Epiphany In 1984

Following the conclusion of the alarming innovations of the tyrannies in World War II, author George Orwell took immediate action. In 1949, Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece made its breakthrough in his best-selling novel “1984”. The novel itself depicts a totalitarian regime, named “Big Brother”, that controls not just its citizens’ actions, but their very thoughts. Through Orwell’s narrative, one can apply a moral/philosophical approach to the aspects of the characters and events of the novel. Therefore, through a moral/philosophical approach, one can see the several warnings that are conveyed through satirizing a totalitarian government, the ability to alter the past, and the true ability of non-party members in society.

Totalitarianism is the overarching theme of 1984, written by George Orwell in 1948. The novel details the story of Winston Smith, a self-described weakling who spends his life working for the omniscient and cruel government party Big Brother. The authority in Smith’s country Oceania, the Party keeps a tight leash on the terrified citizens that dwell in its cities. Their primary goal? To exert total mind control, building an army of brainwashed robots who will believe that two plus two equals five if Big Brother proclaimed it true. The Party achieves this state of submission in citizens with two important concepts: surveillance and false information. In fact, totalitarianism, specifically in George Orwell’s 1984, contributes to the spread of

Without a doubt, Orwell passionately views the role of government in a totalitarian society as deeply disturbing, appalled by the role of technology in allowing corporate power to controls its citizens. In 1984 he has constructed the perfect example of totalitarianism: a society in which even having a contradictory thought is punishable by death or vaporization, and government possesses absolute power; a very real possibility for the very near future, Orwell believed. His argument is a daunting one, and although I agree that the effects of such a society can develop to be greatly oppressive, I boldly theorize that such systems inevitably self-destruct before they can flourish into the horror that is 1984’s very essence. There are two major

In the book 1984, George Orwell describes a world similar to that of the Nazi Germany. An assortment of parallels can be drawn between the totalitarian governments of Adolf Hitler and Orwell’s fictional “Big Brother.” Complete power, propaganda, and dehumanization are three main topics related to both Orwell’s novel and Nazi Germany. Complete power is achieved by the dictatorship and totalitarianism. Brainwashing in both cases uses tactics of propaganda and invasion of privacy. Dehumanization is created by torture and death of the weak. This ties directly with George Orwell’s dystopian, or an imagined place in which everything is grim, society in 1984 because Big Brother aimed to achieve the complete power by brainwashing and dehumanizing his people.

In the novel of 1984, George Orwell uses vivid description to constructs a totalitarian world in the novel. The ruling party is the ruler in 1984, and they control both the mind and body of their citizens. Winston was an unique person and he wants to fight for those totalitarian society. However, Winston betrayed by people whom he trusted and closed him and it is a tragic ending for Winston. Winston didn’t rebel against the Party and accept the present society, “he had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother”(376). In fact, through this novel, Orwell wants to people not only sigh over Winston’s circumstance, but also realized the threat of totalitarian societies around the world.

This book was written during the time of WWII and Orwell had witnessed Hitler’s attempt to subjugate much of Europe and Joseph Stain (leader of the Soviet Union) to consolidate oppressive power in Russia. During that time the possibility for government domination was not a fantasy, but a stark reality. Orwell is warning us against the actions of a totalitarianism government, who squish individual thought, choice and action. He has shown his definition of dystopia through the ways that the individuals are monitored, through the danger of totalitarianism and through psychological manipulation.

Through his engineering of such a dystopian plot however, Orwell does make clear where his opinion stands regarding totalitarianism; this highlights the fact that his novel aims to portray only the negatives of such a political system and therefore indicates the hugely biased nature of the storyline. The political construction of the fictional world that is created in 1984, does correlate strongly with the definitions of totalitarianism that are seemingly of general consensus; this helps to add a strong sense of realism and hereby renders the existence of the scenario all the more imaginable in a real-life

Orwell describes a time in which language and history are manipulated and controlled to assure the dominance of the government and technology is used only to the government’s advantage. Several of the most alarming things that are described in 1984, and that Orwell ultimately warns about include the manipulations of history, the use of language as a means of control, and the use of technology as a means of surveillance. History is more powerful than one might think; when it is changed and manipulated it can become a means of subconscious propaganda. This can be dangerous because one might not even be aware that they are being persuaded to think something. Suppression of a historical event can cause tension in society. In 1984, a new

Sixty-seven years ago, George Orwell wrote his renowned novel 1984. The book tells the story of a suppressed government worker caught in the temptation of rebellion. Having been studied in schools for decades it is evident that Orwell is warning of the dangers totalitarianism poses to humanity. He goes to great lengths to express the disturbing degree of power and control a dictatorial regime can acquire and sustain.

