A Utopia By George Orwell

Thomas More’s book, Utopia, was constructed to criticize aspects of European life during the 1500s. One issue that More evaluates is the subject of politics and war. War during this time was used to gain territory or increase the ruler’s power. The Utopians are a peaceful group of citizens that rarely have any altercations occurring upon their island. They have a strict daily schedule that provides a minute amount of time for leisure, resulting in a low rate of problems. So why does More bring up the issue of war, if the people of Utopia infrequently misbehave? More analyzes this issue to exemplify how war was implemented in Europe under the reign of King Henry VIII. In addition, more describes the Utopians’ preparations when they engage in war. More wrote Utopia to provide the citizens of Europe with a source of hope for a new outlook on life.

The author of the novel 1984, George Orwell, is a political critic. Therefore, he used very precise descriptions of situations and words to provide the reader a clear understanding of the entity he is criticizing. When Winston describes the destruction of past records to create new ones to Julia, he says: “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And that process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.” (pg. 162). Here, instead of only saying “Every record has been

Totalitarian dystopia: a world in which singular liberties have been eradicated by an “omniscient” power. Citizens are robbed of their freedom, unable to foster any independent thought. Every innate human impulse is oppressed, and every action, scrutinized. Although the idea of such a society may sound extremely bizarre in today’s day and age, a few decades ago, this may very well have been a fast approaching reality. Around the time of World War II, the quick spread of a totalitarian regime had begun to propagate forced repressions of individuality. Clear examples can be seen through the actions of Germany and Russia, both communistic world powers at the time. They attempted to suppress the voice of the majority and aspired to control the very thoughts and actions of the people they governed, consolidating their power. According to George Orwell’s novel 1984, it is impossible for individualism to truly flourish in the presence of a government; Orwell enhances his point through the psychological manipulation of the people via propaganda and torture.

A dystopian society is one with restricted freedom, whose values are worshipped by citizens who live in fear of surveillance or punishment. In 1984 by George Orwell, the protagonist lives in a futuristic world, controlled by big brother and the inner party over aspects of human life. In Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr, the fear of egalitarian policies, and the dangers of equality take over. In The Purge by James DeMonaco, the citizens relief to self-regulate violence and to protect themselves and their family from the protagonist. All dystopian literature shares similar characteristics, winston which is the protagonist in 1984, he lives in a society where the government takes over and tries to brainwash the citizens making them believe they live in a illusion of a perfect world. Winston is depicted and physically ill, but strong enough not to give in. “Who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.” (Orwell 12). George Bergeron is the protagonist in Harrison Bergeron, the government makes him wear a radio, which broadcasts noise over these radios to interrupt the thoughts of smart people like George. ‘’Screams and barking cries of consternation came from the television set’’ (Vonnegut 2). Sergeant was the protagonist in the purge, he risked his life by saving others life for a night of horror. The Purge, Harrison Bergeron, and 1984 were all based off government, society where there is limiting and controlling the population. ‘’We

In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury tells the story of a dystopic world where books are burned by firemen because they are prohibited. By presenting this, he makes a point on how books are essential and at the same time warning readers. He was trying to say,” If this happens, then this will happen.” He visualized this society in this book, based on his society, which is parallel to our society now. In the dystopic Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury examines his society at the time, and he admonishes readers about possible aspects of future societies, especially mass media, technological advancement, and peoples’ mental health.

The next day as I walk through the school doors, I see Hunter glaring at me. Remembering what my mom said, I continue walking to class. I go to my first two periods and I read the book Utopia by Thomas Moore through both my classes. When the lunch bell rings, I jump up from my seat and head to the cafeteria where I sit down at my usual table alone. I start eating my peanut butter and jelly sandwich as Hunter and a bunch of his friends enter the cafeteria. I freeze in fear and I start to become enraged. My hands start to shake and my face turns bright red with anger. Without thinking about it, I stand up towering over Hunter. Hunter’s friends begin to laugh at my idiotic decision. I become even more enraged as I hold my hands up in front

Different societies have risen and fallen in the continual search for the “perfect” society. The definition of this utopia is in constant flux due to changing times and cultural values. Many works of literature have been written describing a utopian society and the steps needed to achieve it. However, there are those with a more cynical or more realistic view of society that comment on current and future trends. These individuals look at the problems in society and show how to solve them with the use of control and power. Such a society is considered undesirable and has become known as dystopian society.

