In every country, county and city, a government is intact to resolve each community’s issues. It is formed to further perfect each society to become a utopia for its citizens, but even within the government itself, obstacles, such as the balance of the state’s power, remain. This type of dilemma is demonstrated throughout literature; one example can be recognized in George Orwell’s 1984. George Orwell uses literary elements to express social issues of the dystopian society in 1984. Many social issues involving social control from the government is expressed through the literary element of symbolism. Different recurring symbols in 1984 by George Orwell include the government figure Big Brother, Winston Smith’s occupation, and Oceania’s language …show more content…
In Oceania, history in textbooks cannot be trusted because of its many revisions in its short amount of time. This process of revision is in Winston’s job description. It is his and his department’s responsibility to manufacture lies, and out of all of this slander that is created, some are hand picked by the Party to become sick twisted truths. With the selected fabrications becoming authentic, only human memory proves facts to be true, but “since the Party is in full control of all records, and equally full control of the minds of its members, it follows that the past is whatever the Party chooses to make it,” and it can be altered by the Party numerous amounts of times without citizens questioning their authority (213). As the Party exercises control of Oceania, it becomes an issue of social control. It symbolizes that nothing in Oceania is a reliable source, not even the human mind. This kind of power soon becomes a powerful controversy of the mind to Winston. Even as an employee of the fabrication department, Winston is not able to differentiate which country his country is at war with; is it Eurasia, or has it always been Eastasia? The occupation of Winston and his fellow comrades represents the power and control over its citizens without most citizens recognizing how powerless they are. …show more content…
The country’s language, Newspeak, also symbolizes a form of the social control issue. This language is a digression from the original language Oldspeak, which is closely related to the English language. Newspeak is a gradual regression of Oldspeak because the dictionary for Newspeak is always being revised and shorten. Over time the citizens of Oceania gradually develop a smaller range of vocabulary. Thoughtcrime is opposing the Party in any way or having different beliefs from the Party, and this is a dilemma in Oceania. The only other way for the Party to eliminate thoughtcrime is to “narrow the range of thought...make thoughtcrime impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed will be expressed in one word, ” and make other thoughts inexpressible (52). Therefore there will not be a word to express a certain thought or feeling eliminating individuality and any way for the people of Oceania to know any different. Soon there will be no expression to explicit the strong feelings such as love or even hate. This is a very strong form of social control, but this social issue is recognized by Winston
In the book 1984 by George Orwell, a totalitarian government is emphasized. Throughout the story, it is revealed that all the government cares about is war and power within themselves. It is clearly shown that the intentions of the government in Oceania are self-serving and not benevolent. With the use of Newspeak and Doublethink, Orwell further shows that the intentions of the government are one sided and are only effective for themselves. The way in which the government runs its people expresses the idea of selfishness and that all benefits are only for the government. Through the use of surveillance, torture, and complete removal of people's privacy, the government is able to manipulate and scare people into obeying the government, which in turn only makes the government stronger.
The author introduces the readers to the current governmental situation and the current way of life within Oceania. There is a brief description of the main character, Winston Smith, along with his current feelings on the government status. “Big Brother” is an absolutely praised idol. (Pages 1-5)
George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 cautions against government having too much/excessive amount of power. Winston Smith lives in a society where a totalitarian government tracks their citizen's every move through telescreens and thought police. The government is divided among the four ministries; the Ministry of Love, Peace, Plenty, and Truth. The excessive censorship in the society leads the citizens to be less individualistic and more alike to one another. Being in an environment where Newspeak is enforced, citizens are unable to express their originality. Orwell's 1984 is a very effective cautionary tale through its characterization of Winston who lacks heroic characteristics, its conflict of man vs society, and its use of dialect.
Winston Smith is given a strange yet intriguing book from O’Brien called The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism by Emmanuel Goldstein after telling O’Brien that he is a rebel. Winston is told that this book will help him understand more about the “Brotherhood” and opposing the Party. In this book, Goldstein supports the idea of the government manipulating society. He talks about why Oceania is really in a war in a comprehensible and understanding way so all people can realize how corrupt the government actually is.
George Orwell’s 1984 is probably one of the most famous political novels in History. It´s strong criticism to authoritarianism, government abuses and sameness makes it one of the most analysed novels of the twentieth century. Hence, Orwell uses a lot of literary devices such as vivid imagery, symbolism of color and all sorts of allusions to convey the reader into his powerful criticism of authoritarian societies and how the promote the decay of free-thinking and individualism, which his the meaning of his narrative prose.
In the novel 1984 the author, George Orwell, tells us a story about Winston rebellion against the Party by having a secret relationship with Julia. They found a hiding place in Mr. Charrington’s building, by which they spend months together. Being unaware that there was a telescreen hidden they were found and imprisoned in the Ministry of Love. In a chapter of the novel, Julia and Winston experience a rocket bomb giving him the impression that she was dead.
