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Symbolism In George Orwell's '1984'

901 Words4 Pages

How would you feel to live life in a constant cycle of work, lie, eat, lie, sleep, under constant supervision? When examining George Orwell's 1984 through a Marxist lens one sees Orwell's criticism of totalitarian regimes in the way Winston Smith is attempting to avoid each threat that comes his way, while attempting to live the life of a free man. The totalitarian regime works on a basis of power. The government controls the minds of each citizen to favor the party. The perfect orthodox mind is one that does not question the ruling of the government nor the injustices it causes. “Orthodoxy means not thinking, not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconscious.”(Page 56) Civilians wanting to be good will then go through life wanting to do what …show more content…

The injustices he faces on a day to day basis cause a repressed rage and even further a purposeful feeling of resentment towards both the party and the entire idea of orthodoxy. He felt that his rage was an “undirected emotion which could be switched from one object to another like the flame of a blowlamp. Thus at one moment Winston’s hatred was not turned against Goldstein at all, but, on the contrary, against Big Brother, the Party and the thought police”. (page 16) During the two minute hate Winston finds himself feeling resentment towards the party by feeling a sense of discomfort due to the nature of following rules blindly. Winston is an inquisitive thinker and has complex ideas and morals that the party had not yet stripped of him. Karl Marx hypothesized that a man has two sides that determine his life in Winston Smith the reader sees both. The two sides are as follows, “Man, is first of all a natural being. As a natural being and a living natural being, he is endowed on the one hand with natural powers, vital powers…; these powers exist in him as aptitudes, instincts. On the other hand, as an objective, natural, physical, sensitive being, he is a suffering, dependent and limited being…, that is, the objects of his instincts exist outside him, independent of him, but are the objects of his need, indispensable and essential for the realization and confirmation of his substantial

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1984 Winston Smith Quote Analysis

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Winston Smith was one of the few people who dared to attempt to rebel against the government. His need for companionship “ He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the monster. He was alone” (page 28), and hatred for the Party “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (page 20), drove him to commit his first act of rebellion, writing in his journal.

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1984 Dialectical Journal Analysis

965 Words | 4 Pages

Yash Patel Mrs. Choi AP Literature October 2015 1984 Dialectal Journals for Part 2 Text Response 1. “In front of him was an enemy who was trying to kill him; in front of him, also was a human creature… He had indistinctively started forward to help her,” (Orwell 106) This quote shows that even in this time where they live in a life where they are being manipulated, Winston is still living in a time where he is experiencing hatred, but still maintains what keeps him normal or humane, which keeps him separated from everyone else. This hate is showing that people still have hate for each other and still want to kill each other but it also shows the true human he is by helping her when she was threatened.

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How Does Winston Present The Individual In 1984

739 Words | 3 Pages

The author george orwell in 1984, Winston's character portrays individuality through his thoughts on the party's views on creating a inhuman society vs his self leadership. This contributed to the leads of his tragic downfall. The theme of society versus individual can can be see in the beginnings of the book when Winston explain his life as a member in the party in London and how there is a figure watching everything he do called big brother. Winston explains how the party controls everything and strive to make rebellion disappear which show the society that Winston is up against. Wilson finally show that he an individual when he choose to break a rule of self thoughts and start a journal which he knows will lead

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How Is Betrayal Shown In 1984

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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Examples Of Thoughtcrime In 1984

662 Words | 3 Pages

He sees himself as Emmanual Goldstein, the first to betray the Party. With Winston’s regular attendance to the Two Minutes of Hate, an effective psychological operation to incite hatred for specific individuals and ideologies. Winston began to hate himself for simply wanting something that is natural to human nature. With

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Examples Of Irony In 1984 By George Orwell

468 Words | 2 Pages

This shows the contrast between Winston's career and his personal choices. His job is to alter the past so that everything agrees with the present, however, when given the slightest opportunity, Winston betrays the Party and begins writing in his journal about them and their lies. This is ironic because not only is the Ministry of Truth changing that past into lies, but Winston is also lying to the party about his loyalty. He is not openly admitting to disliking the Party and has continued to work for them despite his moral beliefs. This shows us to opposition between Winston’s job and how he feels about doing it.

