Dystopian Characteristics Of 1984

WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. Can a world ever be like the scenario that occurs in the the story 1984? Everywhere you go, the government or party in other words are always watching you. They watch you in your house through your telescreen which you could never turn off and they hear you through the bushes. If you do any illegal actions the police might capture you and send you to the Ministry of Love where you would be torchered and beaten up. Actions that includes free thoughts, love, and even expressing who you are could bring in punishments. Writing a diary or opposing the government are also prohibited. In fact, thinking rebellious thoughts is the worst crime one would want to do. As in every modern book, there are plethora of themes in the book, 1984. One of the most powerful themes in this book is it is very difficult to control someone when they are glued to a thought.

A dystopian novel is a story relating to or denoting an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one. 1984 by George Orwell, is indeed a dystopian novel as it describes a nightmare vision of future society which is opposite to a perfect world. George Orwell creates this image using a few different techniques including, the language or style, the setting, characterization, and oppression.

Imagine a world where the government, also called The Party, controls everything the citizens do. The Party monitors their every move by the telescreens that are in every home. Thoughtcrime is the act of thinking something that goes against Big Brother or threatens the Party’s power. If one does commit thoughtcrime, then the Thought Police will capture them and give them consequence. There is no essence of humanity in this world. Everyone is stripped of their own thoughts and told what to do and what to believe. This is the world portrayed in novel

Envision the presence living in a dystopian society - where citizens are watched day-and-night. George Orwell’s novel 1984, written in 1949, depicts and illustrates the future of the 1980’s. Orwell imagined the world in which totalitarianism reigned, individualism is dead, and history is just sentiment. The world diverged into three superstates: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. With protagonist Winston Smith and the citizens of Oceania, they have experienced the impression, having to live life behind closed doors perpetually, also known as Big Brother. On top of this, the government directed everyone stay in control, citizens are not allowed to think for themselves and must be aware what they express before the Thought Police come for

Bringing up the children and making them members of the Spies gives them sense of belonging and all they live for is to serve the Party. This leaves no room for freedom in homes because they only know how to obey Big Brother. Even Parson's kids burnt a market selling woman's skirt for using a paper containing Big Brother's picture as a sausage wrapper (Part 1, Chapter 5, 79). This example emphasises that Big Brother's dominion over the children cannot be

Throughout the novel 1984, BIG BROTHER controls society through the use of fear. Enforcing the use of fear among the people of Oceania was the so called “Thought Police “ that continuously patrolled the city. The citizens know and fear that if they think one thought against the party, they will be taken, thoughtcrime they called it. “Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed forever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were bound to get you" (Orwell, 1984, 134). Now that the society is concealed and enshrouded in BIG BROTHER’s rule, all that the people can do is follow, conform and do as they are told.

George Orwell wrote 1984 to make a political statement about Socialism (Davison 1). In this novel, the author extrapolates the socialist movements of the 1920s to the point where they control three “superstates” that make up the world. The novel follows the story of Winston Smith, who is a middle class worker in Oceania, the superstate controlled by The Party. He is a non-conformist, who disagrees with the ideals and the actions of The Party, and decides to take action against it. The Party is the evolution of English Socialism, but unlike the latter, whose main focuses are equality, individual rights, production for the needs of the people, and co-operative ownership, The Party’s only goal is power (Orwell 36). The only motivation behind

In most dystopian novels, a control over society is clearly represented, whether it be the controlling of citizen activities, or the watching over of citizens and their actions. Dystopian literature also includes one interesting aspect in their reads. They include a protagonist that wants to break free of their ties to the controlled society and find out if there is a world or society that is beyond the one that they are living in, even if it means death. Winston Smith, the protagonist in the novel, is constantly exposed to these dystopian controls. Whether it be the use of telescreens, the altering of historical events, or the changing of the society's language in George

