Orwell's "Such, Such Were the Joys....": Alienation and Other Such Joys
George Orwell expresses a feeling of alienation throughout "Such, Such
Were the Joys...." He casts himself as a misfit, unable to understand his peers, the authorities placed over him, and the laws that govern his existence. Orwell writes, “The good and the possible never seemed to coincide” (37). Though he shows his ability to enumerate what is “good,” he resigns himself to a predestined state; uncertain of where exactly he fits in society, his attitude is irreconcilable with what he knows society expects of him. Orwell's childhood understanding of society forces him into only one possible direction, failure.
This essay is the maturing Orwell's response to childhood subjugation, a subtle exposure to the evolution of Orwell's thought.
Orwell's life as a boarding school student at Crossgates occupies his memory of childhood and serves as the platform for his views on life.
Repeatedly Orwell describes the society of the school from which he is outcast:
That bump on the hard mattress, on the first night of term, used to give me a feeling of abrupt awakening, a feeling of: ‘This is reality, this is what you are up against.' Your home might be far from perfect, but at least it was a place ruled by love rather than by fear, where you did not have to be perpetually taken out of this warm nest and flung into a world of force and fraud and secrecy, like a goldfish into a tank full of pike. (23)
Young Orwell, impacted by this, “hard,” disorienting situation, realizes he is alone in a hostile, harsh environment. Orwell uses the image of the “warm nest,” a womb, from which the child is thrown, then innocently forced into a destructive reality. This reality is Crossgates, an educational institution but also a primary residence, the “home” Orwell lives in on a daily basis for a number of years. Far from the “love” of his familial home, Orwell finds that
Crossgates does not nurture nor raise a boy to manhood, but rather destroys all that he loves and trusts. Hopelessly dominated in this environment, he is compelled to accept a mentality of insecurity and inferiority and becomes the fodder of others--the winners of society.
Sim and Bingo, the spiritual and emotional guides of Crossgates, feed off of this pitiful mentality and their carefully constructed school environment.
By the social standards that prevailed about me, I was no good, and could not be any good. But all the different kinds of virtue seemed to be mysteriously interconnected and to belong to much the same people.
Each person has a place that calls to them, a house, plot of land, town, a place that one can call home. It fundamentally changes a person, becoming a part of who they are. The old summer cabins, the bedroom that was always comfortable, the library that always had a good book ready. The places that inspire a sense of nostalgic happiness, a place where nothing can go wrong.
Throughout the world, failures seem to occur all around. Whether it be in the form of losing oneself or losing the people around the individual, many failures commonly occurs with the accumulation of power. In George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, Winston Smith is a low-ranking government official under the oppressive reign of his leaders, Big Brother. He is just one example of the many characters in written works that will eventually be defeated in one way or another. In British literature, it has become evident that characters affected by tyrannies have ultimately experienced loneliness, paranoia, and defeat.
People in United states tend to ignore the complex problems the country is facing but focuses on the dominance of the country. People only looks at the surface of the United States and neglects problem about poverty. The bigger cities, like Los Angeles and New York, are mostly impacted by the poverty. It is important to recognize the impact of the poverty in order to understand the complex problem of the United States. In George Orwell’s “Down and Out in Paris and London”, the author provides a vivid image of the poverty and the impact on the people’s daily lives. In 1933 London and Paris, the condition of the poverty was much critical due to lack of support from the government. When we compare the 21st century poverty
“One of the things Orwell bequeathed us was the adjective ‘Orwellian’…. It is a frightening word, generally applied to a society organized to crush and dehumanize the individual, sometimes signifying the alienation of that individual if he dares to rebel” (Lewis 13). George Orwell, the pseudonym for Eric Arthur Blair, depicted the importance of the individual in society and the danger of too much community in his literature. Through his personal experiences, however, he explored the ideas of socialism and was torn between the individual and community ideals. In his literature and his past, Orwell spoke against movements that remove the individual, but still emphasized the importance of community. Thus, he advocated a need for balance between the two concepts.
Many of the themes from 1984 continuously apply to today’s era. Especially since the advancement of technology and the power the government now holds with the change of events. Big Brother surveillance and the constant control of the citizens. The reasons being is the government now has the ability to track every message,call etc every made by one person. There is data constantly being stored as well as cookies when it comes to the Internet. The constant control of the citizens continues today because many people believe everything that is posted on the internet and presented by the media.Technology advancement can the constant surveillance because technology allows the government to watch their citizens. The advancement has changed the privacy.
(Orwell 23) and “rotting nineteenth-century houses” (Orwell 23). An article analyzing 1984 by Sean Lynch better describes Winston’s view of London as “dark and isolating”. This devastated city creates a mind-numbing sensation in its population because there is no one that finds beauty in where they live or even a trace of hope that things could improve.... ... middle of paper ... ...
