The Characteristics Of Society In 1984 By George Orwell

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 human condition can be described as the aspects of life that compose and form a person. Many novels depict a society where the human condition is manipulated by those in power. In 1984 by George Orwell, the human condition is controlled by the government. The nation, Oceania, is ruled by a strict, hostile regime called the Inner Party. The Inner Party keeps a constant, vigilant watch on their citizens through several methods such as the use of telescreens and thought police. Using this to their advantage, the Inner Party controls their citizens’ daily lives and routine. Failure to follow the Inner Party’s directives ultimately results in death. On the other hand, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 portrays a society where the human condition is controlled by media. In this world, reading books has been outlawed. Books are now burned along with the houses that they are found in. Without books, citizens turn to various media outlets to fill their minds. Television parlors, Seashell ear thimbles, and similar objects encompass the citizens’ lives and continually surround them to the point of brainwashing. Both novels illustrate a harsh, manipulated human condition which is reflected in the societies’ people; however, between the two societies depicted, a more devastating, oppressive and strict human condition is demonstrated in Orwell’s 1984.

George Orwell’s theme in 1984 is that an omnipotent and all-seeing government is dangerous and will demean individuality as well as free will. He portrays this through Winston’s failure to rebel while showing totalitarian governments cannot be stopped after they have been completely established. He also depicts his message through the citizens’ total belief in government propaganda no matter how absurd or inconstant as well as through the international solidarity and seemingly permanent nuclear cold war.

There is nothing truly more terrifying than conformity in its purest form and George Orwell, the author of 1984, illustrates that point perfectly in his novel which showcases all of his ideas.  But what really causes the erasement of the individual and the subsequent rise of the ostensible status quo?  Orwell takes the time in his novel to demarcate the many causes that have an acute effect on individuality and how potently a general ‘norm’ can influence a mass of people.  Manipulation of the individual and of the masses runs rampant in this dystopian world as mandated activities like Two Minutes Hate serve to distract and confuse the people, as well as organizations like the Anti-sex league and Spies being used as indoctrination centers

Winston and Julia continue to meet in the room above the shop, and eventually, the two go together to meet O’Brien at his home. O’Brien turns off his

The dysfunctional, deranged society of George Orwell’s classic novel, 1984, is more relevant today to United States citizens than ever. In the book and in our country currently, the ruling governments both attempt to dominate their people through consistent force. The United States is constantly policing its citizens to maintain order, which is similar to the Party’s actions in 1984. As our present-day society continues to progress, certain aspects of citizens’ lives mirror those found in 1984, such as the overbearing control of the government, the limited language amongst the people, and the new security methods.

1984, Orwell’s last and perhaps greatest work, deals with drastically heavy themes that still terrify his audience after 65 years. George Orwell’s story exemplifies excessive power, repression, surveillance, and manipulation in his strange, troubling dystopia full of alarming secrets that point the finger at totalitarian governments and mankind as a whole. What is even more disquieting is that 1984, previously considered science fiction, has in so many ways become a recognizable reality.

In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the totalitarian government is adamant that all citizens not only follow its policies, but wholeheartedly agree with them. In order to maintain his individuality and avoid the Thought Police, Winston lies about his allegiance to the government and his beliefs and thoughts. He learns that his lies are weak and shallow after he is caught, and he eventually realizes the true power of his lies when he deceives himself. The totalitarian government Orwell presents encourages deception as a means of survival, increasing the government’s power when the citizens are eventually driven to lie to themselves. As the Party grows stronger and individuality crumbles, Orwell displays the loss of humanity as a result of a government built on deception.

In the George Orwell’s novel 1984, much of the society is watched and have no privacy of any kind. Every person in the Party is under surveillance. In effect, these people cannot live freely and independently, but it seems to be an impossible task because of of the Party surveillance, and how they limit thinking and manipulate reality. We can similarly see these concerns and their effects in today 's society and the ways the novel also acts as a warning for the future.

As human beings, there are distinct characteristics that separate us from feral animals; the ability to create, to appreciate art, to curiously question the world and most importantly to sympathize for our kind. However, when that exact nature is stripped from us, we tend to become mindless, restricted, cold, and degraded as an entire race. This is the setting of George Orwell’s last book, 1984. A world where human thought is limited, war and poverty lie on every street corner, and one cannot trust nobody or nothing. It is all due to the one reigning political entity, the Ingsoc Party, who imposes complete power over all aspects of life for all citizens. There is no creative or intellectual thought, no art, culture or history, and no

"To say 'I accept' in an age like our own is to say that you accept concentration-camps, rubber truncheons, Hitler, Stalin, bombs, aeroplanes, tinned food, machine guns, putsches, purges, slogans, Bedaux belts, gas-masks, submarines, spies, provocateurs, press-censorship, secret prisons, aspirins, Hollywood films and political murder" (Bookshelf I).

There are three main social classes represented in 1984 by George Orwell, the Inner Party, the Outer Party and the Proles. While 1984 is a work of fiction, similar social classes do currently and have existed in the world, they just go by different names, the Upper class, the Middle class and the Lower class. The Inner class is resemblant of the Upper class. They both make up 2% or less of the population, but carry most of the wealth and privileges. The Middle and Lower classes is where the book shifts from reality a little. The Outer party has more wealth than the Proles, but are more closely monitored. While the Proles do not have much wealth, they could get away with the a lot more than the Outer party without anyone preserving them as a threat. They make up the majority of the population and have the power in number to fight back, but they do not know or think to use that power.

This book starts in London on April fourth, 1984. The book is written in partly third person, and partly in first person. The book is divided into three distinct parts. The first part is showing you the main character, Winston Smith and his differences and frustration with the world he works and lives in. The country or the “Super state” he lives in called Oceania is run under a government called INGSOC (English Socialism). The leaders of the nation are called "The Party." The Party is divided into two sections, The Inner Party, and The Outer Party. The "Rich" and the "middle-class." There is a third group of people called "The Proles," or "The Proletariat" who are the lower class or the poorer class. The main leader of this government is called “Big Brother” and there also a very famous conspiracy theory about a traitor of the state by a person called “Emmanuel Goldstein” who was part of the inner party and then betrayed the state. The book is about the life of Smith with his frustration towards the government and the society he lives and the journey he embarks on from hating the party to finding comfort in another party worker and to eventually falling in love with big brother. The book is divided into three parts with the first part explaining the dynamics and structure of the new world. The second part focuses on how Smith finds solace by committing “though crime” as his act against the party and finally,

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.

Hopelessness, deep and gaping ever lasting hopelessness. If the course of humanity fails to change, to this everyone will succumb. That is the message that George Orwell has left for the future, and it would be in humanity's best interest to heed. Winston Smith of 1984 lived in a world that had been consumed by the everlasting abyss of injustice. Eventually this world became too much for our hopeful protagonist and thus, like the future that is bound to a horrific fate, he succumbed. “It was like swimming against a current that swept you backwards however hard you struggled, and then suddenly deciding to turn round and go with the current instead of opposing it” (Orwell 248). No one in this world is any different than Winston, they will follow his path like all of those before them, following the five stages of Kübler-Ross. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance make up the cycle that every feeble life will follow and that Winston grew to know all too well.