George Orwell 's 1984 Is Nothing More Than The Psyche Of The Novel

Following World War Two, Europe was thrown into chaos and despair. The major world countries, such as the Soviet Union and America, were still suffering from the wide spread fear caused by Hitler and fascism. From this fear, George Orwell’s 1984 was born. It served as a warning to where he feared the world’s leading countries were headed, and the dystopian that he fretted would become a reality. While the party may have held total dominance, it would not be able to control human nature forever. In George Orwell’s 1984, he posits through Winston’s observations of the proletariat that while one individual would not be able to overpower the party, the collective group would.

The first use of literary devices in George Orwell's 1984, is situational and verbal irony. Throughout 1984 Orwell is relaying what he believes a totalitarian government would look like in using the phrases "War is Peace," "Slavery is Freedom" and "Ignorance is Strength" (Orwell, 4). This suggests that Big Brother is trying to make people believe the opposite of what is true. Such a thing would help them by allowing for more control when they can change a person’s way of thinking. Furthermore, he says that Winston believes that O'Brien is thinking the same way about the government as he is, but as it turns out he is a member of the Thought Police (Orwell, 17 and 239). George Orwell has proven in this text that one never really knows the motivation of a person when it comes to a totalitarian government. At first, Winston thinks that O'Brien and he are on the same page when it comes to the 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 the novel 1984 by George Orwell is about a totaltarin government attempting to destroy individuality. 1984 takes place in a oceania society driven by propaganda , that every citizen of oceania must interact with a daily intake of propaganda created by the government so that control is maintained. In this story Winston is on a mission to rebel against the people who dictate every part of his life i.e. “Big Brother”. Winston also on a quest to find someone to share is beliefs with. Today’s society has reflected on 1984 is many ways just different forms.

Considering that the book was published in 1948, in the start of the Cold War, the political connotation of this book was instantly interpreted as a criticism to the Soviet Union and their autocratic rule, mainly because of the parallels and allusions Orwell brought from this country. For instance the resemblance of Big Brother which is describe as “the face of a man of about forty-five, with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features”(Orwell 4) is an accurate description of the 1948 Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, hinting a parallel Orwell established between both of them. Common practices like cult of personality and his rivalry with previous party members (in Stalin’s case Trotsky and in Big Brother’s case Goldstein) show that the character is not only physically similar, but that Big Brother is an allusion to the Soviet leader. Hence Orwell also alludes the alteration of history and photographs in Winston´s working place to the similar practices made in the USSR under Stalin, where photos were edited when people condemned by treason appeared on it. The constant wars the country is facing alludes to the multiple wars that took place during the first half of the twentieth century, as the author states that their society was constantly at war, which is an allusion to his present. By alluding to the present and to the USSR, Orwell convinces the western reader of the dangers of these dictatorial societies, by drawing a parallel between 1984 society and their cold war

According to Orwell’s essay Why I Write, published two years before the publication of 1984, Orwell writes in order to “push the world in a certain direction, to alter other peoples’ idea of the kind of society that they should strive after” (CITE). This motive is evident in the society in the 1984 novel.

George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four” is heavily influenced by the totalitarian governments present during the World War 2 era and serves as a warning to the world about the restriction of individualism that might occur if this type of government took over. Orwell, living in the 1940’s, was a witness to many totalitarian governments across the world and realized their danger. Orwell’s message, or “warning” can be seen through the character Winston Smith and the rise and fall of his individuality.

In 1984, Big Brother is a mysterious leader, all-knowing and all-seeing, of the utopian society. He is meant to be revered as god by the citizens. Throughout the novel, we are unsure if Big Brother really exists. Only his image is used by the Thought Police to intimidate the citizens of Oceania. Big Brother represents the ultimate version of a dictator, and the character is “inspired by Adolf Hitler, Francisco Franco, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Tse-tung, all of whom were worshipped by many of their followers,” ("1984"). Emmanuel Goldstein is the great enemy of Big Brother. Characterized as a old, Jewish man, Goldstein, a former Party leader, is now the head of a conspiracy to overthrow the Party. Goldstein is based on Leon Trotsky, an enemy of Joseph Stalin who led an unsuccessful revolt and was murdered by Stalin's men ("1984"). Finally, the main character, Winston Smith, is undoubtedly based on Winston Churchill, the great leader of Britain during World War II. Winston Smith’s determination as he makes decisions throughout the novel resonates strongly with Churchill’s

