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Context Of 1984

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1984 Critical Analysis 1984, written and published by George Orwell in 1949, follows main character Winston Smith, who lives in a totalitarian country known as Oceania. Within this country, all citizens are closely monitored by the government (also known as “The Party”) and the ruler of Oceania, known as “Big Brother.” Everyone is constantly watched through “telescreens,” TV’s that also serve as cameras for the government. Any individual thought is punishable by death, and known as a “thoughtcrime,” as all citizens must believe and think only what The Party tells them to. Tired of his monotonous life and unagreeing with The Party’s forced ideologies, Winston decides to rebel. Throughout the entirety of the novel, Orwell uses a historical …show more content…

Orwell examines the story in relation to its historical backdrop, in this case basing his novel off of WWII and Soviet Russia, in order to illustrate what could happen to the world under totalitarian rule (such as Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany.) Orwell bases Oceania, The Party, and Big Brother on Soviet Russia/ Stalin’s regime. He mirrors a lot of real historical events around WWII throughout 1984. This can be seen in the “Two Minutes Hate,” a propaganda video shown to all Oceania citizens in order to arouse hatred towards the opposing party (Emmanuel Goldstein and “The Brotherhood). This mimics the WWII propaganda films shown throughout Soviet Russia. Likewise, Emmanuel Goldstein is based on the exiled Soviet Bolshevik leader, Leon Trotsky. During the early years of the Soviet Union, Trotsky was a significant political figure. However, after a struggle for dominance with Stalin, Trotsky was …show more content…

Orwell’s writing of the telescreens, Big Brother, and Thought Police all reflect the notion that someone is always watching, which is majority of the time true within totalitarian countries. Winston’s story also illustrates the ultimate truth within totalitarian states, which is that there is no means of escape no matter how hard you try or how different you believe you are. Throughout the novel, Winston perceives himself as superior to The Party and Big Brother due to the fact that he can see through all of their lies. He truly believes that he is able to overcome them both, but is caught by the Thought Police and taken to the Ministry of Love, a place where (ironically) crimes are dealt with and people are tortured. Winston is then tortured and brainwashed through psychological drugs into loving Big Brother, defeating the whole purpose of Winston’s endeavors to overthrow The Party throughout the novel. Winston’s character is used to reflect the lives and consequences of rebellion for those living within totalitarian states, specifically Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany around/during

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After being tortured and facing his fear in Room 101, Winston was finally broken and now loves the party’s beliefs and Big Brother. Now we do not see the Winston who was against the party, we see him supporting the party because of manipulation through torture. A stylistic device that is used is pathos. Pathos is shown when Winston expresses his happiness that he was finally broken and free to love Big Brother but the reader feels sorry for Winston for getting extremely tortured and manipulated to support the oppressive party and dictator. This relates back to the thesis as George Orwell is predicting how people will get arrested and be manipulated and tortured to make society follow the government’s beliefs.

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During the beginning sections of the book, Winston narrates his average life as a party member under the control of Big Brother. The Big Brother is deemed the upper echelon of the hierarchy presented in the story. Very few go against Big Brother, but those who

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773 Words | 4 Pages

In George Orwell’s novel 1984, protagonist Winston Smith struggles to maintain his individuality, beliefs, and values while being under the totalitarian government control. As a citizen, Winston secretly rebels against the ruling Party. Although he attempts to challenge the power of the Party, Winston encounters many characters that drive him to his demise, such as Charrington, O’Brien, and Julia. In addition, his own decisions lead him to a labyrinth of problems. Eventually, the Party accomplishes its goal: to brainwash Winston and all other citizens.

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1347 Words | 6 Pages

Winston's transformation, in particular, serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of rebellion against an all-powerful regime. His initial desire to rebel against the Party is understandable, given the oppressive nature of the regime, but his failure to successfully challenge it demonstrates the futility of such rebellion in the face of overwhelming

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Orwell wrote this novel after World War II was over, and during the beginning of the Cold War. After having just experienced the fall of the Nazis and the rise of another strong world power, Russia. Orwell was using what occurred during the wars to predict an impending gloomy dystopian future. In his novel, the totalitarian government would be known as Big Brother, who watches over everyone and everything in Oceania. Big Brother was meant to symbolize how the world would be under a totalitarian communist government.