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Examples Of Winston A Hero In 1984

1505 Words | 7 Pages

Winston has an imaginative mind and later in the book he claims that the “power that would one day overturn the world” lies “in the proles”. He feels that the fate of the Party would lie in their hands and “when their time came, the world they constructed would not be just as alien to him” since “at the least it would be a world of sanity” (220). Winston expresses one of his heroic qualities through displaying his vision for the good of

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611 Words | 3 Pages

Finally, the last component of Winston Smith’s heroism that must be taken into consideration is his character. More specifically, it is a matter of which attributes allow him to be a hero that readers can admire and emulate – a cardinal aspect to any literary hero. For Winston, it is his demonstration of courage, selflessness, and determination throughout the novel that explicitly makes him prevail as the respected hero of 1984, in spite of his failure to endure his hatred for the Party. To begin, it is only natural to start with Winston’s courage, as this makes its first appearance early in the novel when he purchases the paperweight from the junk-shop: “It was a queer thing, even a compromising thing, for a Party member to have in his possession”

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742 Words | 3 Pages

Cruelty in 1984 Throughout history, many governments have attempted to maintain complete power and control, most of which inevitably failed. George Orwell’s 1984 depicts a society that is completely controlled by the Party, otherwise known as INGSOC (English Socialism), which maintains power over the people through conformity and cruelty. Through this Orwell suggest that such extreme surveillance and cruelty enacted by totalitarian governments to maintain control strips its people of any identity or thought of their own.

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After World War II, everyone was surprised by the weapons used in it, especially the atomic bomb. The Cold War began right after World War II. The Soviet Union was coming to power, under Joseph Stalin, and taking over many European countries in form of a communist government. Since the United States was a capitalist party, and because of the Hitler incident, the US frowned upon communism greatly.

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Symbolism In 1984

575 Words | 3 Pages

Brianna Mull English III Honors Mrs. Schroder 25 April 2018 Symbolism in 1984 Throughout time symbols have created a distinct association in our everyday lives. Examples of this, the color white represents purity whereas black represents death and or destruction. Literature uses symbols to portray underlying meanings. ln 1984 by George Orwell, the dangers of a totalitarian society are illuminated through symbolism based heavily on fear and destruction.

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389 Words | 2 Pages

Winston Smith, the main character, is a man whose ethics and comportment have been heavily influenced by his milieu. Living in the austere and oppressive society of London, Oceania, Winston has been indoctrinated to suppress his emotions and thoughts and to conform to the ruling Party's ideology. However, Winston's inquisitiveness and yearning for liberty lead him to question the Party and its teachings. As he becomes more disenchanted with the Party and its propaganda, Winston's demeanor becomes more insubordinate, and he seeks out ways to resist the Party's control. Despite the peril of being caught and penalized by the Party, Winston continues to pursue his own moral code, which is at odds with the Party's tyrannical regime.

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765 Words | 4 Pages

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466 Words | 2 Pages

George Orwell is quoting that power is all that Winston needs, but power is not what he has to destroy Big Brother. Winston's determination does not fail to keep him from protesting against the party. O’Brien begins to show images of Winston body to him to push his limits. Winston continues to blame him for the way his body looks due to the beating and torturing. O’Brien then states to Winston, “This is what you accepted when you set yourself up against the party.

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Fear In George Orwell's 1984

1102 Words | 5 Pages

During a daily exercise known as the Two Minutes Hate, all Party members view a video usually featuring a speech denouncing the Party’s ideals and advocating for freedom and democracy. Even though Winston secretly supports these principles, he feels compelled to and even cannot avoid joining the frenzy of the Hate, entering a blind but abstract rage. He mentions that, “And yet that rage that one felt was an abstract, undirected emotion which could be switched from one object to another like the flame of a blowlamp. Thus, at one moment Winston’s hatred was not not turned against Goldstein at all, but, on the contrary, against Big Brother, the Party, and the Thought Police….(Orwell 14). This is how Winston’s fear differs from that of other people’s.

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