The Misuse of Power and the Extent of Free Will Within A Clockwork Orange and Nineteen Eighty-Four

A Clockwork Orange, a novel written by Anthony Burgess in the 1960’s takes place in dystopian future in London, England. The novel is about a fifteen year old nadsat (teenager) named Alex who along with his droogs (friends) commit violent acts of crime and opts to be bad over good. In time, Alex finds himself to be in an experiment by the government, making him unable to choose between good and evil, thus losing his ability of free will, and being a mere clockwork orange. A “clockwork orange” is a metaphor for Alex being controlled by the government, which makes him artificial because he is unable to make the decision of good verses evil for himself and is a subject to what others believe is right. In A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess

Contained within the novels The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a fight for power and control – not of land, or political position – but of language. Language is seen within both of these novels as being central to the telling of one’s own story – without the control of power and language, it is not possible to convey the intricacies, thoughts, feelings and ideas behind these stories. Whether this story is conveyed through a diary, or through cassette tapes, or even scratched into a wall, it is still a singular method through which the protagonists of the novels can gain control over their own personal stories which may live on into the future. Therefore, within this essay I will be

“Newspeak was designed to. . .diminish the range of thought. . .by cutting the choice of words down to a minimum” explains George Orwell, the author of a dystopian fiction novel, 1984 (Orwell 300). Orwell designs a society in which a totalitarian government rules, depriving people of their thoughts. The story gives us a look into the life of the main character, Winston, who seems to face issues with reality control. Today, we will delve into the depths of this novel and explore Orwell’s views on the nature of language. In simple terms, Orwell suggests that language, if used in a certain way, has the ability to influence people and compel them to alter their thoughts. With this statement and supporting evidence, it can be concluded that the effective use of language can give individuals power to modify or reshape opinions that will allow for change in society.

After capturing Winston Smith for thought crime, O’Brien describes real power as “tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your choosing” (Orwell 266). By this he explains that true power is being able to choose what people minds think. In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, Winston, a Ministry of Truth worker who hates the Party, slowly starts to disobey the Party rules such as having freedom of thought and individuality. He entrusts a Party member, O’Brien, with his secret for the hatred of the Party. O’Brien reveals that he is a high Party leader who will fix Winston’s corrupt mind. Throughout this novel, it demonstrates that government is controlling people’s minds and

The novel Nineteen Eighty Four contains a world in which language is being systematically corrupted. The

In 1984 by George Orwell, many themes are apparent in the novel. All of these themes have their own affect on the main character. However, one theme in particular that sticks out is the theme of a lack of free will. This theme has many affects on the main character. The lack of free will affects Winston’s perception of society by inspiring him to create a better future while at the same time, crushing his hopes of doing so.

The novel 1984, by George Orwell, shows the world through a totalitarian government. The main protagonist, Winston Smith, is a party member who works to cover up the Big Brothers propaganda. However, he begins to write in a journal of his hatred for the society he exists in. This is considered an act of treason and is punishable by death for committing a “thought crime.” Winston is aware that he is being watched every day, everywhere, and anywhere. Despite this fact, Winston and a woman named, Julia, both defy Big Brother and begin an affair. This is the world where everyone is against everyone, and those who break the rules are punished severely for their crimes. Big Brother wishes to gain total control of the population by banning or prohibiting

In both novels, 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, the impacts of living under radical levels of censorship and control are highlighted and indirectly scrutinized, in an allegorical manner. Written about are what these two authors believed could have become a possibility if humanity were to take a wrong turn and gives power to the wrong party and the negative influence it would have. The two books have many common ideas pertaining the methods of government that could lead to society’s demise such as the limitation of knowledge, manipulation of emotion and prompt elimination of any kind of rebels. Proven by the pair, is the ineffectiveness and possible downfall as a result of these irrational control tactics.

