Art can be used to portray political messages and is considered as a powerful weapon to show the public about political leaders’ .The great example to it is the novel 1984 written by George Orwell. George Orwell uses his novel to portray political evils and political leaders’ totalitarianism. Orwell’s political views or messages were formed by his experiences of Socialism, Totalitarianism and Imperialism. It was the understanding of Orwell 's panics about Stalinist Russia and the growth of Totalitarianism that stimulated him to write his novel 1984 and being an Anti-Utopian novel, 1984 gives a picture of a world where Totalitarianism had full control over society.
Often considered one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century, F. Scott Fitzgerald rose to fame as a young, decadent writer who captured the essence of wild economic prosperity and cultural pleasures of the 1920’s known as the Jazz Age. His works are heavily influenced by his everyday life that was plagued by effusive relationships and vicarious self-indulgence. His time spent at Princeton University and in the Army, marriage to eccentric socialite Zelda, and long-time battle with alcoholism all contributed to the vigorous nature of his novels and short stories. Fitzgerald’s life ended relatively early and in far from the spry state of its beginning. Fitzgerald entered Princeton University in September of 1913, contributing to many university publications with his early short stories and humor columns.
In Mists of Avalon, Morgaine, a Pagan priestess, mocks witchcraft paranoia by saying “And as for sorcery-- well, there are ignorant priests and ignorant people, who are all too ready to cry sorcery if a woman is only a little wiser than they are” (Bradley 1195). Catholics in Mists of Avalon feared the Pagans and criticized their religion ignorantly. Christians burned suspected witches or sorceresses with little to no evidence in Le Morte d’Arthur. Once the religious Elaine wondered about Morgaine, “How could any woman be so good when she worshipped devils and refused Christ” (Bradley 710). The Pagan society had different ideas about “natural” gender roles and qualities (Stypczynski 2).
Freedom is not something that can ever be taken, rather only surrendered by an individual, thus allowing “Conformity [to be] the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth” (John F Kennedy). This truth was evident within George Orwell’s book 1984, which constantly juggled how the threshold between freedom and captivity had become so blurred. The people of Oceania were not free; but, constrained to a path of life that prevented them from thinking freely without persecution, having privacy, and obtaining true knowledge.. Once a society's ability to think for themselves is revoked their freedom goes along with it.
“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives” (James Madison). This is the situation presented in George Orwell’s 1984, where a totalitarian government, The Party, rules and oppresses the people of the fictional country of Oceania. The Party utilizes many methods of controlling the people including, taking away their privacy via constant monitoring, countless restrictions, and the most crucial device of all, the regulation of knowledge. This regulation is what keeps the people in ignorance and enables the party to easily control them due to their inadequate understanding of the situation. While the implications are so high it could be considered as barbaric, the concepts surrounding the premise are not.
In 1984, the Party has control over the creation of ‘truth’. This is through, as the slogan states, control of the present. In complete control over Oceania, the Party uses thousands of people to go back through past statements (past ‘truths) and eliminate all existance of them while continually updating these ‘truths’ to best suit them in the present. One example of this is Oceania’s relationship with Eurasia and Eastasia. During a war with Eurasia, the Party is able to make the public believe that Eastasia has always been the ally and Eurasia has always been the evil enemy that must be despised.
In the dystopian novel “1984” the author, George Orwell, envisions a society where every aspect of a person's life is controlled by the government. In this society, the people are not allowed to think for themselves. They are always monitored by the government and by the people around them. If the people were to disobey the government, they would be imprisoned in a camp or cease to exist. In reality, this type of society would be able to exist.
In the dystopian novel 1984 by George Orwell (pseudonym of Eric Blair), the main character is a man named Winston Smith, a frail thirty-nine year old. In this society, privacy is completely unheard of. Even thinking rebellious thoughts is illegal, called thoughtcrime. The ruling Party is redesigning English, and calling it Newspeak. It is forcefully implemented, and it attempts to prevent rebellion by abolishing words related to it.
Throughout the text we are presented with a manipulation of ideology from Big Brother, they constantly remind the reader of their slogan: “WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.”9 The effect this has on the reader is of a constant reminder of what Big Brother believes. Not only the citizens of Oceania see it everywhere and hear it in every corner, but the reader is reminded of what kind of regime they are undergoing into. The whole slogan is a contrast of what a transparent and prudent human being should be and the words have a strong impact on the reader due to its short yet effective persuasion techniques. The contrast shows capital letters, Orwell has done this intentionally in order to be able for the slogan to stand out.
Ministry of Love:Central Intelligence Agency The CIA stands for Central Intelligence Agency. Their job is to gather data and intelligence on potential threats to the United States. According to www.RT.com in an article written by Jim young one of the most shocking things that is in the CIA torture report was that prisoners were “frozen to death”. George Orwell’s novel 1984 has illustrated an accurate representation of divisions in our modern day government.
Isn’t it absolutely undeniable that technology has changed the world? We cannot deny the fact that we have the power to destroy most of the world’s population within a day. We cannot deny the fact that TVs, cellphones and computers have become somewhat an inseparable part of our daily lives. It is a fact that we cannot deny and yet we cannot see. What is technology?
As Orwell spent more and more time with the down-and-outs of England, he became convinced that the only remedy for the invidious problem of poverty lay in socialism, a political and economic philosophy arguing that only when the state controls the means of production and distribution will all members of a nation share its profits and rewards. Unlike capitalism, the philosophy holding that a nation's means of production and distribution should be privately owned and controlled, socialism argues that only government regulation of a nation's economy can close the gap between the rich and the poor. Although he was not a virulent anti-capitalist, Orwell did think that only with the gradual introduction of socialist ideas and practices into British
In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, Winston Smith lives in a dystopian London society, filled with despair and mistrust. Winston have speculated throughout the book that the Party, London government leader, were tampering with the citizens memories. After Winston was taken into the Party custody, he was then was tortured by O’Brien, a member of the inner Party. O’Brien reason for torturing Winston was that he refuse to let the Party control of his memories and history. Winston ask to O’Brien if the Party was controlling his memories and O’Brien, neither deny nor confirm that notion.
With all the steps of analysis that I have been through, 1984 has diverse meaning in that can be viewed in different ways. With the strong messages, shifting tones, and meaning, there’s an unlimited amount of themes that one can write about. Orwell’s opinion of a totalitarian society seems unquestionably harsh; however, in modern times, people believe that communism is the way that it is explained in books and media. Even though it’s good to make assumptions about other country’s society in order to be safe, it is better if we individually made out own assumptions and weren’t dragged by the influence of our society. Currently, we are filled with ignorant ideas that our government has instilled in us.
Fahad Alrebdi Mr. John Smallwood ENG4U September 6, 2014 Julia and Winston In Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell presents the protagonist, Winston Smith and his lover Julia in Oceania, under the rule of Big Brother. Under this totalitarian regime, both characters are Party members. Winston works in the Records department of the Ministry of Truth while Julia works in the Fiction department of the Ministry of Truth.
