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General theme of George Orwell's 1984
General theme of George Orwell's 1984
What is the historical/political context of 1984 by george orwell
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The novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is an American classic which explores the human mind when it comes to power, corruption, control, and the ultimate utopian society. Orwell indirectly proposes that power given to the government will ultimately become corrupt and they will attempt to force all to conform to their one set standard. He also sets forth the idea that the corrupted government will attempt to destroy any and all mental and physical opposition to their beliefs, thus eliminating any opportunity for achieving an utopian society.
The novel shows how the government attempts to control the minds and bodies of it citizens, such as Winston Smith who does not subscribe to their beliefs, through a variety of methods. The first obvious example arises with the large posters with the caption of "Big Brother is Watching You" (page 5). These are the first pieces of evidence that the government is watching over its people. Shortly afterwards we learn of the "Thought Police", who "snoop in on conversations, always watching your every move, controlling the minds and thoughts of the people." (page 6). To the corrupted government, physical control is not good enough, however. The only way to completely eliminate physical opposition is to first eliminate any mental opposition. The government is trying to control our minds, as it says "thought crime does not entail death; thought crime is death." (page 27). Later in the novel the government tries even more drastic methods of control. Big Brother’s predictions in the Times are changed. The government is lying about production figures (pages 35-37). Even later in the novel, Syme’s name was left out on the Chess Committee list. He then essentially vanishes as though he had never truly existed (page 122). Though the methods and activities of the government seem rather extreme in Orwell’s novel, they may not be entirely too false. "Nineteen Eighty-Four is to the disorders of the twentieth century what Leviathan was to those of the seventeenth." (Crick, 1980). In the novel, Winston Smith talks about the people not being human. He says that "the only thing that can keep you human is to not allow the government to get inside you." (page 137). The corruption is not the only issue which Orwell presents, both directly and indirectly. He warns that absolute power in the hands of any government can lead to the deprival of basic freedoms and liberties for the people.
In this paper, I want to share the history of Haight Ashbury, and its transition from a small town with nice Victorian homes, to its deterioration in the 1960’s. The importance of a farm in Woodstock, to the Cultural Revolution and how it all spread from there including the role of radio and television in spreading the news of the hippie movement and how an attempt to free culture from its moral ideals and standards only led it with no standards or moral compass, and all they were left with was thought to be an idea of the Summer of Love.
While government as an institution can be used for benevolent purposes, George Orwell’s novel 1984 contends that when taken to an excess in the form of totalitarianism, government becomes dangerously self-serving.
Despite the negative portrayal in mainstream 1960s media, justifications expressed by counterculture activists for further investigation, education and experimentation under government control of LSD were rational and valid arguments. Sex, drugs, protests, war, political upheaval, cultural chaos, and social rebellion; the many comforts TV dinner eating, republican voting, church going, suburbia conformists tried to escape through conservative ideals, town meetings, and The Andy Williams Family Hour. National consciousness in 1960s United States was alive, but existed differently in every mind it dwelled, and stirred uninterrupted in every life to which it was introduced. A dream of money, success, and a house with a white picket fence still existed within the pandemonium of the nation and many still relished in the idea of “Americanism.” Television was a base for a magnitude of world news and national information. Television situation comedies created ideal families and contenting distractions from unsettling national realities. Mainstream media, both fact and fiction, influenced the nation’s minds resulting in the effect of political change and further media influence over the government. The new decade, along with the effects of the Vietnam War and the strong influence of television, began to leak from the cracks of the nation a new counterculture of rebellious teenagers, unfamiliar narcotics, and a wave of promiscuity. Among the many issues and events molding our nation into a new decade, came the question of government and mind control. For some it was the next step into human evolution, a potential tool for mind control, a liberator of human kind, but for most LSD helped define 1960s counterculture, in which it was deeply rooted.
In a healthy economy, the increase in inflation probably points to higher interest rates, this will favor the currency under discussion, in this case, the dollar. However, many factors determine exchange rates, and all are related to the commercial relationship between countries.
The Federal Reserve rate cut has weakened the dollar. Is the rate cut benefit to dollar? Weak dollar, lower currency compare to foreign currency, has no effect on price of local products which produce in the United State. But affect import and export goods. The United State firms find it easier to sell goods in foreign markets. Thus import American goods are less competitive pressure to keep price low. Thus, weak dollar benefit U.S exports by making American goods cheaper in foreign country. Foreign tourist can afford to travel and visit the United State. When dollar is falling, purchasing power of foreigner is increasing. Purchasing power is the amount of value of a good or services compared to the amount that you paid. So when dollar is depreciating, exchange rate becomes smaller. Exchange rate (foreign-exchange rate, forex rate or FX rate) is the number of units of a given currency that can be purchased for one unit of another currency. The United State capital markets become more attractive to foreign investors. Since dollar is falling, it makes foreigner’s investment over United State more affordable. Therefore foreigners take this opportunity to invest in the United State.