In 1984, George Orwell shows a Capitalist society that was pressured by fear of turning into a Communist state to take a radical course of action, just barely clinging to the few fundamental views it once had. Doublethink is a major contributor to Big Brother’s success as a party. It coincides with the Thought Police, by making every member of every class consciously think about what the say and how they phrase it. This constantly keeps everyone at bay and allows the Thought Police to weed out those who seem to be forcing themselves into society and those who are just barely putting in enough effort to get by. Doublethink is speaking in terms of equality, so that everything is contradictory to itself to even everything out. The party slogans are perfect examples of how Doublethink is an active part of society, “WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” (page 6). These slogans are not only contradictory, but they “equalize” one another and in a very simplified manner, explain to all members of society what they stand for. Big Brother looks to find peace through war, there is a constant talk of a war outside of their society and that Big Brother is the only force protecting their lives. This instills a fear within all citizens and causes them to let Big Brother do as he pleases, so long as they still have their lives.

The idea of a utopia sounds like a great idea, however it always turns into a feared dystopia. This is exactly what happens in the novel, 1984 and in the notorious group, The Ku Klux Klan. The definition of Utopia is “an imaginary and indefinitely remote place” (Utopia). The illusion these groups create never end up being utopias and eventually becomes a dystopia. The definition of dystopia is “an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives” (Dystopia). The KKK and Oceania are perfect examples of a falsified utopias that are simply dystopias.

The words under the picture read “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” in all capitals. This phrase immediately establishes the power-distance relationship between the party and its members. All citizens are constantly being watched over and are powerless compared to the party. The word “watching” implies that all citizens are under scrutiny from big brother himself with the “mustachiod figure” playing the role of a “big brother”, watching over his citizens and controlling their actions and movements. Such a lack of freedom creates a stark contrast between normal people’s lives and the lives of Orwell’s characters, and therefore acts like a warning as to what might happen in the future if the rise of totalitarianism continued in Europe. Through this, Orwell is also criticizing this movement by highlighting its key disadvantages and drawbacks.

In the novel 1984 there are different types of Dystopias going on. Winston Smith is the main character in this novel. Winston lives in a world where he is constantly watched by surveillance and is basically told how to live and what to do. In a dystopian society , propaganda is used to control the people living within the society. Winston on the other hand is protagonist and feels like the world he lives in is weird or isn't right. The types of dystopian controls in this novel is Technological Control , Totalitarian Control , and Bureaucratic Control.

The perfect world has never existed nor will it ever. Someone persons view on something great could be another worst nightmare. In some cases people mistake utopias for dystopias. A utopia is an ideal place of state or living (“Utopia”). A dystopia is a society of characterized by human misery, a squalor, oppression, disease, or overcrowding (“Dystopia”). In George Orwell’s book 1984 the society is depicted as a utopia when in reality it’s not the perfect place, it’s written to represent a dystopia. It takes place in 1984 in a dystopian America where it’s actually called “Ocieana”. The book tries to make itself seem like a perfect society, using propaganda, and presented government. They would look like the perfect society to some people

The idea of perfection is different in the eyes of many, due to this complication: one man’s utopia can easily be a dystopia in the eyes of another. Utopias are a “heaven on Earth” society where everything is the way it is supposed to be with no wrongdoing ever occurring. On the other hand, a dystopia is a society with many of the same elements as a Utopia, but these elements are perceived as pessimistic. According to David Sick, author of Dystopia, “Dystopia is utopia's polarized mirror image. While utilizing many of the same concepts as utopia—for example, social stability created by authoritarian regimentation—dystopia reads these ideas pessimistically”(“Dystopia”). The idea of a perfect society can not withstand time,

It seems as though every time a society attempts to create a utopia, it has the opposite effect. 1984 is an example of an attempt at a utopian society that results in a place that is definitely not perfect. In most instances, a dystopia will be created when trying to make a utopia (Hough). There are multiple reasons as to why a utopia cannot work. Some of these reasons include resources and people in the society. George Orwell’s 1984, along with past governments, show that a utopia can never be truly created and that it will always turn into a dystopia.