Marxism: 1984 by George Orwell

The soundbite criticisms of capitalism are legion, yet it’s harder to offer alternatives, aside from the vague notion of 'something else'. Despite the carnage of trying to socially engineer equality in the 20th century, nevertheless the myth persists that capitalist wealth creation is superfluous and money is readily available to a small number of elitists called a government under common ownership, who distribute, or simply print more paper. Ironically, the ones shouting the loudest against capitalism are often those dependent on the profits of capitalism to provide the welfare payments needed to keep them alive.

Life in Oceania is dull, lifeless and described as ‘swimming against the current’. Orwell creates a dire feeling of hopelessness through his destruction of friendship, family, love and individual thoughts. Love and sex are no longer accepted under the totalitarian regime and Winston is therein forced to suppress all his sexual desires treating sex as merely a procreative duty. His marriage to Katherine was purely ‘[their] duty to the Party’ whose end was the creation of new party members. This shows that in a totalitarian world it is wholly necessary to adhere to the constraints enforced by a government not only for personal salvation but also for the survival of the entirety of the human race.

As Winston Smith reflects, “The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in.” (Orwell, 16) The Two Minutes Hate takes the rage that persons may feel toward the lack of control over their own lives away from the Party and turns it against claimed enemies of the Party. Because Big Brother is declared to be kind and good, any enemy is automatically evil and bad. There are also spies to keep the citizens as ignorant as the prisoners in Plato’s cave. The Thought Police keep people afraid, discouraging independent thinking; even children spy on their parents. The children, Orwell writes in 1984, "were systematically turned against their parents and taught to spy on them and report their deviations. The family has become in effect an extension of the Thought Police. It was a device by means of which everyone could be surrounded night and day by informers who knew him intimately" (Orwell, 133). No relationship should be more important than loyalty to Big brother. Moreover, the last thing that controls the people is the telescreen. The telescreen not only watches citizens, but also tells the Party’s lies that change history. But, like prisoners in the cave, the citizens have no other reality to compare it

Human history is full of hundred and millions of evil deeds, tragedies , wars and disasters. From the past decades the social and economic problems has a huge impact on human livings ,which are still existed in our world. Many novels and plays are being made on the social and economic aspects of life which are based on different literary lenses. The novel 1984 by George Orwell is all about the man named Hinston smith who lives in the society which is controlled by the political party leader named big brother. He decided to be a rebellion and to fight against the big brother and get out from this darkness eventually ended up dying at the end. the novel 1984 demonstrated the many fundamental themes as a perspective of Marxist theory. The

1984 has come and gone. The cold war is over. The collapse of oppressive totalitarian regimes leads to the conclusion that these governments by their nature generate resistance and are doomed to failure. The fictional world of George Orwell's novel, 1984, is best described as hopeless; a nightmarish dystopia where the omnipresent State enforces perfect conformity among members of a totalitarian Party through indoctrination, propaganda, fear, and ruthless punishment. In the aftermath of the fall of capitalism and nuclear war, the world has been divided among three practically identical totalitarian nation-states. A state of perpetual war and poverty is the rule in Oceania. However, this is merely a backdrop, far from the most terrifying

In George Orwell’s 1984, the strategies used by Oceania’s Political Party to achieve total control over the population are similar to the ones employed by Joseph Stalin during his reign. Indeed, the tactics used by Oceania’s Party truly depicts the brutal totalitarian society of Stalin’s Russia. In making a connection between Stalin’s Russia and Big Brothers’ Oceania, each Political Party implements a psychological and physical manipulation over society by controlling the information and the language with the help of technology.