2. The introductory chapters in George Orwell’s 1984, acquaint the reader with the harsh and oppressive world of Oceania. The reader experiences this world through the perspective of Winston Smith, a protagonist in the novel. Orwell illustrates Winston’s life in a society that is controlled by a totalitarian regime; the Party. Like many other citizens in Oceania, Winston is subjected to physical and phycological cruelties, however, his individualistic and pensive qualities cause him to question the orders of the Party.

In 1984, the first large figure of power that readers are introduced to is Big Brother, the man of unspeakable power behind the all-controlling Party. During Winston’s torture at the end of the book, O’Brien reveals that “Big Brother is the embodiment of the Party,” (Orwell 214) even though

Sigmund Freud once said, “ The conscious mind may be compared to a fountain playing in the sun and falling back into the great subterranean pool of subconscious from which it rises.” Throughout the book 1984, Winston is conflicted between what he wants to believe and what he has to believe. Orwell characterizes Winston’s constant struggle between his conscious and unconscious mind through his dreams, his diary, and his reactions to torture in the Ministry of Love.

Human nature seems like something you cannot control. Most people follow their intuition for guidance. However, in 1984 George Orwell shows a dystopia that reaches to control just that. Basic human emotion is not expressed and it is an expectation to follow everything the party wants and needs. The government in 1984 uses fear to control the people in Oceania to keep them from acting against big brother and to try to eliminate human nature.

Big Brother is a fictional character in George Orwell's novel; He is apparently the leader of Oceania. In Party publicity, Big Brother is presented as one of the organizers of the Party. George Orwell describes Oceania’s society where every citizen is under persistent surveillance by authorities. The people are repetitively reminded by the saying "Big Brother is watching you.” The Party keeps citizens under surveillance through telescreens, which are found in all rooms belonging to Party members, and in public places. The Party uses children to keep an eye on their parents. The children are skilled to be devoted Party followers. The children are vicious towards thought criminals and most parents are frightened of their own children.

One of factors the reader is immediately introduced to, is the incessant and haunting image of ‘BIG BROTHER’ and the power it asserts across all of Oceania, described as being “so contrived that the eyes follow you about as you move” (3). This highlights the uneasiness felt with the presence of this totalitaristic state and the helplessness obediently accepted by the people. BIG BROTHER is the representative for government group ‘the Party’ and is used as a way to communicate with the people through posters and a telescreen. The posters often come paired with captions such as ‘BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU’, ensuring that the nation stays aware of their severe lack of freedom and reminding them that any attempt to deter from what is acceptable would be futile. Incidentally, the main character, Winston Smith, is one that has not yet forgotten his memories of a more liberated time and holds onto the possibility of once more reaching freedom. This hope is gradually being repressed by the forces of society alongside the depressing atmosphere of London in year 1984. With the people’s memory becoming increasingly vague over time, it gives the Party more leverage to build off of this absence of consciousness to create a perfectly functioning, mindless society. Smith’s memory loss is made prevalent when “He tried to squeeze out some childhood memory that should tell him whether London had always been quite like this….But it was no use, he could not remember: nothing remained of his childhood except a series of bright-lit tableaux occurring against no background and mostly unintelligible.” (5). This also shows his association of the past with blankness, lacking depth, leaving space to be filled with BIG BROTHER’s propaganda. Also, the events Orwell writes about in this novel are often interpreted

Since the 16th century the idea of a Dystopian type society has been a common literary theme, as well as the dangers of Totalitarianism throughout literature. Totalitarianism is defined as a concept in which the government holds total authority over the society, and controls all aspects of its public and private life. A Dystopian society and Totalitarianism are two underlying themes that can be easily found in the novel 1984 by George Orwell. 1984 was composed in the year 1949 because Mr. Orwell wrote this book as a predication of how the world might be in the future – 1984. In this novel, the obsessive, overprotected government is known as the Inner Party, and their leader is Big Brother who appears everywhere