Although the novels A Clockwork Orange and A Brave New World were written almost thirty years apart, they still share many similarities. The books satirically address society’s desires versus individuality, using the author’s perception of humankind’s future. Inspiration from each of the authors time periods were used to create the characters in the novels. Interestingly, both authors saw the future as Utopian style society where individuality was sacrificed in order to “better” civilization. The main question in both of the novels is if the freedom to choose and have free will is our right as a human or if we truly belong to the government.

“1984” is a classic novel written by George Orwell. Written in 1949, Orwell’s dystopian novel is still relevant today as it illustrates a totalitarian government using media and technology to control people. The Citizens are barraged by ever present signs declaring “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”(Orwell 2). Not only that these signs are everywhere but the message itself warns the citizens that they are being watched. The novel focuses on three major characters: Wintson, Julia, and O’Brien. Although, the novel focuses on Winston and his relationship with the other characters, it’s the manipulative ways of the Party to sustain its control and maintain its power. The main theme that binds all the characters together is the Party’s psychological manipulation of its citizens.

George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four showcases the worst effects of power attained by those who only wish to use it for their own gain. The state in Oceania is appalling and as the novel progresses there is no improvement, but only matters getting worse. The prolonged cruel and unjust treatment continues to escalate through the various oppression mechanisms used and the possibilities of freedom/self-liberation thin out and become even more unlikely. Components including language, the power of Big Brother, the role of propaganda, the effect of torture, the ending of the novel, the erotic sexuality and diary-writing are those which I shall elaborate on in my essay as they are critical to understanding the broader context of the novel. It is with these components that I will show why I think the book is essentially pessimistic and dystopian.

George Orwell, the writer of many highly regarded literary works, is extremely interested in the power of language, mainly how it is abused. By analyzing two of his works, 1984 and Politics and The English Language, it is clear that Orwell is using his writing to bring awareness to the dangers of the manipulation, misuse, and decline of language. In 1984 he demonstrates how language can be used to control thought and manipulate the past. This is proven throughout the novel by examining the language of Newspeak and how it is key to controlling the totalitarian state, and how using language to alter and manipulate history can shape reality. In his essay Politics and the English Language Orwell

Nineteen Eighty-Four manifests the importance of the call to adventure by stressing the significance of the main protagonist, Winston Smith’s first rebellious act towards the novel’s antagonist, the totalitarian government known as INGSOC. Nineteen Eighty-Four written by George Orwell, takes the reader on a journey through the life of Winston Smith who begins to observe his surroundings through a new lens. Slowly realizing that the government has eyes everywhere, literally. Winston’s call to adventure is quite a peculiar one. The strangeness of his call to adventure sparks from the idea of individual thought and freedom. The book explains that the government has control over everything in this society even going as far as to say that INGSOC (the totalitarian government in question)

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian novel written by George Orwell in the late 40’s. At the time when Orwell started writing Nineteen Eighty-Four, WWII was just coming to an end. The late 40’s was also the start of the Cold War. The Cold war brought along much fear of communist governments, such as the Soviet Union, becoming a world power. Orwell was one of the people who feared a dictatorship coming to power. He wanted to warn the population of what could happen if a totalitarian government became a world power. In order to do such a thing, Orwell decided to write a book. The book he wrote was Nineteen Eighty-Four, it is based on what Orwell felt the world would become if the world were ruled by a totalitarian government. The writing of Nineteen Eighty-Four was influenced by dictatorships in the 1940’s.

Many authors bring in the theme of politics into their work in order to make their creations more appealing and as a form of expressing their personal views. George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-four” is a novel that contains many political messages to the world. Orwell felt that part of his role as a writer is to serve as a voice of conscience to our society by trying to express the truth as he saw it. The novel was written in a crucial time period in modern history after the Second World War and at the beginning of the Cold War. One can see that the book was influenced by current events of its time mixed with Orwell’s standpoint. He focuses on three major political issues that effect society, which are the dangers of war, class differences