Corruption Of Youth In George Orwell's 1984

George Orwell’s 1984 shows us the dangers of a society who never was allowed to have a childhood. In 1984 children do not get to experience adolescence. They are not allowed to think for themselves which results in a society which conforms to whatever they are told. Children join an organization known as the Thought Police. Here they are told to keep an eye on adults and make sure they do not speak or rebel against their government. All of society conforms to government, eventually even the rebels conform.

Children in 1984 are taught the party’s ways when they are young and impressionable, enabling them to act as spies who will sever ties with family members for the betterment of the party. Julia was brainwashed by the party as a child, allowing their views and opinions to influence her own. Orwell states that “She had grown up in the revolution and was way too young to remember the ideological battles of the fifties and sixties” (Orwell, 153). Julia’s knowledge of events before the revolution is skewed because she doesn’t have a trusted family member to provide her with accurate facts. Unlike Winston, Julia has always known a world with Big Brother, and even though she rebels, she ultimately never questions the party’s authority. As a result of the brainwashing techniques, Julia is content with her life and doesn’t expect much more from it. The children in the party believe in every piece of information and propaganda produced by the party. During Hate Week, the children were taught a song and “The Parson’s children played it at all hours of the night and day…” (Orwell, 148). The party ensures that

Thirty-three years ago, the unpleasantry that novelist George Orwell dreamt of never became the reality he predicted it would in 1949. The year 1984 was supposed to take society on an absolute turn for the worst, becoming a global dystopia in which everyone lived under the regulation and dominance of one of three totalitarian superstates. Orwell wrote of this future in his book 1984, creating the fictional universe of Oceania in which the lives of Winston Smith and the other characters in Oceania seemed genuinely real, especially by use of various literary devices. Motifs such as the linguistic concept of Newspeak and the majority of society’s convergence of feelings towards the Party and Big Brother appear multiple times throughout the pages of the novel. Through such recurring ideas, a major theme stands out - the lack of self-expression. Living under an authoritarian and oppressive government, party members such as Winston are forced to follow the socialist policies of Ingsoc. In the book it is written that, “The two aims of the Party are to conquer the whole surface of the earth and to extinguish once and for all the possibility of dependent thought” (Orwell 193). If everyone were to give into the Party, self-expression would be entirely eliminated because everyone and everything would be censored. With such motives made clear, Winston along with a minority realize the absurdity in the Party’s ways. Nevertheless, many more others do not, loving Big Brother and embracing

Self preservation and personal comfort, another consistent theme throughout the story is continuously perpetuated as generation-after-generation of residents are introduced to the unspeakable treatment of this helpless child. Ironically when first exposed to the atrocity, most children were more disgusted and outraged by the horrible predicament of the child than the adults who by all accounts should have been responsible for its protection. This obvious moral role reversal signifies a purity and innocence that is often present in a child’s perspective that is untarnished by corrupt societal teachings and norms. Additionally, the comparison between the moral integrity of

The dysfunctional, deranged society of George Orwell’s classic novel, 1984, is more relevant today to United States citizens than ever. In the book and in our country currently, the ruling governments both attempt to dominate their people through consistent force. The United States is constantly policing its citizens to maintain order, which is similar to the Party’s actions in 1984. As our present-day society continues to progress, certain aspects of citizens’ lives mirror those found in 1984, such as the overbearing control of the government, the limited language amongst the people, and the new security methods.

When George Orwell wrote his novel, 1984, Hitler and Mussolini had recently been defeated in World War II, the nuclear arms race was warming up and the Soviet Union was a threat to the world. Although these are not problems in today's society, 1984 is still very relevant in current time, "The twentieth century will soon be over, but political terror still survives and this is why Nineteen Eighty-four remains valid today” (Ricks 5). In the novel 1984 the main character Winston is faced with challenges when he meets a woman named Julia. Julia makes him question his loyalty to the government. They are living under a totalitarian government that sees everything you do, hears everything you say, and knows everything you think. George Orwell’s novel 1984 is still relevant in today’s society.

