Sophie Moore Mrs. N. Finley E209R3 – 1984 literary analysis 27 January 2015 Symbolism throughout 1984 The novel 1984 is a futuristic totalitarian society where everyone is kept under close surveillance and is forced to follow all rules and laws of the state. The novel 1984 was written by George Orwell and published in 1950. The main characters were Big Brother, Winston Smith, Julia, O’Brien, Syme and Emmanuel Goldstein. Winston Smith is a low man on the totem pole when it came to the ruling Party in London, Oceania. His every move is watched by the Party through devices called telescreens. Posted everywhere around the city is the face of their leader, “Big Brother” informing them that he is always watching. He works in the “Ministry of Truth” which is ironic seeing that they alter history to fit the liking of the Party. As this book continues Winston challenged the laws and skirts around the fact that he is always being watched. His shocking and rebellious act is “falling in love.” Throughout this novel George Orwell utilizes symbolism to further enhance the totalitarian features of the society. In many ways these symbols represent the things that this society hasn’t experienced and doesn’t understand. The face of the Party and the leader behind all the great power in this society is Big Brother. “Big Brother Is Watching You.” Is one of the most obvious symbols in the novel 1984. Big Brother is there for reassurance and is portrayed as a trustworthy leader for many, yet
The fictional novel, 1984 by George Orwell is about a world run by a totalitarian government, called the Party, which takes away all the freedoms of its citizens by watching over them with high surveillance technology. In addition, the Party uses dishonesty and betrayal to expose people’s true feelings of Oceania, the country where the story takes place. Betrayal is seen throughout society in Oceania through government manipulation and actions made by Winston, Julia and O’Brien, the main characters. Winston’s true self-betrayal comes when he realizes his new passionate love for Big Brother, the leader of the Party and Oceania. The Party fears a rebellion against them, as a result they use different methods to eliminate trust between
The book, 1984 by George Orwell, is about the external and internal conflicts that take place between the two main characters, Winston and Big Brother and how the two government ideas of Democracy and totalitarianism take place within the novel. Orwell wrote the novel around the idea of communism/totalitarianism and how society would be like if it were to take place. In Orwell’s mind democracy and communism created two main characters, Winston and Big Brother. Big Brother represents the idea of the totalitarian party. In comparison to Big Brother, Winston gives and represents the main thought of freedom, in the novel Winston has to worry about the control of the thought police because he knows that the government with kill anyone who
In George Orwell’s novel 1984 the Party is the ruling government over the civilization in Oceania, Big Brother is the image of the ruler that is always watching their actions against society like thought-crime with telescreens. The main character Winston Smith is a worker at the Ministry of Truth and is later joined by a lover named Julia who works with Winston to start a revolution against the Party. The novel 1984 by George Orwell Compared to a government like that of America’s, 1984 creates a more threatening structure of government where the public is limited from freedom and happiness. This novel is an example where a society when only the few upper classmen has power and the freedom from harsh treatment that the general population receives. Power creates problems for others by others, in which they do not deserve. In George Orwell’s 1984 Power is gained most effectively through control, fear and violence.
1984, by George Orwell is a novel depicting life within a totalitarian government, where there is no freedom and they control all features of human life. George Orwell exposes the ways of this system through the point of view of, Winston Smith, the main character. Big Brother represents the oppressive figure and the Party. The Party conducts numerous experimental methods to implement their totalitarian system to its participants, methods such as manipulation to the language they spoke and the way they thought. The party frightens the citizens by threatening them with violence and torture and the government controls everything and everyone. The technology
1984 is a problematic world where conflict is carried throughout the whole novel. Orwell’s depiction of society is shown and what he believed would become if events grew worse: the spread of communism. Instead of being forward and using communists as the enemy, Orwell creates a protective and intimidating image of the government and uses the coincidental name Big Brother. This wicked party promotes a totalitarian society and erases all truth, forcing Winston Smith’s to conceal his
As human beings, there are distinct characteristics that separate us from feral animals; the ability to create, to appreciate art, to curiously question the world and most importantly to sympathize for our kind. However, when that exact nature is stripped from us, we tend to become mindless, restricted, cold, and degraded as an entire race. This is the setting of George Orwell’s last book, 1984. A world where human thought is limited, war and poverty lie on every street corner, and one cannot trust nobody or nothing. It is all due to the one reigning political entity, the Ingsoc Party, who imposes complete power over all aspects of life for all citizens. There is no creative or intellectual thought, no art, culture or history, and no
The book 1984 deals with a man named Winston Smith, realizing that his government is not what it seems like. 1984 is a work of fiction about what could happen if government and media took control over the minds of the population. The government controls everyone’s house with televisions that never turn off, their thoughts and doings, and on signs it says "Big Brother is Watching You." The film describes a controlling, almost totalitarian, government with one leader, identified as Big Brother. His portrait is seen on posters that appear on nearly every wall in the city of London. Orwell refers the posters of Big Brother as “so contrived that eyes follow you about when you move.” In 1984, the job of the secret police is to spy for the government
1984 is a novel written by George Orwell depicting a dystopian society in Oceania where the government known as the Party oppresses human actions with the omniscient, ever watching Big Brother. His novel introduces the phrase describing life without freedom: Big Brother is watching you. The main character, Winston Smith, struggles against the persecution of the Party through the expressions of thoughts in a diary and pursuing forbidden relationships, but soon his criminal actions ensnare him in the hands of the Party after being betrayed by his “friend”, and he is forced to undergo reformation. The rundown, tyrannical government of 1984 is often being compared to today’s society, and Americans fear that we will become the dystopian civilization
“BIG BROTHER is watching YOU” (Orwell). These words, repeated through posters in the novel, represented the fear of absolute government control through a totalitarian government. A fear many Ally country citizens under democracy shared through the battle of the Cold War against the communist nation Russia. By applying Marxist critical lense to the novel, 1984, written by George Orwell, a connection to communism can be made through the social classes, totalitarian government style, and economic structure presented in the novel. It is important to note that Orwell is not commenting on Marxist ideology itself, but the implementation of communist social theory in socialist, totalitarian nations. The overall theme of fearing absolute government control is emphasized through the torture and deception against the protagonist Winston.
