How Does George Orwell Use Oxymoron In 1984

546 Words3 Pages

In the excerpt from 1984, George Orwell, a British writer, explains the world in which Winston, guy who hates his government, lives. Orwell explains how anything Winston does can be seen or heard by the government. Orwell uses oxymoron, allusion and suspense to describe what it's like to live in a place with no freedom. Orwell relates the book with history and human nature to make it intriguing and exciting for readers. Orwell uses oxymoron to describe the philosophy and beliefs of the government in 1984. He contradicts ideas and words, which would seem terrifying and strange to readers in this age, to show what the government believes and wants its citizen to believe in. He states, “the three slogans on the white face of the Ministry of Truth came back to him: WAR IS PEACE.” This illustrates that the slogan “WAR IS PEACE” is written on a huge government building. By reading this readers would think, how does war bring peace? However, the way the government initiate war, it brings peace to its citizens. By fighting continuously with no objective or collateral damage, the citizens are kept safe. This idea and action sounds …show more content…

He connects historical figures to the characters of the book. Orwell states, “There, too, in tiny clear lettering, the same slogans were inscribed, and on the other face of the coin the head of Big Brother.” Big brother in the book alludes to Adolf Hitler, the leader of Germany four years before the book was written. One also comes across the word “party” in the passage. As he states, “And what way of knowing that the dominion of the Party would not endure FOR EVER?” The word party refers to the Nazi party. The allusions is a direct result of the time Orwell lived in. Britain was in danger of being attacked by German thus it was logical to make such allusions. Allusions help add more knowledge in the book which is favorable to readers because they get to learn so might