Rebellions happened all throughout history and still continue in the present. Bacon’s Rebellion continues to have a lasting impact on today’s society. In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the theme of rebellion is prevalent. The government system of Big Brother controls every aspect of the people’s lives. As the story progresses, the main character Winston Smith, finds himself having hatred for Big Brother and wants to find a way to end the Party’s reign. Other characters, like Julia, only want to rebel for personal reasons and want no major changes. In George Orwell’s 1984, the use of imagery to draw parallels between Winston’s struggle against Big Brother and man’s repeated clashes with nigh-totalitarian government.

From a young age, children are a part of “the Spies”, a program where they are brainwashed to love the government at all costs (57). Here, the children are entertained by “the songs, the processions, the banners, the hiking, the drilling with dummy rifles, the yelling of slogans, the worship of Big Brother”, which they happily go along with because everything seems like a big game to them (24). As a result, the children that are created through this program “clamor to see [the hanging of war prisoners]” and regularly “denounce [their] parents to the thought police” for any statement that could be construed as thought crime (23,24). These children become “ungovernable little savages” whose parents lead “a life of terror”, for the government has twisted and corrupted the structure of the family, and has turned the children into personal spies for their parents, even more effective than the thought police or the telescreens that monitor them (24). In this system, the children only see the parents as citizens to monitor, and the parents begin to see children as more facets of the government to fear. Because of this, the entire system of having children becomes skewed, and having children no longer becomes desirable for a large number of people, something that is only undertook to fit a status

As a new society unfolds, so do new values and authority. In 1984, George Orwell presents a futuristic vision of the power of government as well as its social conventions. Primarily, Orwell uses Winston Smith to exhibit the effects that government control can have on morality. Winston lives in Oceania where "The Party" exploits its complete power by controlling people emotionally and mentally. However, this disturbs Winston who subsequently challenges The Party and is provoked into becoming a rebel. He recognizes that he is at the point of no return; consequently, he marches blindly ahead in the hope of defeating The Party. However, Winton 's defiant nature is quickly extinguished after he is caught and tormented for committing subversive

George Orwell wrote 1984 as his vision of society in the year 1984. Winston is the main

Human nature seems like something you cannot control. Most people follow their intuition for guidance. However, in 1984 George Orwell shows a dystopia that reaches to control just that. Basic human emotion is not expressed and it is an expectation to follow everything the party wants and needs. The government in 1984 uses fear to control the people in Oceania to keep them from acting against big brother and to try to eliminate human nature.

Well not literally a God, but the Dictator in George Orwell’s 1984, Big Brother plays God over his own people of Oceania. In this novel Big Brother has an ever watchful eye over his citizens, and even goes to installing two-way telescreens (Which act as your average television, but watch back as well.) and putting propaganda on nearly everything. With such a tight grip can this society ever hope to rebel?

Very few people in 1984’s society committed completely to rebellion, although Julia had specific subtle tactics and Winston was more extreme and did not care about the sacrifices he knew were to come. Julia maintains a perfect status in society in order to avert from getting caught and dealing with these costs. “She had been a troop leader in the Spies and a branch secretary in the Youth League...” (130). This shows how Julia tries her best to conceal her acts of rebellion with a perfect profile that no person would look twice at. Winston on the other hand, wanted change as soon as possible so he didn’t care as much about the sacrifices that had to be made. “You are prepared to give your lives?... commit murder?... betray your country?... commit

“Nearly all children nowadays were horrible. What was worst of all was that by means of such organizations as the Spies they were systematically turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in

Imagine college graduation day, walking down the aisle to receive a diploma that one has worked towards for their entire life. However, the moment is bittersweet because one’s education has put him/her into thousands of dollars in debt by the high tuition prices of colleges and loans to the government. Dehumanization by the totalitarian government in the book 1984 by George Orwell is similar to the dehumanization in modern society between the government and colleges onto the student through high tuition costs and overpowering government control which causes loss of opportunity.