George Orwell 1984 Warning Analysis

“1984 expresses man’s fears of isolation and disintegration, cruelty and dehumanisation…Orwell’s repetition of obsessive ideas is an apocalyptic lamentation for the fate of modern man. His expression of the political experience of an entire generation gives 1984 a veritably mythic power

In an article by The New York Times, the author suggests that George Orwell’s 1984 was “a chilling exploration of absolute depravity.” Orwell’s purpose in writing 1984 was to warn the people of the dangers that could come from becoming a totalitarian society. Throughout 1984, Orwell exposes the dangers of a totalitarian society, such as the psychological torture and the physical brutality that one would experience living in such a society.

1984 was written in an age of Nazism and Stalinism, where those totalitarian and fascist governments had their fists clenched around their citizens, controlling and terrorizing them at every move and within every aspect of their lives. The English author, Eric Arthur Blair, better known under his pseudonym George Orwell, wrote 1984 as a warning, to provoke a sense of fear from his audience, which, in turn, makes his purpose, to persuade and inform his readers to question the authority and integrity of their governments and news stations and make certain they do not infringe upon people’s inalienable rights, all the more impactful. Orwell propels his purpose through means of rhetorical devices, such as allusion, colloquialism, and paradoxes in order to build up fear in his audience, which in turn more adeptly and meaningfully develops his purpose.

First published in 1949, Orwell certainly believed that the novel would have some higher purpose in the political sphere, and it did. But perhaps it wasn’t the purpose that was truly intended? Nearly seventy years after its first appearance, 1984 can be found on many high school, college and political group reading lists. Coining terms such as “Big Brother,” or “thoughtcrime,” the novel created an entirely new type of dystopian society defined by many as “Orwellian.” But with close reading one can see that George Orwell wrote 1984 for a very specific purpose. In 1984 Orwell writes about the dangers of deviating from a true socialist society.

2. In the afterword, the commentator describes 1984 as "a warning." Indeed, throughout the text, Orwell plants both subtle and overt warnings to the reader. What do you think are some of the larger issues at hand here?

Everyone has heard of the famous saying: “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it”. But have we as humans really heeded this warning? Have we learned from our past mistakes in order to overcome the ones in the future? George Orwell’s 1984 is another one of these warnings. Erich Fromm writes in the afterword of 1984 that Orwell is issuing a warning to human beings. According to Fromm, Orwell implies that the future of man will be filled with despair and that unless the course of events change, man will cease to be the very thing they are: human. Orwell’s message is a valid warning to all of mankind. Without changing the course of their history, humans would forsake their dearest beliefs without even realizing it.

16. In the final analysis, how accurate was Orwell in his vision of the future? In what ways does our contemporary society compare to his idea of society in 1984? Are there examples in which he was correct? What is most contrary? Do you see a potential for aspects of Orwell’s “vision” to come true?

The author created an alternate dimension where the future was a nightmare: being watched at all times, no private moments, and no ties to anyone except Big Brother were allowed. 1984 is an endeavor by Orwell to make the public face their reality head on, to make them realize that they are capable of choosing their way of life. Choosing powerful themes, he wants to awaken primal emotions in his audience; he wants them to struggle under the finger of Big Brother and not be tolerant of such dictatorship. Orwell needs people to think and decide for themselves what they want in life. He doesn’t want to them to follow submissively but guide and construct their own future by any means

1984 is a typical dystopian novel in which Orwell explores the many issues present during the time in which he wrote this book. He successfully creates a world in which technology is vastly more sophisticated than it was during the time in which this book was written and in which fear is used as a tool to control individuals who do not conform to the social norms. The horrible and dangerous futuristic world controlled repressively by the government and the thought police is portrayed wonderfully by Orwell who is able to create the perfect dystopian realm.

The prophetic nightmare of George Orwell gives us many warnings that are becoming increasingly true in our modern society; however, among all of the auguries and prediction none rival his warning about the severity of our reliance on technology. He shows us the dangers of technology through the protagonist Winston’s eyes. The prophecies in this novel are ones that we need to head in today’s society. With apparent advancements in technology we have begun to fall down the same awful Orwellian spiral, loosing to technology our privacy and thought.

The society of “1984” is a reminder to show us that the future may look like this, if nothing is being done to prevent it or change it. Also “1984” is portraying the possible effect and what the world may seem like in the future, if the government has absolute power and control of the people. Orwell needed to grab the attention of the audience, so therefore he distorted the world that we live in and shaped it into the world of “1984”. The encounter of the government is uncommon to be seen. We, the people of America, take the rights that are given to every citizen for granted. We take everything for granted until a change of where the wind blows and that is when we begin to realize the privileges that we are blessed with. Nonetheless, Orwell presents the use of distortion in order to portray to the people the consequences of a government that is constantly bird-watching the citizens and ensuring that they are enforcing absolute loyalty to the power and control over the entire society. Because The Party, is obsessed with absolute power

When analyzing 1984 through a critical lens, a reader may be able to look through the historical lens to understand what was happening in the world around the author and how it influenced their writing. There are quite a few things that helped Orwell write this masterpiece of a novel, and a lot of it can stem back to the historical period as to which 1984 was written.

The strongest people are poor, starving, and treated like animals. In 1948, author George Orwell wrote the dystopian novel 1984. In 1984, Orwell created a world without freedom of speech, motion, and thought to portray an idea of our world with totalitarian power. In the book, it follows a member of the Outer Party named Winston, and his fight to keep his freedom of thought through love, rebellion, and secrecy. Throughout the book, it portrays three important themes, War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength. The statement, “Ignorance is Strength” is a deep meaning throughout George Orwell’s 1984 due to the jocundity of the Proles, the rigid rules and expectations of both the Inner and Outer party, and Big Brother’s strive

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.

The novel 1984 is a futuristic totalitarian society where everyone is kept under close surveillance and is forced to follow all rules and laws of the state. The novel 1984 was written by George Orwell and published in 1950. The main characters were Big Brother, Winston Smith, Julia, O’Brien, Syme and Emmanuel Goldstein. Winston Smith is a low man on the totem pole when it came to the ruling Party in London, Oceania. His every move is watched by the Party through devices called telescreens. Posted everywhere around the city is the face of their leader, “Big Brother” informing them that he is always watching. He works in the “Ministry of Truth” which is ironic seeing that they alter history to fit the liking of the Party. As this book continues Winston challenged the laws and skirts around the fact that he is always being watched. His shocking and rebellious act is “falling in love.” Throughout this novel George Orwell utilizes symbolism to further enhance the totalitarian features of the society. In many ways these symbols represent the things that this society hasn’t experienced and doesn’t understand.