This is a remarkable book of objective description as well as of rhetoric. While he does have a bias, he is still able to recognize points on either side. Orwell had the rare courage to overcome centuries of class prejudice to live among and respect the people his peers could casually dismiss. He shows us the role that the middle class play in creating these deplorable conditions.
When George Orwell’s epic novel 1984 was published in 1949 it opened the public’s imagination to a future world where privacy and freedom had no meaning. The year 1984 has come and gone and we generally believe ourselves to still live in “The Land of the Free;” however, as we now move into the 21st Century changes brought about by recent advances in technology have changed the way we live forever. Although these new developments have seamed to make everyday life more enjoyable, we must be cautious of the dangers that lie behind them for it is very possible that we are in fact living in a world more similar to that of 1984 than we would like to imagine.
"For every text a context" and only through referral to the non-literary world can we understand the motivation behind the literary. In a time of Nazism, Stalin and Civil War in Europe, Orwell's disillusionment towards politics and society rapidly increased and his ideas and criticisms were published in various essays regarding politics and literary traditions. When he became unwell towards the end of his life, he wrote 1984 as an expression of both his own views and as a parallel to Zamyatin's We, a novel concerned with Russian communism and portraying a very similar storyline. He "characterised the ordinary man as a victim." ; he viewed humanity as whole to be inside Jonah's whale, to "feel no impulse to alter or control the process that [they are] undergoing." This passivity of existence was the chief example from which he was able to draw the lack of individualism and the virtual extinction of it in his literary land of Oceania.
George Orwell uses Winston to represent truth in a deceptive world in his novel 1984. In Oceania, Big Brother is the omnipotent and all powerful leader. Everything the government dictates is unquestionably true, regardless of prior knowledge. Even thinking of ideas that go against Big Brother’s regime, or thoughtcrime, is punishable by death. Winston serves as the dystopian hero, longing for freedom and change. Orwell uses Winston to emphasize the importance of individual freedoms, as they give us the ability to fulfillingly lead our respective lives.
The novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell is regarded as one of the 100 best English-language novels. It portrays various themes that provide the readers a glimpse of the current society. The novel explores epidemic issues such as mass poverty, public mistrust, authoritarian state, manipulation of recorded history, and suspicion. The issues mentioned can be summarized into three topics to prove the statement the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, is in fact a commentary on our society. In today’s day and age, there is a total surveillance society, terrorism is exploited by the state and there is mass influence by individuals.
now realities, some are not going to happen for some time to come and this
The townhouse, a clean, concise, convenient, cookie-cut, carbon copy of society’s solution to the home. In today’s society of “Big Apples”, “Windy Cities” and “Cities of Angels”, the home has been lost under stacks of green paper. The heart of the home is being choked by the fast-paced materialism that pushes the individual into a heart attack of conformity. Society has become a speed addict for production, wanting bigger, more, and faster in the pursuit for the better. This “better” is often short-lived and quickly replaced. This cycle of replacement needs to end with a solving reinvention that will allow human life to breathe and be comfortable within its own skin. Lives are to be lived not viewed. To do this people need to break the mold that society is mass-producing and live life for themselves and up to their own standards of success and not follow the blue-print of the government’s bureaucratic and aristocratically favored system and ideals. The home should be a saran wrap covering of comfort, security, peace and enjoyment to be shared by and with loved ones. To often in today’s world the lines between business and personal have almost been blurred into oblivion. These are one of the issues that need to be stopped or altered so as to return the house to a home.
In the book 1984, Orwell gives the reader warnings, these warnings can be taken into account or ignored. One of the warnings from the book was to beware the amount of power a person has. If one person or a group of people have too much power, things will be unbalanced and can go wrong. In this book a group of individuals called the 'Party' has a lot of power and gains it by lying and controlling people. They take away people's natural rights, by prohibiting rebellious thoughts and language. The expression of individuality is illegal, so everyone is the same, as far as looks, thoughts, and speech. Orwell warns the reader about this topic because if this goes overlooked the world can become just like Oceania .
“Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble.” This line, concocted by American author George Orwell, highlights the idea that language has become increasingly less honest throughout the world. Among other languages, English is extremely complex. Filled with metaphors, several words with the same meaning, and strong diction, it is easy to get wrapped up in glittering generalities. Language has the ability to relay ideas in an effective way; over the decades, however, it has been utilized by powerful figures to belittle citizens and cause them to do whatever the leader wants. According to Orwell, language has the ability to not only express but also conceal ideas. Politicians manipulate language to conceal the truth on a daily basis, and professors, teachers, and journalists must stop encouraging their speeches and words to the people. Professors and teachers tend to show students examples of politicians’ speeches and praise their ideas although they are often one-sided and tend to make little sense. Journalists recount these politician’s ideas and even use language to corrupt their own readers into thinking a certain way. To develop and convey the connection between language and thought to his audience, Orwell utilizes antimetabole, hyperbole, and simile.