A dystopian society is one with restricted freedom, whose values are worshipped by citizens who live in fear of surveillance or punishment. In 1984 by George Orwell, the protagonist lives in a futuristic world, controlled by big brother and the inner party over aspects of human life. In Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr, the fear of egalitarian policies, and the dangers of equality take over. In The Purge by James DeMonaco, the citizens relief to self-regulate violence and to protect themselves and their family from the protagonist. All dystopian literature shares similar characteristics, winston which is the protagonist in 1984, he lives in a society where the government takes over and tries to brainwash the citizens making them believe they live in a illusion of a perfect world. Winston is depicted and physically ill, but strong enough not to give in. “Who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.” (Orwell 12). George Bergeron is the protagonist in Harrison Bergeron, the government makes him wear a radio, which broadcasts noise over these radios to interrupt the thoughts of smart people like George. ‘’Screams and barking cries of consternation came from the television set’’ (Vonnegut 2). Sergeant was the protagonist in the purge, he risked his life by saving others life for a night of horror. The Purge, Harrison Bergeron, and 1984 were all based off government, society where there is limiting and controlling the population. ‘’We

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.

Marxist Theory focuses on the idea that whoever controls the means of production in a

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First of all, the Party in Oceania strives to control every aspect of its subject’s lives and thoughts. It is very apparent by the use of doublethink and the perpetual forced viewpoints and ideology of the Party into its members. The Party has absolute control over the people for they “... control matter because we control the mind” (Orwell, 265). This gives way to causing Winston a great deal of problems for he believes he can rise against the Party, but in fact it only

In Orwell’s 1984, he displays psychological manipulation through Oceania’s government which it uses to control its citizens. This includes the use of propaganda, control of content, and ethnocentrism. The Party’s methods of control relates to real life events repeated in history such as the Nazi Regime from 1933 to 1945 headed by Adolf Hitler and common patterns in cultural history.

Besides the Inner Party, Oceania is struck by poverty, and other horrid living conditions. Along with the thoughts of the Thought Police, “There was, of course, no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork”(Orwell 3). The residents of Oceania were kept ignorant so they would always love Big Brother. Thought police watched the minds of citizens, without them knowing, to ensure the love of Big Brother in all people.In some cases, when a person knew they had committed a thought crime, the fear of being vaporized haunted their minds. Winston suffered from this for years without being caught until his crossed Mr. Charrington’s path. Winston did not realize his crimes or hate for Big Brother until he began to fear the Thought Police reading the thoughts that even scared him. He believed his feelings towards Big Brother were neutral until, “His pen had slid voluptuously over the smooth page, printing in large neat capitals- DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER… over and over again, filling half a page”(Orwell 18). This showed how it did not matter how much restraint you had every citizen would show hate for the Inner Party sooner or later. For the Inner Party’s brainwashing was not full proof allowing citizens to have deep hatred. Later on Winston had come into contact with O'Brien who told him to join the infamous organization, Brotherhood. O’Brien confirmed that the suspicions of the Brotherhood were and later on he would obtain an explanation for all of Big Brother’s rules, “The heavy briefcase that he was carrying bumped against his knees at each step, sending a tingling sensation up and down the skin of his leg. Inside it was the book… “(Orwell 179-180). As Winston read through Goldstein’s book, he only gained conformation on his uncertainty, but learned

The governments in today’s society have brainwashed their citizens into believing everything their leader says and thinks is correct and everything else is wrong. This can sometimes be known as a totalitarian government. George Orwell’s novel 1984 revolves around totalitarianism. The members of the party in Oceania are taught and required to worship their leader Big Brother whether they believe in him or not. In the novel 1984, George Orwell shows the problems and the hatred with a totalitarian government through his use of symbolism, situational irony, and indirect characterization.

War Is Peace. Freedom Is Slavery. Ignorance Is Strength. The party slogan of Ingsoc illustrates the sense of contradiction which characterizes the novel 1984. That the book was taken by many as a condemnation of socialism would have troubled Orwell greatly, had he lived to see the aftermath of his work. 1984 was a warning against totalitarianism and state sponsored brutality driven by excess technology. Socialist idealism in 1984 had turned to a total loss of individual freedom in exchange for false security and obedience to a totalitarian government, a dysutopia. 1984 was more than a simple warning to the socialists of Orwell's time. There are many complex philosophical issues buried deep within