Hanna Harwood
Mrs. Cone
Pre-AP English II
19 March 2014
George Orwell’s Portrayal of Government Corruption
Novelist, George Orwell, in his novels 1984 and Animal Farm, defines dystopian societies. Orwell’s purpose is to suggest the government corruption in the Russian Revolution, a current event of his time, and predict the consequences of it. He adopt a condescending tone in order to produce insight of the government in his readers. Both 1984 and Animal Farm are prime examples off corrupt governments through Orwell’s use of violence, strict class structures, and strong propaganda.
1. Violence
Orwell frequently, in his novel 1984, expounds upon that the violence present negatively enhances the corruption in the government. He supports the claim through episodes of Hate promoted by the government among the people. The Two Minute Hate and Hate Week cause “uncontrollable exclamations of rage… breaking out from half the people” (Orwell 1984 13). Orwell writes, “a hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledgehammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people” (1984 15). The Oceania government achieves this rage and hate through presenting Goldstein and his beliefs as the enemy, and Big Brother and the government as the rightful leader. These times of hate let the people know their enemy, building up their rage, consequently acting violently. Orwell describes violence by torture as Winston is held in prison. When captured by the thought police, people were tortured so they no longer has rebellious thoughts. O’Brien floods Winston’s body with pain without any warning by the slight movement of his hand on the dial (Orwell 1984 244). The Party in 1984 uses this violence ...
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...eriences in such a way as to intensity them” (Clune). They call a bottle of colorless liquid that tastes like nitric acid, gin and a crumbly substance that tastes like the smoke of a rubbish fire, chocolate (Orwell 1984_____). The government does this to provide a sense of continuity so the well-being of the society betters. Similar to Animal Farm, a common enemy of Goldstein is established in 1984. The Party used propaganda to convince the people that their government is right and they should hate the other forms. Many other forms of strong propaganda are present in the novel. All of which combine to create a corrupt government.
Government corruption is emphasized through the violence, strict class structures, and strong propaganda in 1984 and Animal Farm. These two books are extremely similar in the way Orwell uses them satirically about the Russian Revolution.
Orwell’s classic, 1984, is a haunting, disturbing novel. Everything from constant surveillance to the mutability of the past adds to the creepy world Orwell created in his classic. Orwell’s writing style is incredibly descriptive, and paints a completely convincing picture of his dystopian setting. He does not use much figurative language, but he does rely on logical fallacies accepted as fact to shock and intrigue the reader. One
In society today, the horrific truth is that numerous people are hungry for power, and desire to be in a position that is exceedingly high above the rest. This is the general ideology of the Party, the supreme and ruling government in the legendary narrative 1984, written by George Orwell. 1984 is a dystopian, science fiction novel that is set during the year 1984 in the superstate of Oceania. In a malevolent world of continuous warfare, relentless government scrutiny, and constant human manipulation, the story revolves around a man named Winston Smith, a citizen of Oceania who lives in Airstrip One, a futuristic and dystopian Great Britain. Winston sees the tyrannical reign that the Party has over Oceania, mostly because of the lies that he helps feed the people, through his job of altering and “fixing” past records at the Ministry of Truth. In the novel, Winston grows tired of the Party’s dictatorship, and dreams of a revolution that will overthrow the government that he covertly detests. 1984 is an illustrious tale that has remained a relevant read to everyone, because of the excellent and eye-opening ideas found beneath its context. Orwell’s use of the theme of manipulation, universal role of characters, and impressive symbolism covers how this book is truly a classic piece of literature.
“There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever.”(1) This quote encompasses the intention that George Orwell had in mind when contriving 1984; he intended to caution society about the menace of a totalitarian dystopian world, in which there is no freedom, citizens are being indoctrinated, and how the ever existing lure to power will perpetually manipulate politics. In part one of this essay I will first discuss the themes of 1984 then I will consider Orwell’s objectives in writing the novel.
