1984 HL Essay
Imagine a society where the government controls everything you do in life. A novel by
George Orwell called 1984 talks about the future of society and being government controlled.
1984 is a novel that shows the everyday life of Winston Smith, he works for the party which is government controlled and his plan is to against the party and fight for his own rights. George
Orwell shows experiences of Winston through the book that show totalitarianism and propaganda dangers. This novel uses techniques such as literary devices, to communicate the ideas of a government-controlled society. Few of the literary devices that are used in the novel are imagery, irony, foreshadowing, and allusion. How does George Orwell utilize literary
devices
…show more content…
In George Orwell novel 1984, it uses irony to use totalitarianism and government control.
One of the most important examples of irony in 1984 is “War is peace. Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.” (Orwell 4) This quote is a reference that is talking about how the government is controlling and possessing the people. This slogan is shown as a metaphor throughout the book, and it is brought up and used more and more throughout the book. Another similar quote and common piece of irony shown in the book is “The best books... are those that tell you what you know already.” (Orwell 229) This quote is a great way to use irony as a slogan.
The quote talks about how the ideas you know are way better than the ideas you may have in the future. This correlates to George Orwells 1984 book by talking about and describing how the government already knows what they need to do and how they maintain what they need. The party uses this slogan to manipulate and prove to the people that they have a very much lack in freedom. Another notable quote by Orwell in 1984 is “If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.” (Orwell 185) This quote is a great way of showing how