The blatant evils of an all controlling government are spelled out by George Orwell in his novel, 1984, in an effort to push his agenda against totalitarianism. Orwell offers a look into a future governed by dictators. He points out the exaggeratingly blind faith people have in following the convention, turning them into sheep to be easily preyed on by a power hungry government. So long it will please Big Brother, the ruling government in the plot, the public welcomes around the clock surveillance of their every action and thought, extreme rationing for an unproved war, absolute restrictions on all relationships, a forced nationalism and the most minimal quality of life. George Orwell challenges this by presenting and dispelling dictatorial …show more content…
They have not adhered to the standard set by Ingsoc. Something the rest of the Oceanic population cannot even fathom to think about, yet the Proles were the only ones who might have been able to break Big Brother’s reign. Orwell communicates the importance of being able to look in from the outside when need be. Earlier in the novel, Winston’s reactions to an incredibly gruesome film he watches are callous but a prole woman stands up and yells for it to be shut off. Later, when Winston is being interviewed about joining the Brotherhood, O’Brien asks a series of horrific questions, such as committing murder, mass murdering, and throwing sulphuric acid in the face of a child, all to which Winston answers yes. Winston and the others like him have starkly contrasting ethical viewpoints from those of the proles. But the proles’ humane attribute is what gives them a fighting chance. They are able to form loyalties to one another and even come together almost as a family in the face of danger, where Oceania citizens cannot and will not form relationships because they are dictated so. The proles live significantly happier lives, although not great ones, because they were able to break away from convention, and at least, have an opportunity to overturn Big …show more content…
The author created an alternate dimension where the future was a nightmare: being watched at all times, no private moments, and no ties to anyone except Big Brother were allowed. 1984 is an endeavor by Orwell to make the public face their reality head on, to make them realize that they are capable of choosing their way of life. Choosing powerful themes, he wants to awaken primal emotions in his audience; he wants them to struggle under the finger of Big Brother and not be tolerant of such dictatorship. Orwell needs people to think and decide for themselves what they want in life. He doesn’t want to them to follow submissively but guide and construct their own future by any means
“if there is hope, it MUST lie in the proles, because only there in those swarming disregarded masses, could the force to destroy the Party ever be generated.” By realizing this, we are made aware of several points. For one, Winston is no longer passive when it comes merely questioning authority, now he is actively seeking the possibility of overthrowing the Party entirely. He also recognizes that gradual change will not be possible because of the influence Big Brother has over all aspects of life.
Winston Smith believes that hope for the future lies in the proles because it's their rebellion that can bring down Big Brother, and Usher in the change of the government. Proles ,proletarians, working class, and comprise make up about 80% of the population. Also Winston sees proles as happy workers who are not smart. Although they might not be that smart the workers are free from scrutiny and constant morning party. Smith hates Big Brother and the numerous restrictions it makes a difference on the party workers. He works in the Ministry of Truth which is responsible for altering and editing
George Orwell’s theme in 1984 is that an omnipotent and all-seeing government is dangerous and will demean individuality as well as free will. He portrays this through Winston’s failure to rebel while showing totalitarian governments cannot be stopped after they have been completely established. He also depicts his message through the citizens’ total belief in government propaganda no matter how absurd or inconstant as well as through the international solidarity and seemingly permanent nuclear cold war.
The novel 1984 by George Orwell is an american classic that examines the power of one paramount leader in an ultimate dystopian society. A common citizen Winston Smith, struggles with the oppression in Oceania, and fights for his freedom by rebelling against the government. Big Brother is the face of the party and controls all of the power in Oceania, he is resembled as a God-life figure that all must worship. Behind Big Brother the rest of the power lies among the thought police and the party. The people among this category although has little, still has some power in which they become very high on the social ladder. Coming in a far third is the main character Winston Smith and the common people. The citizens of Oceania obtain little to none power and make up 85% of the population. At the bottom of the power chain is the proles and the so called “Brotherhood”, Orwell portrays Winston's hope in the proles as “a mystical truth and a parable absurdity”. The proles are ultimately powerless and present the horrors of the IngSoc society. In George Orwell's 1984, he explores power between characters to establish an indisputable government.
Minorities must be convinced that they are insane to keep peace. Although anyone that is minority is pretty much ignored in Oceania. Proles are considered as animals, meaning they are free from big brother’s magnifying glass and most of all genuinely happy. And in spite of the fact that they are free, they don't know they are being oppressed by the government, which prevents them from overthrowing the government. “Being in a minority, even in a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.” (Orwell ). When Winston is captured he becomes a minor that must be punished, by intense reintegration. Learning, understanding and acceptance is used as a process to reconstruct Winston’s mind from the proletarian thoughts.