Orwell uses many techniques to show this, and by doing so he makes the two books connect in many ways. In both books he has a dream place for the societies that are corrupt, he uses fear for the leaders to have total power, and he has rules and rule changes to also show total power. In these novels Orwell acts as a voice for warning of corruption to a society, and he speaks out about totalitarian governments. In a totalitarian society, corruption of mankind is inevitable. Although 1984 goes into deeper detail about the society lived in, both the novels convey their themes and messages very
George Orwell’s novel 1984 is based on a society ruled by a totalitarian government that prohibits independent thought in order to conform the society. Emotional manipulation and torture is utilized in the book to control all of Oceania into believing what the government wishes its people to believe. Although propaganda is apparent all throughout Oceania instilling specific ideas, some individuals, like Winston, oppose the party’s thoughts questioning the information that is presented to them. After Winston is caught for committing his acts of rebellion towards the Party, he is continually tortured in hopes that he will be “cured.” In George Orwell’s book 1984, the Party effectively tortures Winston through both physical and psychologically
Orwell was a Socialist and believed in the ability for a rebellion to change society, but unfortunately too often he witnessed such rebellions go wrong and develop into totalitarian rule. 1984 warns us against the idea of absolute powerthrough the analysis of the dangers of Big Brother and statist roots. 1984 remains an important work of literature because the ills of totalitarianism in all forms are still relevant in this day and age. Freedom and authoritarianism resonate with us those of us who live beyond the 20th century and those who lived around that time. In 1984, Orwell uses irony and paradox to show the difference between the novel’s major conundrums: Emmanuel Goldstein, who is the enemy of the state bt doesn’t pose any real
The novel 1984 by George Orwell presents the readers an image of a totalitarian society that explores a world of control, power, and corruption. The main idea of government control presents itself in the novel by protecting and listening to the people of Oceania. However, Orwell suggests giving too much power to the government is a mistake because eventually the decisions they make will not be about the people anymore but rather themselves. In 1984, the power and corruption the party has is overwhelming for the people. There are no ways around the beliefs of the Party, the party attempts to control and eventually destroy any mental or physical resistance against their beliefs. The agenda for the party is to obtain mind control over its people and force them to adore their leader. The methods the Party uses to achieve its goal are: the use of constant propaganda and surveillance, the rewriting of history, and Room 101.
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.
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 ...
Although George Orwell’s Animal Farm was created in order to mimic individuals as well as occurrences that took place during the Russian Revolution period, it is still possible to gain a comprehensive understanding of the text without a past knowledge of history through the exploitation of human nature’s imperfections. Following the publishment of his novel, Orwell confirmed that his goal in writing this fable was to expose the wrongdoing of the Soviet Union as well as the treachery of the true ideas of the Revolution. Nonetheless, there have been several other examples of events such as the French Revolution that can effortlessly be contrasted against components of the allegory. However, we need not to dig no deeper than to the fundamental faults in human nature to witness the catastrophic consequences that attributes such as hierarchy, propaganda and betrayal have on today’s society.
Power can have the persuasive action in undoing the moral ethics of one’s character. This can be seen throughout history, such as World War II and proven by the actions of Napoleon in the allegory, Animal Farm, by George Orwell. As Lord Acton said “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In history what was viewed as a villain or wrong doer is never the same as the perception. A leader does not begin wanting to do wrong, they start with the best intentions, but power is a tricky thing, showcased in Animal Farm as Utopian ideals but with failed practices.
George Orwell is considered to be one of the most creative and expressive political writers of the twentieth century, particularly for his views opposing communism and totalitarian regimes famously expressed in his novel, 1984. Orwell perceived communism as, “A new, dangerous form of totalitarianism, a powerful tool for controlling the masses.” Orwell’s hatred towards communism began with communist leader, Joseph Stalin whom he referred to as, “a bloody-minded master” (Rossi 1). Orwell’s views solidified during his participation in the Spanish Civil War; throughout his experience, Orwell was subject to communist propaganda, which led to his distrust of authority and established hatred of fascist and communist governments (Rossi 2). Orwell’s views, along with his participation ...
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a satire of the Russian Revolution that took place during the late 1930s. Orwell uses vibrant characters such as Snowball, Old Major, and Napoleon to represent some of Russia’s horrific past. While Old Major represents the idea of revolution and Snowball represents the idea of industrialism, Napoleon represents the totalitarian dictatorship in Russia. Animal Farm is a good example of what happened to Russia during this time period. While Animal Farm could represent any dictatorship, it more specifically represents the totalitarianism brought on by Joseph Stalin through communism.
George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm is a great example of allegory and political satire. The novel was written to criticize totalitarian regimes and particularly Stalin's corrupt rule in Russia. In the first chapter Orwell gives his reasons for writing the story and what he hopes it will accomplish. It also gives reference to the farm and how it relates to the conflicts of the Russian revolution. The characters, settings, and the plot were written to describe the social upheaval during that period of time and also to prove that the good nature of true communism can be turned into something atrocious by an idea as simple as greed. This essay will cover the comparisons between Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution. It will also explain why this novel is a satire and allegory to the Revolution that took place in Russia so long ago.
In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, a main theme is that power corrupts those who possess it. A definition of corruption is,“dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery.” Orwell develops this idea through the character Napoleon in various ways. Looking back in the book, the animal’s rebellion quickly turned political and revolved around, “Leader, Comrade Napoleon (Orwell 81)”. The power Napoleon possed was executed through lies and selfishness, aided by the lack of intellectual ability in the other animals. The corruption of Napoleon’s power is displayed when he favors himself, along with the other pigs, and eventually the dogs, who all get better rations of food compared to the other animals. Another main demonstration of how power corrupts Napoleon is how he separates himself from the other animals on the farm, displaying his feelings if superiority to the other animals. A ceremonial nature develops towards Napoleon. The last way power corrupts Napoleon is how he acts recklessly; killing other animals and lying about