Literary Analysis Essay On 1984 By George Orwell

1684 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Global issues explored in Orwell's 1984

1984 The novel “1984” written by George Orwell takes place in England, from the viewpoint of one of the main characters, Winston. He lives in a superstate, known as Oceania, that has a controlling government similar to that of communism. Winston doesn’t believe in the way the government is running things, and rebels against it. Orwell was conveying a message through this trying to warn everyone about the negative effects of communism. He wrote the book similar to the way he saw the world he was living in at the time. Orwell didn’t favor dictators like Hitler and Stalin, which ran their government like the way Oceania did in his book. In “1984”, he showed how people fell into these ways, and were controlled through the use of propaganda, the war, and their …show more content…

“Many are scared to voice their opinions not because they may be punished, but because they may be isolated.” (Economist). This relates to the book because the people of Oceania who thought differently from the party were “isolated” in a way for not being like the rest. The difference in the novel though is that they were punished for having a different opinion. Therefore, the ones who thought differently were scared to express their feelings in any way because they’d be caught by the Thought Police and vaporized. Also in the book, the government used propaganda to instill hate into the public by using “Two Minute Hate” for Oceania to watch. This would make them react outrageously because they’d get mad and it would start a big uproar when the enemy was on the screen. Opposingly, when Big Brother, their leader, was being shown the people would be happy and praise him. “‘My Savior!’... It was apparent that she was uttering a prayer.” (Orwell 16). Fear and hate has always been used on the world. “These oppressive rulers controlled citizens through propaganda and violence.” (Stanley 242) referring to Stalin, Hitler, Tse-tung, Franco, and

Show More
Related

  • The Real-Life Counterparts of 1984's Oceania

    1614 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...of the world if fascism were to continue. In Orwell's day, the leading fascists were Hitler and Stalin, and today there are Muammar Qaddafi, Kim Sung-un, and Xi Jiaping, while in 1984 there is Big Brother. All of these governments are very similar to each other, as Orwell had predicted. These points reveal that even though those who live in free nations think that 1984 is dystopian science-fiction, in some places around the world, 1984 is almost a work of realistic fiction.

    Read More

  • Why Do We Exist In George Orwell's 1984

    925 Words  | 2 Pages

    I strongly agree with Fromm’s viewpoints and interpretations of Orwell’s 1984 text. He warns that the future federal powers will dehumanize society and leave everyone alienated. Thus, I agree with Fromm to the extent that he acknowledges the fact that humanity can indeed cease to exist as a result of our own self-destruction as well as the effect of our actions. Many of his opinions and warnings expressed by Orwell to an extent appear in contemporary society.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between 1984 And 1984

    461 Words  | 1 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Analysis of George Orwell´s 1984 : Where the Hope Lies

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Readers often find themselves constantly drawn back to the topic of George Orwell’s 1984 as it follows a dystopian community which is set in a world that has been in continuous war, has no privacy by means of surveillance and has complete mind control and is known by the name of Oceania. The story follows a man by the name of Winston who possesses the features of “A smallish, frail figure… his hair very fair, his face naturally sanguine [and] his skin roughened” (Orwell 2). The novel illustrates to readers what it would be like if under complete control of the government. As a result, this book poses a couple of motifs’, For instance part one tackles “Collectivism” which means the government controls you, while part two fights with “Romance” with Winston and Julia’s sexual tension as well the alteration of love in the community, and part three struggles with “Fear” and how it can control someone physically and mentally.

    Read More

  • The Totalitarian Government of 1984 a Novel Written by George Orwell

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel 1984 is written by George Orwell post war as a depiction of the future. Only three superstates exist: Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. The novel takes place in Airstrip One, Oceania, which is the novel’s version of present day London. The superstate Oceania is a totalitarian state and is dictated by an enigmatic figure named Big Brother, who may not even exist. A group called the Inner Party works for Big Brother and everything they do is part of the effort to gain total control over the inhabitants of Oceania. With no liberty, rights, or independent actions, the citizens of Oceania become less human and are instead more like faithful robots of the Party. In the novel 1984, by George Orwell, the citizens of Oceania are deprived of individualism as a result of the manipulation the government exerts to gain control over the individuals physically, emotionally and psychologically.

    Read More

  • Orwell And 1984 Comparison Essay

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    North Korea, China, and even Cuba are similar to 1984. They try to control their people just the same as in 1984, and just like in Jonestown. The only people who were free in 1984 were the Proles. The community in Jonestown began as everyone wanting to be there, and then as conditions worsened the people wanted to leave. They were not allowed to, much like 1984. The people in both situations are similar, in that they are oppressed by their governments, but only the people in Jonestown are given the ability to think they are even able to

    Read More

  • Characters, Theories and Principles of George Orwell's Novel 1984

    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through out the course of history there have been several events that have been a pivotal point which has molded the behaviors and thoughts of this century. A lot of notable activist and authors wrote stories and speeches about how they believed that this day and time would be like. A lot of these views were very accurate surprisingly. In the novel 1984 author George Orwell gives his vision on how he believed that the countries would be like if they kept going the way they were.This report will give you a brief rundown of the characters, theories and principles of this novel along with some of my personal insight of the novel.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between 1984 And Modern Day

    756 Words  | 2 Pages

    George Orwell's 1984 was a book with a lot of deeper meanings and messages about the political systems of the world and about society. 1984 is about a world where privacy does not exist and the ruler of the so called "free world" is called Ingsoc. Ingsoc has a political party called big brother which watches over everything in the world through manned helicopters flying over the city of Oceania at all times, Tele-screens in every house business area and room blurting out propaganda and cameras with microphones listening and watching every conceivable object and person in Oceania.