War Is Peace. Freedom Is Slavery. Ignorance Is Strength. The government slogan illustrates the sense of stringency that characterizes the world created by George Orwell. The vast power of the Oceanian government kept their people in constant paranoia through perpetual publicity, mangled violence and persistent manipulation in order to keep their world regulated as much as possible. The scene in the Novel 1984 is positioned in the expansive nation of Oceania, a realm of the future that replicates London. It is a totalitarian state that is dictated by an perplexing figure named Big Brother, who may not even exist. The government of this world is prevailed by the group of the Inner Party, and use their dominance by inhibiting everything
Dystopian DevicesWhen writing a novel, authors use distinct literary devices to aid in making the genre of their story apparent to their reader. Specifically, many use these literary devices to draw attention to details that establish a dystopian genre. A dystopia is somewhere where people lead dehumanized and fearful lives (Merriam-Webster). Furthermore, in dystopian societies, propaganda, societal oppression, and totalitarian control often elicit fear and obedience. An example of this is the novel 1984 written by George Orwell. This novel contains ambiguous symbols such as Big Brother, the Godlike ruler of Oceania. Aspects such as this contribute to the nature of dystopian genres. After analyzing concepts such as the all knowing Big Brother and the telescreens that are required by the government, the reader notices dystopian aspects. Accordingly, the setting of the city and symbols in everyday life expand the readers view of dystopian aspects. Orwell uses literary devices such as setting, symbolism, and euphemisms in order to portray a dystopian genre through the use of Big Brother, the city Oceania and its citizens, and other concepts in the novel. The government in 1984 controls its population by creating a setting where no one has the freedom to act without a someone watching them. The government does this by requiring all citizens of the Party to own a telescreen. By monitoring the activities of members of the party, the government can keep citizens obedient and
In the novel 1984 by George Orwell a man named Winston lives within a dis-utopian society. People within this society keep their emotions non-noticeable because if they go against what the inner circle is teaching than that person would work manually labor for the rest of their life. In the story a party known as the inner circle uses a few slogans and sayings to control everything. The inner circle uses all that they say to brainwash people into believing what they are saying is true. The inner party 's slogans are “War is peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is strength” By using these phrases one can see that the inner circle can manipulate everyone into believing in what the inner circle tells
Readers of George Orwell have long appreciated the significance of his representation of a futuristic dystopian world. ‘Big brother is watching you,’ ‘Thought police,’ ‘Ministry of love,’ ‘Hate week,’ are expressions that Orwell used to represent his preoccupation with the totalitarian regimes of 20th century. More than one out of four Americans said they have red his dystopia and use his expressions in their language. Many critics claim that the novel opened up new prospects of political awareness. ‘1984’ is a political fiction in which the government eliminates all forms of political opposition, be it real or imaginary. The atmosphere of the novel is completely depressing because there is no hope for change. The government dominates people morally and forces them to live in constant fear. His terrifying vision of a future in which all aspects of society are controlled by a tyrannical system attracted the
There is only one part of in 1984 that can be classified as the climax. When Winston and Julia are taken but the Thought Police is the peak of the novel. At this point in the novel, almost all of the need backstory is established. For example, the society Winston’s is living in has been thoroughly explain and the new and complex concepts like doublethink. In addition, Winston and Julia are satisfied in their relationship and are even willing to take it to the next level via the Brotherhood. The reader is led to believe that Winston’s depressing life is turning around and that he will be able to fight Big Brother. In other words, Winston’s life was depressing and hopeless until Julia slipped him a note; his life continued to get better as his
In “1984,” Orwell describes a terrible society where totalitarianism reaches the top. In this circumstance, personality and freedom are strangled and thought is controlled. The most frightening aspect is that citizens have no sense right and wrong. Without a doubt, the reason why these happen is the governing of the Party, which is controlling everything in the country, Oceania. Orwell uses the control of language to show the idea that the Party solidifies its dominant position.
Is it the common human nature to feel power over others? A totalitarian government seeks to utilize its message of confinement and authority to control the many aspects of life. In the novel 1984, Orwell portrays totalitarianism through psychological manipulation, physical control and the control of language.
Showing its effect on the population of Oceania and how Satire, irony and motif were used to vividly illustrate the propaganda and lead to a society with no sense of social way, freedom or thought. This novel clearly expresses how unlike a Utopian novel, the writer intends to portray the perfect human society, a novel of dystopia does the opposite; it illustrates the worst human society imaginable. George Orwell does and splendid job incorporating his views into the novel saying, “He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.” (Orwell
While almost all novels contain some sort of political allusion or connotation, few novels are as directly political as George Orwell's 1984. From beginning to end, the novel is an epic and shocking piece, a strong precautionary tale against the ills of extreme totalitarianism. In it, Orwell paints a dismal future, one where individualism ceases and citizens are held in rigid class structures by the government with the threat of physical harm and, more importantly, through powerful mental conditioning, particularly through the reduction of nuances and shades of meaning within language. Indeed, the manipulation of language plays a vital role in the social stratification of the masses, since without the proper tools of language and thought,