ipl-logo

Women In 1984 By George Orwell

1683 Words7 Pages

“It is impossible for a male author to accurately present a strong female character”:
Using ideas from the critical anthology to inform your argument, to what extent do you agree with this view in relation to George Orwell’s “1984”:
FEMINISM
In text “1984”, there are several male perspectives in which women are presented to the reader, through Orwell the author and Orwell the narrator. Orwell employs an omniscient, limited narrator, which therefore means, as an audience, we experience the novel through a predominately male perspective. Due to the masculine lens, through which the reader experiences the female characters and the symbols they represent, the way we perceive them as constructs can on first glance, be a mouthpiece for Orwell’s values. However, overall, the novel features very limited characters, despite their gender; but Winston, Julia and O’Brien, all subvert the conventions of the otherwise passive and underdeveloped characters. Julia, is not mindlessly orthodox, unlike many of the other female characters, she is seen as an incredibly round and ultimately strong character, whose positive qualities and flaws, that make her as developed a character as Winston, a round character in which the reader can resonate with due to their positive and negative attributes. The other flat portrayals of women in “1984” are used by Orwell to heighten …show more content…

In a feminist interpretation, Orwell uses Julia, in all her confidence, to reassert gender roles that both question the Party’s ideals of femininity and that of, also, the 1940s society. However, it may also be argued that the narrative is not one in which men are

Show More
Related

Maybeth Tillerman Summary

241 Words | 1 Pages

Dicey, James, Samuel, and Maybeth Tillerman moved in with their grandmother because their mother got very sick. They don’t have very much money and are just getting by. Dicey knows she has to take responsibility and gets a job at the local grocery store. Gram told the children that she might adopt them. Dicey meets an upperclassman who likes music.

Read More

Women In Fahrenheit 451

229 Words | 1 Pages

In the novel “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury, Montag becomes increasingly upset at his wife and her friends due to the way they ignore their emotions with superficial conversation and television. When the women talk about their husbands, for instance, Montag notices just how unattached the women are to their own emotions. Mrs. Phelps recalls her husband saying “If I get killed off you just go right ahead and don’t cry but get married again and don’t think of me” (Bradbury 91). Montag notices how nonchalant she was she spoke, as if her husband meant nothing to her. Montag is outraged because he sees this as parallel to his own life as he earlier realized he would not cry over his own wife’s death.

Read More

1984 Literary Criticism

1971 Words | 8 Pages

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

Read More

Individuality Leads To Rebellion In George Orwell's 1984

781 Words | 4 Pages

Both Winston and Julia have a lot of personality that goes against the Party and Big Brother, so when their true character comes out they end up getting into trouble. Through the “characters’ actions”, in 1984, Orwell suggests individuality leads to rebellion. Winston and Julia’s actions show that their own individuality leads to rebellion. Winston and Julia’s uniqueness leads them to rebellion in George Orwell’s, 1984. The Party doesn’t allow the citizens of Oceania to think their own thoughts in fear of a rebellion against the government.

Read More

Overfishing In Alaska Essay

1184 Words | 5 Pages

Alaska’s model of fishery management represents standards that managers in other areas strive to duplicate. One question is whether this management system can be improved to make it more robust, when climate changes may present new challenges to fisheries. http://marineconservationalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/1359_MCA_Report_for_download1.pdfMarine Conservation Alliance. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.

Read More

The Symbolism Of The Paperweight In 1984 By George Orwell

1301 Words | 6 Pages

“It was a heavy lump of glass, curved to one side, flat on the other, making it almost a hemisphere.” (95). In the novel 1984, George Orwell tells the shocking story of a dystopian society where the government controls every aspect of one’s life. Through the symbolism of the paperweight, George Orwell exposes how Winston and Julia’s relationship is shattered once they are caught, thus exposing that beautiful things and freedom are fragile and must be protected.

Read More

Repetition In George Orwell's 1984

1261 Words | 6 Pages

George Orwell was an English novelist and journalist best known for his dystopian novel 1984 which was based on totalitarianism. Winston Smith, an employee in the Records Department for the Ministry of Truth and protagonist of this story, lives a life characterized by rebellion and hatred for the Party. His doubts for the Party’s actions and its control on truth begins to take a journey of discrete insurrection and the meeting of Julia, a young woman with cunning spirit and a worker at the Fiction Department. The plot rises as both of them have corresponding views on the Party; in this particular excerpt, George Orwell establishes antsy with this situation as Winston and Julia are caught by the Thought Police. Orwell’s use of repetition, details

Read More

Who Is George Orwell Dehumanize In 1984

734 Words | 3 Pages

Orwell demonstrates the ability of an authoritarian regime to dehumanize its citizens by tearing down ideas of individualism and pleasure with threats of pain, which, Orwell warns, is only possible in a society in which the existence objective truth is denied. Orwell uses sex and pleasure as a symbol for humanity; those without it fail to be human. Winston’s wife, for instance, was entirely controlled by the Party, despised sex. She only tolerated it as a “duty to the Party” (Orwell 67). Katherine’s humanity is virtually nonexistent; she is portrayed as nothing but a tool for the Party.

