preview

Essay on George Orwell's 1984

Good Essays

Unit 3: A Struggle for Freedom Activity 8: Literary Essay Brittany Ennis ENG3U Mrs. King July 19th, 2013 In the book 1984 by George Orwell, there is a lot of symbolism that represents one major themes of the book. These symbols reflect the theme that a totalitarian government does not allow freedom. The goal is to control the thoughts, the hearts and the minds of the population. Those that are different are centred out to be changed and if they cannot be changed they are eliminated. Free thought is not free. The price for free thinking can be your life. Winston, the protagonist, is a free thinker who has rejected the norms of the totalitarian regime, but to survive …show more content…

He is the constant focal point for the Party. “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”. (Orwell, 4) That sign is the slogan of the Party. To Winston the slogan means that he is being watched. He does not look at Big Brother as being benevolent because he cannot share any of his thoughts with anyone. Another quote is, “There will be no love but the love of Big Brother.” (Orwell, 306) This unifies the totalitarian theme. Big Brother is your only love and you are not free to love anyone or anything else. Relationships are prohibited. Sex is merely for the purpose of procreation and is considered a duty to the Party. The population buys in to this because they do not want to cross Big Brother or face the punishments of the Party. “Almost unconsciously he traced with his finger in the dust on the table: 2+2=5.” (Orwell, 334). It represents how the party uses Big Brother to manipulate people and to get them to believe in what they are being told. They tell you that they are watching, they tell you that Big Brother is the only thing you can love and they tell you facts that are wrong. The party tells you so often that the majority of the population believe in this and accept it as the truth. Big Brother symbolizes how a totalitarian government can deceive the population to insure that citizens cannot have any freedom. Victory gin is part of the totalitarian plan. It is used to sedate the masses. “He took down from the

Get Access