Two Cheers For Anarchism

George Orwell’s political parable, 1984, portrays an oppressive and dictatorial government, which thereby presents to the reader a palpable sense of danger and malevolence born out of the creation of a counter utopic totalitarian regime. Orwell’s nihilistic creation of Oceania, presents a world wherein every aspect of private and public life is abhorrently regimented and regulated by the autocratic ‘Big Brother’. The whole population at large is forced to conform to the ideals and beliefs of the tyrannical ‘party’ as a means of not only survival but also a means of being able to live an unabated existence. The party opposes all forms of individuality and

In the dystopian worlds created by the film director Andrew Niccol and renowned author George Orwell, notions of control and freedom are explored. Both worlds contain an overarching power that governs the rest of the population and restricts freedom of individuals, these powers also aid in the progression of technology, which further act to control individuals. The characterisations of the protagonists of each text portray the lack of freedom from the perspective of those that are affected. Both authors use a variety of techniques to portray themes of control and freedom in their texts.

George Orwell once said, “freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear”, that, essentially, “speaking the truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act”. (“George Orwell”) Orwell’s words reveal his political views in the absolute truest form. His uninhibited writing style forced readers to not only to listen what he had to say, but to also recognize his writing as the truth. Although his veracity was supposed to be accepted without question, Orwell defined oppressive ideas of the government by exposing elements such as class division, and the failed attempts of the middle class to establish a meaningful union with the working class. Through his symbolic storytelling in

Themes: A theme that is prominent throughout the text in many forms is "liberty." One of the causes of revolutionary thought is in America is the thought that liberty was being threatened in England, and therefore would spread to America. Liberty became a dream for some in America once independence from England was obtained, as slavery thrived here in irony. Liberty branched out past the physical sphere as well as Freedom of Religion became based on the idea of religion being the "liberty of conscious (263)."

During Joseph Stalin’s regime of the Soviet Union, 1984, the Classic Dystopian novel by George Orwell, was burned and banned, because the book shone a negative light on communism. The book, 1984, follows the life of Winston Smith, who lives in a country called Oceania. Oceania is a totalitarian society, ruled by a government known as The Party, whose leader is called Big Brother. In Oceania, every movement and sound every person makes is constantly surveillanced, and one wrong facial expression, statement, or action can cause the ‘Thought Police’ to take the person away to never be seen again. A small percentage of the population questions The Party’s dictatorship, and the novel follows Winston’s struggles to keep his hatred of The Party

With the start of World War II, George Orwell began his fight against Nazism, fascism, and communism. In the eyes of many, communism became interchangeable with socialism, and he criticized writers of his time that were in support of Stalin and his “socialist” movement: “Why should writers be attracted by a form of Socialism that makes mental honesty impossible” (qtd. in Lewis 76)? In an attempt to pacify the radical communist movements and change imperialism, he spoke of a third method to reform the British Empire—a middle ground that would create a socialist community in Britain. John Newsinger wrote, “[He had a] call for a new socialist movement that would reject both Communist-style revolution and Labour Party reformism in favour of a third way to socialism, a third way that he continued to call revolutionary but that was adapted to modern conditions” (qtd. in Chen). Through this, one can see that Orwell wanted to avoid such movements as communism, which attempted to obtain control over the individual, and yet he had a need to preserve the

In the 19th century, anarchism was a growing movement that scared many people including Julian. Dr. Leete describes how it was in fact the wealthiest who funded them, so people would be afraid of reform. However, this was not enough because social change was not instigated by labor or political parties but by the vow by mankind to persevere and conquer the old order and usher in the new. Mr. Bellamy contrasts the anarchist and socialist movements in order posit the latter in a more favorable light.

When a government controls every aspect of one’s life, people tend to rebel in order to fulfill their desires. Julia, a character in George Orwell’s novel 1984, was constantly rebelling against the government Party. Even though Julia did not resist the authority in a powerful manner, she went against the government in order to be able live her life at the fullest. While living in a totalitarian government in 1984, through Julia’s rebelliousness, egocentrism and cleverness, George Orwell is able to portray her version of rebellion which was affected by the government Party since it included acting against the authority.

Set in the age where government has become synonymous with oppressor, Anthem by Ayn Rand focuses on the perspective of Equality, a boy who grew up nestled underneath the boot of collectivism trying to find an identity. Equality’s narrative expresses both Rand’s fears and hopes for the society where government threatened to rein all. To comprehend fully what devices and mechanics that Rand did to implement her predictions of civilization under the tyranny, you must take into consideration the rhetorical theories of great rhetoricians like Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero. While Plato and Cicero’s theories explained details and choices, Aristotle’s theories explained how Rand introduced her paramount message and supported it.

Wolff (1970) defines a state as a group of persons who have the right to exercise supreme authority within a territory, over a population. He proposes In the Defense of Anarchism, men are autonomous, as higher degrees of autonomy is achieved, a man will resist the claim that states have authority over him. This illustrates the puzzle of Political obligation and can be explained through the appeal to consent.

This quote exemplifies the extent to which the Party hijacks the mental processes of people to gain power, and how that is more crucial to unopposed power than physical control already established. Thus, Orwell presents a perspective on power through exploring the restriction of free thought and movement, and how that benefits a totalitarian government.

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.

Historically, literature has always echoed the key issues and themes present during that time. In the period which Orwell wrote this novel, totalitarian government was a popular concept seeing implementation around the world such as Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and Mussolini’s Italy. In the novel 1984. While Orwell’s world is a fictional one, it can be said that he uses it as a voice for social commentary, and he predictions as to what a world would be like if totalitarian governments would rule the world. This essay will aim to explore how Orwell goes about doing this.

The book one hundred and twenty eight page book entitled On Tyranny by author Timonthy Snyder plublished in New York in 2017 is not Timothy Snyder’s first book in the area of politics. Timothy Snyder also has written books on politics entitled Nationalism, Marxism and Modern Central Europe: A Biography of Kazimierz Kelles-Krauz, A Wall Around the West: State Borders and Immigration and Controls in the United States and Europe just to name of few of his political works. However in this work I will be analysing Timothy Snyder’s work entitled On Tyranny and the various arguments set forth by the book as well as the narration, setting, themes, plot and my opinion of the book.

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