Despotic governments, public welfare, illusions of utopia, despondency, individualism, conformity, protection against foreign invasion, and paranoia are conflicting ideas yet all exist within societies past and present. George Orwell prophetically writes about a futuristic society in his book entitled 1984. He uses hindsight of past and present political authority to illustrate the possibility of additional states imposing oppressed control. Orwell asserts the conflicting ideas with, “…the three slogans of the Party: War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength,” (Orwell, 4). In a clever, applicable, and daunting approach, Orwell challenges the so-called pragmatism in London, England. The antagonism of Big Brother opposes

His use of propaganda and telescreens that "[receive] and [transmit] simultaneously" (Orwell 3) and a Thought Police that kills anyone who may be a treat to the Party places prominence on the risks that come along with an oppressive government. While it may seem ridiculous that a government would go as far as monitoring its citizens every moment of their lives, there are governments today that will crush all forms of rebellion and kill individuals that may be considered a threat to its rule. People who are "abolished, annihilated: vaporized [is] the usual word" (Orwell 19) in 1984 are symbolic to the individual liberties democracy entails such as freedom of speech, thought, and expression that are no longer present in totalitarian governments. The removal of all basic liberties guaranteed by democratic governments sets 1984 apart from other books as the reader must learn not to take their liberties and freedom for granted as opposed to simply reading a dystopian

"Big Brother Is Watching You” (Orwell 1). One may ponder the thought of living in a world where the powers that be controlled, every step one takes and every move one made. Image the control being so drastic that it controlled one’s telepathic thought. There have been many who envisioned the thought of government surveillance. One of these visionaries is George Orwell. Orwell implemented his warnings to private citizens of his era, about these dangers through fictional writing. On June 8, 1949, George Orwell published a book titled 1984 (Nineteen Eighty-Four) (GWB). In his book, Mr. Orwell effectively shapes the aspects of how the ramifications of World War II opened the doorway to a radical totalitarian government.

George Orwell foresees a nightmarish-future for the world in his book 1984, where individualism loses precedence to "the good of society," and with it goes the individual's private life. "The [controlling] Party" in the socialist government knows the intimate details of all citizens, and prosecutes those who violate social orders through threatening speech, behavior or thoughts. The omnipresent visual warning "Big Brother is Watching You,” reminds citizens that no personal information is safe from the "Thought Police." While this may seem far-fetched to some, Orwell envisioned technology facilitating government's abuse of power in 1950; in the twenty-first century, progress has left one's private life susceptible to interested parties in

George Orwell wrote 1984 in the year 1949, and although his vision of the future obviously did not come to fruition, the principals of the book still apply to society today. Imagining a world where individual expression is completely outlawed is nightmarish, and thankfully we are still able to seize the day and make of it what we choose. The idea that a party could grow this powerful and completely control an entire third of the world is ludicrous, but with the level of spying and technology present in this narrative, it begins to seem more plausible. Orwell likely wrote this novel as a cautionary tale to those who lust for power, and wishes to see a world where people are able to be themselves. Orwell envelopes his audience in this fantasy, and whenever the book is put down, the reader is relieved that they are not trapped in this reality of Orwell’s.

George Orwell’s 1984 is a novel that warns readers about a change in government and technology that could potentially occur in the future. The main character, Winston is a part of a messed up, twisted society where everything is bad, or a dystopia. The Party are the people who run the government and control the lives of the citizens. They strip away their humanity and turn them into robot-like beings that only live for the government. The Party uses the Thoughtpolice and telescreens to monitor the citizens’ every move permitting them to have no freedom. The citizens’ rights are taken away, such as their ability to have feelings. In 1984, George Orwell demonstrates the idea of a dystopian