1984, Orwell’s last and perhaps greatest work, deals with drastically heavy themes that still terrify his audience after 65 years. George Orwell’s story exemplifies excessive power, repression, surveillance, and manipulation in his strange, troubling dystopia full of alarming secrets that point the finger at totalitarian governments and mankind as a whole. What is even more disquieting is that 1984, previously considered science fiction, has in so many ways become a recognizable reality.
George Orwell’s 1984 is more than just a novel, it is a warning to a potential dystopian society of the future. Written in 1949, Orwell envisioned a totalitarian government under the figurehead Big Brother. In this totalitarian society, every thought and action is carefully examined for any sign of rebellion against the ruling party. Emotion has been abolished and love is nonexistent; an entire new language is being drafted to reduce human thought to the bare minimum. In a society such as the one portrayed in 1984, one is hardly human. In George Orwell’s 1984, the party uses fear, oppression, and propaganda to strip the people of their humanity.
George Orwell’s key objective throughout his novel, 1984, was to convey to his readers the imminent threat of the severe danger that totalitarianism could mean for the world. Orwell takes great measures to display the horrifying effects that come along with complete and dominant control that actually comes along with totalitarian government. In Orwell’s novel, personal liberties and individual freedoms that are protected and granted to many Americans today, are taken away and ripped from the citizen’s lives. The government takes away freedom and rights from the people so that the ruling class (which makes up the government), while reign with complete supremacy and possess all power.
In the novel 1984 George Orwell demonstrates how the government maintains power through mind control and manipulation of the masses. Orwell hints that when the government (Big Brother), holds too much power they become crooked and devious towards the rest of the population. In a nutshell Orwell is conveying that a corrupt government destroys all chances for an ideal society. Collectively, George Orwell made a prediction of what was going to happen, and it has become a reality to some extent. Overall this is a great book for the current political state.
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
Historically, literature has always echoed the key issues and themes present during that time. In the period which Orwell wrote this novel, totalitarian government was a popular concept seeing implementation around the world such as Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and Mussolini’s Italy. In the novel 1984. While Orwell’s world is a fictional one, it can be said that he uses it as a voice for social commentary, and he predictions as to what a world would be like if totalitarian governments would rule the world. This essay will aim to explore how Orwell goes about doing this.
The world in which Winston Smith lives in is very frightening. It is very unlikely that people from the world we live in would survive for long living in it. I think it is an awful time to be alive because you have no freedom at all. Winston is in the worst possible position, he is in the Outer Party. He is being monitored at all times and he can only cooperate. It seems that the proles and the Inner Party are much better off. I think that this is true because nobody cares about the proles and they can do what they want. The bad thing about them is that they are very poor and have no money. We don’t really know much about them. Maybe just like any other animal they have adapted to the bad conditions and somehow they are
George Orwell’s work of fiction 1984 is a futuristic, dystopian novel about citizens living in a totalitarian London. In this society, the government maintains power by controlling as many aspects of its citizens’ lives as it possibly can. The protagonist, Winston Smith, attempts to fight against the government’s controlling ways. For some time, critics have argued that this book was intended as a warning of the scenarios that could emerge if citizens traded freedom for security and allowed governments to take away too many of their rights. 1984 is a powerful warning against the risk of allowing governments to control too many aspects of the lives of their citizens through propaganda and the acquisition of personal information. These methods
Nobody can disagree with the fact that George Orwell’s vision, in his book 1984, didn’t come true. Though many people worried that the world might actually come to what Orwell thought, the year 1984 came and went and the world that Orwell created was something people did not have to worry about anymore. Many people have wondered what was happening in Orwell’s life and in his time that would inspire him to create this politically motivated book. A totalitarian world where one person rules and declares what is a crime and what is not, is something many people would have been scared of a lot. The totalitarianism in 1984 is very similar to the Nazism that was occurring in Germany with Hitler. This could have been the key thing that motivated
Additionally, the portrayal of this dystopian society controlled by a totalitarian government might have been understood well by contemporary audiences, mirroring the rules of totalitarian regimes such as Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy- the citizens have no influence on the government and have no freedom of choosing the rules that govern and control every part of their lives. Therefore, Winston blames the misery in his life totally and completely on the government and on Big Brother. In Winston’s case, we can see that the propaganda, deprivation, and strict rules fail to make him concur with the party and accept Big Brother- in this situation, the party has to use extreme force and torture to make Winston love the party as well as Big Brother, in order for the party to maintain complete power.