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601 Words | 3 Pages

Society in Oceania is tightly controlled by the government, known as the Party. The followers of the Party look up to a figure known as Big Brother, who is “always watching” them. Winston and Julia, the main characters in George Orwell’s prodigious novel, 1984, collaborate to work against the Party, but each has different views toward Big Brother and their rebellion. Winston Smith is unique from the people of Oceania because of his desire to rebel against the Party. Winston goes beyond the potential consequences of his actions to fulfill his desires of obtaining freedoms.

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1548 Words | 7 Pages

Personal relations and thoughts within one's self oppressed by a bigger power result in the building of progressive acts against said power. The novel 1984 was written by George Orwell, forty years after the end of World War 2, in London. In the novel, Orwell creates a world in which people's thoughts and personalities are oppressed by the government, also known as the “Party” or a bigger power referred to as “Big Brother” of Oceania. The Party monitors and manipulates the thoughts and actions of the citizens by watching them through big telescreens. Winston Smith, a man who seemingly stands alone within the party has a strong rebellion against the party.

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The novel describes the journey of Winston Smith as he rebels against the Party and tries to maintain his human qualities. By creating a totalitarian government in the novel 1984, George Orwell is able to express how important humanity is to not only Winston but also

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The Connections and Review of 1984 “Power is tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your choosing. Do you begin to see, then, what kind of world we are creating”(Orwell 341). 1984 by George Orwell is about a man named Winston Smith and a girl named Julia who want to be free of Big Brother and the Inner Party’s control. Winston and Julia find it hard to be themselves around all the telescreens and thought police, but they sneak around and meet up. Winston and Julia must fight and be sure not to lose themselves in a world where everyone is controlled.

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As you read 1984, you are immersed into the abstract world of ‘Oceania’ where society is nothing we see in present day America. A proper description of Oceania is a dictated country, ruled by the Party, there main goal is to brainwash the society they rule over and eliminate whoever stands in their way. The Party created a society where everyone within it is under absolute control by the Party, causing people to be stripped of their freedom by means of deception and fear. In the book 1984, Winston Smith longs for power over himself while The Party’s main goal is to leave people powerless and unable. George Orwell tries to convey the message in which human nature will always desire control or power, especially over oneself, under any circumstance.

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1172 Words | 5 Pages

Winston Smith is an average man living life in a society ruled by a totalitarian power: The Party. He is a simple, middle-aged man who wants to do the right thing and does what he needs to do by going to work, following the curfew, and commits crimes that would only mean certain death if he was caught. But why the last bit? One must delve deeper to substantiate Winston’s actions and why he truly does what he does. Winston lives in a world of lies and cruelty, yet he makes the best of it.

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908 Words | 4 Pages

Winston recognizes the oppressiveness of The Party. Within the first pages of the novel, Winston describes the Thought Police spying on all of the people of Oceania through telescreens: “Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it” (3). Big Brother is always watching him, among all the other people in Oceania. Big Brother is the wall in the way of Winston’s freedom. Winston later acquires a diary and knows that it is a crime punishable “by death, or at least twenty-five years in a forced-labor camp” (6).

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765 Words | 4 Pages

Although it is based in 1984, the social commentary it provides is most definitely applicable in this day and age. This novel analysis will touch briefly upon a few different subjects, such as symbolism and style, and the theme of the novel. Orwell has the amazing ability to keep the image of a dull,

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884 Words | 4 Pages

In 1984, George Orwell depicts a dystopian society pervaded by government control and the obsolescence of human emotion and society. Winston is forced to confront the reality of a totalitarian rule where the residents of Oceania are manipulated to ensure absolute government control and servitude of the people. The theme of totalitarianism and dystopia is employed in 1984 to grant absolute power to the government and ensure the deference of the people through the proliferation of propaganda, the repudiation of privacy and freedom, and the eradication of human thought and values. The repudiation of privacy and independent thought and the ubiquity of government surveillance is employed to secure absolute power to the government over the populace

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1500 Words | 6 Pages

In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the main theme is of conformity to the wants of society and the government. Themes of dehumanization of our species, as well as the danger of a totalitaristic state are repeatedly expressed. Orwell demonstrates this theme by using setting and characters in the novel. The setting helps to convey the theme because of the world and kind of city that the main character lives in. Winston’s every move is watched and controlled by the governmental figurehead known as “big brother”.

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