudy soon becomes Liesel’s best friend and partner in crime when they embark on their thieving escapades. While all the main characters of Himmel Street are memorable in their own right, Rudy Steiner is the most memorable character because he lives his life to the fullest every single day and has courage that most adults do not have.
The Book Thief takes place during the World War II era, in Munich, Germany. The Book Thief shows what it was like for the Germans during World War II. This book shows what they also went through during this awful time. The Help takes place in 1960’s, where segregation was a prominent thing in Jackson, Mississippi. The Help puts a twist on what it was like to live in the 1960’s. The twist was that it was being told by the maids of Jackson, Mississippi.
thinks his father is a coward because he doesn’t belong to the Nazi Party. He is anything but right when it comes to this claim because of how much bravery it takes to oppose Hitler in Nazi Germany, where non accordance can result in death.
Markus Zusak was told first hand experiences from World War II, which gave him the inspiration for The Book Thief. In an interview Zusak talks about a story from his mother whom witnessed a teenage boy giving bread too an old Jewish man which resulted in both men being whipped. This idea of destruction and beauty inspired him to show how the world can be good one minute and then the good can be torn away. When these two mix, it shows the lives of humans, and the struggle and love that most everyone has during their life. War isn’t black and white, there aren’t just two sides to war, as shown in the interaction between the soldier, old man and teenager. There was a Jewish man and a German soldier, who were on opposite sides of the war. The teenager
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.
Many of the sources that I have researched speak on relatively the same themes: very original. Even that phrase, that phrase I just used, “very original” has been stated a plethora of times. It is a bit ironic, right? Or is that not ironic? I read somewhere that, like, anything funny is, in some way, ironic. But I don’t know if it’s funny or not. I don’t think my brain owns ‘funny,’ you know,” to think that pointing out someone else’s unoriginality would also expose one’s own. Classic.
Much can happen in a matter of minutes; a man can go from thinking he is happy to thinking his life is falling apart, or can change from hating someone to loving them. These experiences sound outlandish, but they happened to Guy Montag, the main character in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, and Winston Smith, the main character in George Orwell’s 1984. These two dystopian novels are about the characters discovering major problems in their societies, and then trying to fix them. Montag lives in a society where television controls people’s lives and books have become illegal. On the other hand Smith lives in Oceania, a territory led by a totalitarian regime. This regime is headed by Big Brother and is referred to as the Party. By examining Fahrenheit 451 and 1984, it is seen, not only through the dehumanized nature of society, but also through the theme of lies and manipulation that both Orwell and Bradbury wish to warn of a horrifying future society.
The film The Matrix, directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski, may seem to be a unique, original storyline to the untrained viewer, but the story of a totalitarian government and a hero who attempts to save the people is far from this. In reality, there are so many similarities that can be seen in other texts that were written and filmed before that it cannot be ignored. In particular, George Orwell’s 1984 has a similar government that controls its people and a “hero”, Winston, who is also searching for the truth. Winston lives Oceania where Big-Brother and “The Party” schedule your entire lives telling when to sleep, eat, and work and keep you under constant surveillance. This is similar in The Matrix, where most of the humans lived in a computer-programmed world which is also constantly surveyed by government authorities. The Wachowski siblings’ film, The Matrix, connects with the concept of dystopia as expressed in George Orwell’s novel, 1984, by referring to a totalitarian government and the lack of choices, which it accomplishes through the introduction of new surveillance technology, comparing two worlds, and a hero’s journey to liberate the people.
Control is worth wanting. It gives one a sense of superiority over another person. But is the use of fear a reasonable way of obtaining control. The movie Divergent directed by Neil Burger and the novel 1984 written by George Orwell, both depict the extreme persecution methods used by totalitarian governments to control their citizens. The use of brute force and psychological torture on its citizens, helps the governments to stay in power. The fear of losing their lives in constantly on the minds of the people who live under the control of these oppressive governments. Immorality is out of the question, the governments do what is necessary for power. Anyone who wanders away from the path the government has chosen for them is subject to dangerous persecution. These persecution methods are also used by