    Read More

  • 1984 Argument

    1257 Words  | 3 Pages

    George Orwell’s book 1984 is a very interesting novel. The novel is set up in Airstrip One. In George Orwell’s book 1984 it has many situations. One of the many situations are that some people refer society as “Orwellian.” What does Orwellian mean? Orwellian means, of or related to the works of George Orwell ( especially his picture of his future totalitarian state.) People believe that Orwell is realistic and say his work part of our society now. George Orwell was a writer in the twentieth century. He wrote about totalitarianism. What is totalitarianism? Totalitarianism is of or relating to a system or government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state. Also he wrote about dystopias. What are dystopias? Dystopias are an imagined place state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one. George Orwell wrote the book 1984 June 8,1949 and a little before that. The World was eager for it! By then Orwell had witnessed genocide, World War I, World War II, and civil wars such as the Spanish Civil War. He had also witnessed government spying, bombings, torture camps, and atomic bombings. Genocide included the Natzi murdering thousands of the Jews. Within twelve months, Orwell’s book 1984 had sold around fifty thousand hardbacks in the United Kingdom; in the United States sales were more than one-third of a million. Also, George Orwell was from London, he was born in British India. In 2005 the novel was chosen by TIME magazine as one of the hundred best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005. George Orwell is a British subject some might say. George had two wives. He was a Britain born Indian. There are many people that think that the ...

    Read More

  • George Orwell 1984 Analysis

    1399 Words  | 3 Pages

    George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 follows the psychological journey of main character Winston. Winston lives in a utopian society called Oceania. There, the citizens are constantly monitored by their government coined “Big Brother” or “The Party”. In Oceania, there is no form of individuality or privacy. Citizens are also coerced to believe everything and anything the government tells them, even if it contradicts reality and memory. The goal of Big Brother is to destroy individual loyalties and make its citizenry only loyal to the government. In Orwell's novel 1984, he uses Winston's psychological journey to stress the dangers of individuality in a totalitarian regime because it can result in death. Winston’s overwhelming desire to rebel

    Read More

  • Analysis of George Orwell's 1984

    4217 Words  | 9 Pages

    War Is Peace. Freedom Is Slavery. Ignorance Is Strength. The party slogan of Ingsoc illustrates the sense of contradiction which characterizes the novel 1984. That the book was taken by many as a condemnation of socialism would have troubled Orwell greatly, had he lived to see the aftermath of his work. 1984 was a warning against totalitarianism and state sponsored brutality driven by excess technology. Socialist idealism in 1984 had turned to a total loss of individual freedom in exchange for false security and obedience to a totalitarian government, a dysutopia. 1984 was more than a simple warning to the socialists of Orwell's time. There are many complex philosophical issues buried deep within Orwell's satire and fiction. It was an essay on personal freedom, identity, language and thought, technology, religion, and the social class system. 1984 is more than a work of fiction. It is a prediction and a warning, clothed in the guise of science fiction, not so much about what could happen as it is about the implications of what has already happened. Rather than simply discoursing his views on the social and political issues of his day, Orwell chose to narrate them into a work of fiction which is timeless in interpretation. This is the reason that 1984 remains a relevant work of social and philosophical commentary more than fifty years after its completion.

    Read More

  • 1984: A Rhetorical Analysis Of 1984 By George Orwell

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    1984 was written in 1948 and published in 1949 by Eric Arthur Blair under the pen name ‘George Orwell’. It is set in the year 1984 in Airstrip One, which is a province in the country of Oceania. The world is in a constant state of war between Oceania, and the other two countries, Eurasia and Eastasia. Oceania is controlled by English Socialism, or INGSOC in Oceania’s language, Newspeak. The powerful Inner Party controls the country using omnipresent surveillance, and manipulation. Every part of life is regimented and controlled, but the only crime is ‘thoughtcrime’: independent thinking and individualism. Big Brother is the figurehead of the Inner Party, and throughout the book, it is heavily implied that he may not really exist. The people

    Read More

  • Free Essay on George Orwell's 1984

    666 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel 1984 by George Orwell is a fictional future where The Party controls everything. The Party is lead by a larger than life figurehead named Big Brother. The main character is Winston Smith. The story is divided into 3 parts and chronicles Winston’s rebellion against and then re-entering of The Party.

    Read More

  • 1984: Oppression Of Truth

    1571 Words  | 4 Pages

    I believe that the oppression of the people in Oceania had to begin at birth because of the ingrained motivations. Winston tries to find someone that will remember the old ways of life before Ingsoc took over the government. My belief in this oppression means children were very important to the government, these children are brainwashed by their educators to believe that Big Brother is number one, and no one else can compare to him. These children are very nasty in their following of Big Brother. This infrastructure encourages the child to seek out enemies of Big brother whilst cementing their position in society, often whilst betraying their own blood; "It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own children" (Orwell, 24). The government had no fear of...

    Read More

  • 1984 George Orwell Essay

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    George Orwell’s intent in the novel 1984 is to warn society about the results of a controlling and manipulative government by employing mood, conflict, and imagery.

    Read More

More about Literary Analysis Essay On 1984 By George Orwell

Open Document