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George Orwell 1984 Analysis

Decent Essays

Good Morning/Afternoon Class,

George Orwell wrote 1984 in 1948. He wrote it about what would happen if we didn’t fight for out rights. Throughout this story it is riddled with symbols, which create extra meaning and depth within the story.

The biggest symbol within 1948 was Big Brother. He was the face of the Party in 1984. Although he was seen everywhere on posters saying, “Big Brother is watching you” it was never clear is he ever really existed. Big Brother is a symbol of fear. He is a symbol of fear by threatening that he sees everything so if you do something wrongs you will be caught. When this book is read the presence of Big Brother gives a feeling or restrictedness and dictatorship within Oceania. George Orwell may have put Big Brother into the story to have a leader in the town that has overwhelming power over everyone’s life to inflict the feeling of a powerful presence throughout the book.

Winston’s diary was another symbol of him his unknown past. Winston’s job is to rewrite the past. Winston explained to Goldstein that “The diary is not a book containing information about the past, but a means to record one's own past”. So he is trying to keep a record of the real …show more content…

The rats are a symbol of Winston’s fears. However it could also be a symbol of depravity. This is because rats have been related throughout history with squalor and pests. Rats have been known to carry disease for example the Bubonic Plague in the fourteenth century caused by fleas on rats. Winston’s universe is filled with humans who act and are treated like rodents. The Party trapped the citizens in a cage ruled by Big Brother. So, the rats are a symbol of Winston’s fear but Winston’s fear of the rats could be a symbol of his hatred for his life because he is treated like a rat. Winston may have put this symbol into the text to have a reflection of their living

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