The novel 1984 reflects a world of domination with the help of hatred and cruelty. The Party Big Brother was the head of the community . The journey that the protagonist of the novel, Winston Smith, goes through is high maintenance surveillance and mind control. 1984 is a reflection of a dystopian society because of its lack of freedom and possessive government. The people who live in this society are unhappy and do not have their own privacy or rights. They are constantly monitoring their actions to ensure that people are following the rules of Big Brother.
George Orwell’s book 1984 entails a story with the main character Winston Smith and his journey through him having a different thoughts and opinions in the society of Oceania in which he lives in. Orwell’s book was published a couple years after WWII in 1949 and he incorporates a lot of war subjects that actually happened during the time of war. Orwell dated the book 1984 to make the audience realize the book in the future and not in past events. Big Brother is the political figure similar to Uncle Sam in which this he is not a real person, but a symbol of power and the government. The government, which is divided into three sections, called The Inner party, The Outer Party, and The Proles. The Inner Party is the one who ranks above the other
In the novel 1984, by George Orwell, the government of Oceania is able to have supreme control over its population. The citizens of Oceania live in angst of the “Big Brother.” This instills a great amount of fear in the citizens who believe they must fulfill the government 's expectations. The government not only invaded the person privacy of the Oceanic citizens, but they took away their basic human rights. By stiripping its citizens of their rights, like freedom of speech, The Party is able to crush any thought of rebellion. The people have no say in their government and are unable to make their own decisions regarding their own lives. The government forces the citizens to do certain things and abide by certain rules that they do not want to follow. This excessive control causes individuals like the main character, Winston Smith, to deceive their government in secret. During the novel, the government takes advantage of its power and uses it to an extreme which causes a major influence in the life of Winston Smith. In 1984, power gives the government the ability to successfully influence the behavior of others and control the citizens of Oceania.
Freedom is a topic people understand in America. The American government runs on the idea that Americans should have freedom. Winston Smith in 1984 did not have nearly as much freedom and privacy that Americans today might deem as “normal.” When a government forces people to do exactly what they say to do, the can make people believe almost anything. With this king of power, a government can almost change history, as shown in 1984. The lifestyle shown in Oceania in 1984 is what Orwell thought Russia was going to be made into. Although George Orwell’s 1984 has been challenged and banned in many places for various reasons, some people argue that it would benefit students to read it in class.
The book that I chose for my first book report was 1984 by George Orwell. The story begins by introducing a man named, Winston Smith, a simple man from the country known as Oceania. He lives in a small flat within London, on the Island known as Airstrip One. Winston is a part of the outer party, which is a part of the ruling party within Oceania, and is a low ranking member who works for the Ministry of Truth as a propaganda officer. The people of the ruling party are constantly being watched, and their actions and thoughts are under strict control by the government. Thoughts specifically are very important to the party and the thought police, a policing agency that analyzes individual’s thoughts, and are dedicated to controlling what party members think about. Winston makes a conscious choice to go against them by beginning his own personal journal and starts his journey of rebellion against the party. As a propaganda officer within the Ministry of Truth he works to control all information that circulates within Oceania. While working at the Ministry of Truth Winston encounters a man named O’Brien who interests him very much, and he begins to believe that he and O’Brien share similar views towards the party.
Can anyone recall a time in history more dystopian than the upside-down society that is Nazi-Germany? While no other time period comes close, the novel we have been reading in class deals vigorously with dystopian society. 1984, by George Orwell, is a dystopian, fiction-based book that features a main character named Winston Smith, a girl named Julia, and many others who come together to make for a very intense storyline and an intriguing read. It takes place in Oceania, in 1984, while it was written in 1948. With a sense of science fiction, it’s set in near-future Oceania. The city is still named London, though the country is called Airstrip One instead of England. The main conflict in the novel is how Winston wants to rebel against the party, with only instinct and trace memories to guide him, and ultimately set the course to change society for the future. However, he’ll later find how it’s not so easy to get what you want in this upside-down and twisted society. Nazi Germany and the fictional society portrayed in 1984 share similar dystopian characteristics such as how a figurehead or concept is worshipped by the citizens of the society, how propaganda is used to control the citizens of society, and how citizens live in a dehumanized state.