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Dystopia In George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four

999 Words4 Pages

A dystopia is normally defined as an unfavourable society. Dystopian literature follows exactly this definition, and is written around a society that is actively working against the protagonist’s desires of liberty and decent living conditions. The novel Nineteen Eighty-Four written by George Orwell talks about a future with a totalitarian government that (successfully) attempts to manipulate its inhabitants. This literary piece conforms to the conventions of dystopian literature because it’s written for the traditional purpose of a dystopian novel and it contains signature dystopian traits.

A dystopian novel like 1984 is set in the future and its purpose is to warn the reader to change their attitude about society. This was exactly the goal of 1984’s writer Eric Arthur Blair, who started using the pseudonym ‘George Orwell’ when he developed a hatred for imperialism. He wrote the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four in 1948 out of fear that Britain would embrace either fascism or socialism after the Second World War. The purpose of warning the reader of a desolate future is one aspect of dystopian literature that this novel conforms to.

Another aspect of dystopian literature is evidently that it takes place in a dystopia with a totalitarian government. In 1984 this is Oceania, an autocratic superstate that controls the freedom, …show more content…

In Nineteen Eighty-Four, Winston portrays the role of this rebel by hating the Party intensely. This is obvious from his numerous thought crimes that range from keeping an illegal diary wherein he writes “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (Part I, chapter 1) to committing ‘sexcrime’ by having a love affair with Julia, who is a propagandist for the Junior Anti-Sex League. Winston puts a lot of effort into his quest to achieve freedom but, like all dystopian stories, this ultimately fails when he’s brainwashed and put back into society as a loyal subject of the

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Society is made up of multiple factors including individuality and opposition. George Orwell’s 1984 is a novel that depicts a communist dystopian society. Orwell wrote this novel to show what will happen to society under Communist control—more specifically, Joseph Stalin’s control. Orwell presents the reader with a protagonist, Winston, and through Winston, the reader can see the effects of extreme, forced conformity in a society. Through 1984, the reader can conclude that a society as a whole cannot thrive when constrained.

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Many a literary critic claims that the strongest aspect of the book 1984 by George Orwell is its plot. Indeed, there is some merit in this conclusion, as the entire purpose of Orwell’s writing of this book was not to create a literary classic, but to warn the public about the dangers of communism if it got out of hand, and what better way to do this than to write an engaging plot? Others may claim that 1984’s greatest strength is in its character development. This aspect, too, is quite strong in the book, as not only are the minor characters effected in serving the dystopian theme, but the major characters are believable and very human in their failings. Winston’s transformation from an oppressed office worker to revolutionary and finally

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In 1949, a man predicted the domination of citizens by the totalitarian government and their custom of technologies to dictate the society. His name is George Orwell, a well-known British author, who wrote one of the most famous dystopian novels, 1984. The novel 1984 illustrates the totalitarian society and the life of Winston Smith, who works at the Ministry of truth and his humiliation by the party of the country, Oceania. George Orwell’s exaggeration and mockery of the totalitarian governments in the novel 1984 is now turning out to be one of the nightmare come true in our modern society.

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