...es as they did seemed to be hypocrites. They practice of Christianity was talk to be kind but at the end they went against this and treated people of a different color like crap. Those who believed in the idea that they were given certain rights over others which gave them the right to enslave those who were less fortunate. This seemed to be the major cause of conflict in which many would suffer for these ideas but because of people like Fredrick Douglas and other who were not afraid to stand up for what they believe, and would cause much confrontation between slave owners and free men which would set the foundation of one day ending slavery and allowing those who were called slaves to join the title of free. Only this would not happen overnight and would not be a taken lightly. Even now there are still places in America that segregate people based on skin color.
In 1984, George Orwell explores the many facets of a negative utopia. Orwell seems to focus on the measures that the government takes to maintain a public of plebeians who have no personality or identity and believe that they are not unique individuals, but instead are part of a greater senseless mob of people who constantly work for a hostile and oppressive government which is involved in incessant wars. These people are taught to love. They then learn to fear their government because they believe all of the propaganda that is constantly instilled into their minds. They willing follow their government without contest for the duration of their meaningless lives. The government controls all forms of the media (thus denying the people the basic right of free speech) and use it to personify the government (known as “big brother”) .The government therefore seems omnipotent, or all knowing and always correct. Forecasts are changed from one week to the next always proving the government was correct. As was mentioned before, many of the rights that present day Westerners take for gran...
In 1967, summer of love in San Francisco there were people traveling from across the world to go to Haight-Ashbury street to join the huge crowd. To listen to bands play while going wild. Taking drugs, having sex, dancing to music, people fighting for what’s right. During that year summer lasted a year long and not a lot of people complained. With what happened, there were multiple of things that had an impact on American society and culture, hippie movement became a trend, there were drugs, and music.
The 1960s formed one of the most culturally complex periods in America’s history, and the analysis of this era is just as problematic. During this time, American society experienced an outpouring of filmic, literary and musical texts that challenged traditional institutions such as the Christian church, the government and the family unit. It would be naïve to argue that this period witnessed the first or the last instance of subversive propaganda targeted at young people, for the many dissenting voices herein did not emerge by random chance. The formulation of a more politically aware youth culture in America and, to a lesser but still important extent, Great Britain, was a gradual process that had been taking hold for considerable time, not one that exploded into being when Bob Dylan or John Lennon began writing protest songs.
In the novel 1984, George Orwell predicts the world’s future, when human rights, such as freedom of speech, do not exist anymore. Everyone has to obey the government. The government controls its citizens’ lives. No one speaks up against the government yet because they do not even have a chance to make up a thought about it. The government dominates the citizens’ thoughts by using technologies and the thought polices to make sure no one will have any thoughts, that is against the government. George Orwell wrote:“Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows,” (Orwell.2.7.69) the government tries to control Winston knowledge and change it to fit into the purpose of the Party. To Winston, O’Brien said: “Whatever the Party holds to be truth is truth. It is impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of the Party.” (Orwell.3.2.205). As a citizen, no one get to look at or tal...
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.
The purpose of this paper is to describe how an underground youth culture emerged into a social “hippie “movement and what lead them to Haight-Ashbury, the Summer of Love in San Francisco and the aftermath in 1967. The Summer of Love was a social movement that consists of a wide range of ages from teenagers to college student even middle-class vacationers, inspired by The Beats, who gathered in Haight-Ashbury in 1967 that rejected the conformist values of Cold War America.
The value of the US dollar relevant to other currencies is a major consideration for the Federal Reserve. If they prevent large changes in the value of the dollar, firms and individuals can comfortably plan ahead to purchase or sell goods abroad.
The 1960s was crammed full of many impacting events and important figures. From Hitchcock releasing one of the greatest thrillers of all time, Psycho, to Marilyn Monroe’s untimely death, to the infamous Woodstock festival. This era changed history completely and made the United States think twice about its youth. Events of the 1960s are still impacting our country as we know it today. The sudden pull from the conservative ‘50s changed America’s views on all aspects of life, including fashion, entertainment, and lifestyles.
The U.S. dollar is used in most international transactions, and so what happens to the U.S.A. economy will be affected by the international financial resources.