Examples Of Language In 1984

In the book 1984, Orwell vividly describes a society driven by a totalitarian government that thrives on controlling what everyone does, think, or say. The main character, Winston Smith, undergoes the loss of his distinct character as he is created in the Party's image in anticipation of him not only obeying, but loving Big Brother. As discussed in class this novel was written not only for entertainment or pleasure but as a warning sign to others. Throughout the novel Orwell discussed many things that made him believe that the problems in 1984 will still exist in today’s society. Although there were numerous issues discussed I consider the most relevant were the discussions about Big Brother, War, and Newspeak.

The war-torn world George Orwell creates for 1984 is a bleak, heartless place, full of grey shaded and apocalyptic descriptions. The citizens that live in Oceania do not live, they are slaves whose sole purpose is to better the party, a harsh totalitarian government, full of ever watchful leaders who monitor the citizens at all time, watching their every move and seeing their every thought. Our protagonist, is Winston Smith who lives in this dystopia. Winston lives a life that like most of Oceania lacks basic rights and involves little freedom serving the purpose as our main protagonist developing the theme of the novel. These problems however, are exasperated by the society government that constantly worsens in the course of his life.

Orwell designed Newspeak to demonstrate the importance of language to ideas. Orwell thought literature was dying out, which he connected with dying language (Kazin 235). Language is not only the means by which an idea is expressed, but also the means by which an idea is thought. The purposes of Newspeak are to allow for the expression of thoughts Ingsoc deemed proper and make impossible the expression of thoughts Ingsoc deemed heretical (Kendrick 344). According to Orwell, control of thought follows control of language. The government in 1984 means to control the language, and

Winston Smith is probably the most important and complex character in George Orwell’s masterpiece, namely Nineteen Eighty-Four. Throughout this essay I will try to explain the different aspects of Winston’s role in the novel from the question of the narrative perspective through his rebellious tendencies to his psychological problems.

In the novel 1984, George Orwell relates the tension between outward conformity and inward questioning by allowing the reader to see inside of the mind of Winston Smith. Orwell uses Winston’s rebellious thoughts to counteract his actions in order to show the reader how a dystopian society can control the citizens. Although Winston is in an obvious state of disbelief in the society, his actions still oppose his thoughts because of his fear of the government. Winston’s outward conformity and inward questioning relate to the meaning of the novel by showing Winston’s fight to truth being ended by the dystopian society’s government.

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

In a world where manipulation is required, thought is crime, and love is forbidden, it is questioned how much of a person is left once his or her life is stripped of such basic freedoms. This is the question a reader asks as he or she is immersed into the world George Orwell created in his classic novel, 1984. As Winston Smith, the main character in Orwell’s novel, navigates through the cruel and oppressive society of Oceania, readers are allowed to see how the oppressiveness of the world in which he lives affects the lives of not only Winston but also the society as a whole. However, as time passes, Winston becomes a character that starts to inwardly question the world around him while being forced to outwardly conform for his own safety. Throughout the novel, a reader can begin to compare the feelings and thoughts of Winston to the mass majority of the population that continues to blindly conform to the government of Oceania. In this contrast, one can begin to understand how the relationship between outward conformity and inward inquisition contributes to the theme of oppression and the meaning of the work as a whole by showing the oppression that Winston feels through his inner thoughts.

Over seventy years after he lived and wrote, the works of English journalist and democratic socialist George Orwell, continue to fascinate, stimulate and enrage his readers concerning the structure of society and the organization of government. The controversial writer openly spoke out against the absolute power of any government, warning that a fascist government would deprive its people of their basic freedoms and liberties. Orwell’s novel, 1984, serves as a reminder of the danger of totalitarianism by depicting a future in which all citizens live under the constant surveillance of the “Big Brother.” Through the main character, Winston Smith, Orwell demonstrates the dangers of totalitarianism; writing of the consequences of absolute government in several essays and proposing socialism as an alternative. To Orwell, the role of government is to represent the common people rather than the old and the privileged.

The protagonist in Orwell’s 1984 is Winston Smith. In the novel the reader experiences the dangers of a totalitarian world through the eyes of Winston Smith. He, unlike the other citizens of Oceania, is aware of the illusions that the Party, Big Brother, and the Thought Police institute. Winston’s personality is extremely pensive and curious; he is desperate to understand the reasons why the Party exercises absolute power in Oceania. Winston tests the limits of the Party’s power through his secret journal, committing an illegal affair, and being indicted into an Anti-Party Brotherhood. He does all his in hopes to achieve freedom and independence, yet in the end it only leads to physical and psychological torture, transforming him into a loyal subject of Big Brother.

1984 is an eye-opening novel written by George Orwell. Orwell wrote the novel in 1949 to outline how he projected society would be in 1984 if progress continued upon its current track. Orwell published the book as a warning that society must be careful about progress for progress’s sake, or conditions could end up similar to the way society is in his work 1984. The novel is divided into three chapters, or books, each with multiple subunits, and these sections tell the story in chronological order. The book ends with an appendix on the principles of newspeak, the new language of Oceania.

“Newspeak was designed to. . .diminish the range of thought. . .by cutting the choice of words down to a minimum” explains George Orwell, the author of a dystopian fiction novel, 1984 (Orwell 300). Orwell designs a society in which a totalitarian government rules, depriving people of their thoughts. The story gives us a look into the life of the main character, Winston, who seems to face issues with reality control. Today, we will delve into the depths of this novel and explore Orwell’s views on the nature of language. In simple terms, Orwell suggests that language, if used in a certain way, has the ability to influence people and compel them to alter their thoughts. With this statement and supporting evidence, it can be concluded that the effective use of language can give individuals power to modify or reshape opinions that will allow for change in society.

George Orwell, the writer of many highly regarded literary works, is extremely interested in the power of language, mainly how it is abused. By analyzing two of his works, 1984 and Politics and The English Language, it is clear that Orwell is using his writing to bring awareness to the dangers of the manipulation, misuse, and decline of language. In 1984 he demonstrates how language can be used to control thought and manipulate the past. This is proven throughout the novel by examining the language of Newspeak and how it is key to controlling the totalitarian state, and how using language to alter and manipulate history can shape reality. In his essay Politics and the English Language Orwell

1984 by George Orwell and the selected articles demonstrate that language is a power. Language helps construct social standing, communicate ideas between one another and spark powerful messages. The words one uses daily help people understand the person's intelligence. Eliminating words or phrases weakens a society. Dictators often use language and books to control the minds of everyone. Language is a complicated system which enables people to manipulate words and phrases to their advantage. One can inspire ideas and set a vision into one’s mind just by saying the right words.

George Orwell’s compelling, dystopian novel, 1984, shows a world in which everything is controlled by the dominant Party and the watchful Big Brother. This control spreads to even control the thoughts of the citizens. Winston, the protagonist, has an internal conflict with these thoughts and desperately looks for a way to control his own mind. In Winston’s desperation, Orwell asks the question, “does changing a language change how a community thinks?” Through the rigid properties of Newspeak, the Party’s new and limiting language, and Winston’s internal struggle and thoughts, Orwell shows how language influences people’s reality of the world.

In “1984,” Orwell describes a terrible society where totalitarianism reaches the top. In this circumstance, personality and freedom are strangled and thought is controlled. The most frightening aspect is that citizens have no sense right and wrong. Without a doubt, the reason why these happen is the governing of the Party, which is controlling everything in the country, Oceania. Orwell uses the control of language to show the idea that the Party solidifies its dominant position.