Imagine a society that arrests innocent people for owning a book. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury builds a world that firefighter’s burn down houses that have books instead of preventing fires from happening. In Montag’s society, burning book is a way to get rid of all the past knowledge because they don’t want their citizens to go against the society. In this utopia society, everyone looks exactly that same and they lack communication. Bradbury creates a futuristic community that doesn’t allow citizens to read books because they want all of their people to be content.

Different societies have risen and fallen in the continual search for the “perfect” society. The definition of this utopia is in constant flux due to changing times and cultural values. Many works of literature have been written describing a utopian society and the steps needed to achieve it. However, there are those with a more cynical or more realistic view of society that comment on current and future trends. These individuals look at the problems in society and show how to solve them with the use of control and power. Such a society is considered undesirable and has become known as dystopian society.

It has been said that literature and art reflect common beliefs and sentiments from the time period in which it was created, especially so for literature. Throughout history it has been observed that a person’s writing reveal historical moments and the gathered consciousness of a generation. George Orwell wrote “1984” in response to the impeding totalitarianism of the Soviet Union over Europe on the cusp of WWII after having experience the regime first hand in Spain. “1984” displays the fears of living under a totalitarian society along, warning readers not to become mindless followers to the government and to question authority figures along with the order of things. Similarly, “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley was written partially in

Humans live their day-to-day life searching for something that makes them truly happy. What if someone were to tell you that what you thought was true happiness was all an illusion. In a Brave New World by Aldous Huxley people in the world state are conditioned and drugged up by soma to not experience true happiness.

Aldous Huxley once said, “The worst enemy of life, freedom and the common decencies is total anarchy; their second worst enemy is total efficiency” (“Aldous Huxley Quotes”). In the novel Island by Aldous Huxley, a man named Will Farnaby deliberately wrecks his boat on the shores of the fictional island of Pala. His task is to persuade the Rani (queen) of Pala to give oil rights of the island to his boss, Lord Joseph Aldehyde. However, the novel is not really about Will’s journey, but a vessel for presenting Huxley’s philosophies. Pala has a utopian society, where children are taught Buddhism, philosophy, and psychology instead of basic math and science. The people of Pala developed a system of government and society in which people were provided the

The book 1984 by George Orwell is about a society that manipulates its citizens to believe in The Party by using Big Brother a man who no one’s ever met or seen besides on huge poster that hang in the Victory Square. The citizens in Oceania have to follow strict rules applied by the Inner Party, they do not have privacy and cannot express any type of feelings because the thought police would be onto them. Oceanias ways of doing things conforms to the way a utopian society would function because their citizens do the same routine as one another everyday, they have similar ways of dressing and their jobs are assigned by the the Inner Party. They have no communication with the outside countries and cannot leave Oceania. The reason why this book falls under a utopian society would be because 1984 shares many characteristics a utopian society would.

A dystopia is an imaginary, imperfect place where those who dwell are faced with terrible circumstances. The novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley illustrates the concept of a dystopia. A utopia is an ideal place where everything is perfect, but in the novel, it becomes apparent that the author is trying to demonstrate the negative effects on a society when it attempts to become an unreachable utopian society. Brave New World is seen as a dystopia for many reasons, as citizens are deprived of freedom, programmed to be emotionless and under the control of a corrupt dictatorship. These points illustrate the irony of a society’s attempt to reach utopia by opposing ethics and morality; citizens are tragically distanced from paradise,

Imagine a world where every thought, every belief, that ever came to mind was shared with everyone. It would start many unnecessary fights, unnecessary wars. The world would be chaotic. Luckily, this is not the case. The only ideas that are shared through others are in the actions we take and the words we speak. John Ruskin explains this ideology when he conveys, “What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do.” Ruskin is correct in his philosophy about our actions and behavior.