Read More

1984 And The Handmaid's Tale Essay

1239 Words | 5 Pages

In ‘1984’ and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, the destruction of the individual is due to a combination of the destruction of independence, language and totalitarian monopolistic control. Complete collectivism, despite separate political beliefs, is presented throughout dictatorial societal jurisdiction as being the predominant way to maintain eternal power. The regimes seek to control individuals and therefore engage in continuing reconnaissance or surveillance of the populace. The mind is the most individual source of power to any person and totalitarianism aims to create complete orthodoxy by controlling and manipulating the mind. Both Orwell in ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ and Atwood in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ are examples of how dystopian literature presents

Read More

Annotation Of Gender Roles In 1984 By George Orwell

1190 Words | 5 Pages

In George Orwell's 1984, the roles of gender in this dystopian patriarchal society is overlooked throughout the novel as an entirety. Orwell’s depiction of gender roles in 1984 displays that women are thought to be the weaker and easier to control sex. In Orwell’s 1984, women do not have prominent roles despite having major thematic importance. As using their level of femininity to grade their worth. Orwell demonstrates women as a weaker and inferior sex through the actions of Julia, Mrs. Parsons, the singing Prole woman, Winston’s mother and Katharine.

Read More

1984 Julia Character Analysis

445 Words | 2 Pages

Have you ever found yourself rooting for the little man? If so, you will more than likely identify with the theme of George Orwell’s book 1984. The main characters, Winston and Julia, in 1984, rebelled against the parties control, over their daily life’s. Winston and Julia conspire to lash out against the Party’s oppression, and they carry out a love affair, which was strictly forbidden by Big Brother. Character was really emphasized as a literary element throughout the book.

Read More

1984 Victory Gin Analysis

973 Words | 4 Pages

Unlike Winston, whose actions and desires regard both himself and future generations, Julia’s actions stem purely from her own personal desires. By characterizing Julia as interested in individual freedom, Orwell emphasizes, again, the extent to which governments need to control their citizens in order to maintain power. By using these characters to highlight the control of the party, Orwell shows the dangers of totalitarian governments and the extremes to which they will go to maintain

Read More

Comparison Of Feminism In The Handmaid's Tale By Virginia Woolf

1141 Words | 5 Pages

From the outset, literature and all forms of art have been used to express their author’s feelings, opinions, ideas, and believes. Accordingly, many authors have resorted to their writing to express their feminist ideas, but first we must define what feminism is. According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, feminism is “the belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power, and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way, or the set of activities intended to achieve this state”. As early as the fifteenth century is possible to find feminist writings. Centuries later, and although she never referred to herself as one, the famous English writer Virginia Woolf became one of the greatest feminist writers of the twentieth

Read More

What Is Realism In 1984 By George Orwell

1056 Words | 5 Pages

Orwell imagines a world where absolutism is at reign, individualism is oblivious, and reality and history are simply a matter of opinion. The novel begins by introducing the “two minute hate” a daily routine that arouses the members hate against other states, and their love for the supreme leader “Big brother”(Orwell 3). A form of situational irony portrayed by Julia, throughout the novel. While walking down the lane to the hideout, Winston mentions that “a narrow scarlet sash, emblem of the Junior Anti-Sex league[…]tightly enough to bring out the shapeliness of her hips” which tells the audience that she is part of the league (Orwell 99). This is ironic due to the fact that Julia, a member of the Junior Anti-Sex League, wears a red sash, which

Read More

How Does George Orwell Dehumanize Women

521 Words | 3 Pages

In 1984 and society today, there is a casual disregard to sexual assault, ultimately leading to the dehumanization of women. Women are dehumanized in today’s world and 1984 because society dismisses sexual assault. Winston describes his physical attraction to Julia, saying, “I wanted to rape you and then murder you afterwards” Winston says this comment directly to Julia, Julia laughed, and shortly later dismissed the comment. (Orwell, 121).

Read More

More about Women In 1984 By George Orwell

Related Topics

Open Document