The United States of Oceania There is no doubt that the assistance of technology used in the novel, 1984, was before its time. Published on June 8, 1949, George Orwell was able to create a world in which people are forced to live under the so-called government leader, Big Brother, who watches their every move. Winston, along with the rest of the population, has ultimately no freedom to live. The only freedom that Winston has is his diary (which isn’t even allowed), where he can record all of his thoughts. With these “telescreens” and security cameras being such a norm to life today, is it scary to think that we could possibly be approaching the values that exist in 1984? The average person may not be aware of this, but the U.S. government …show more content…
However, the thing that makes Winston a little bit different from others is that he is trying to develop something big in order to overthrow the Party. He has not been happy with them for some time now due to their extreme control and prohibitions of various expressions of freedom. It is important to note that in Oceania, it is absolutely illegal to rebel against the Party. In fact, it is illegal to even think about the possibility of such action taking place. These thoughts alone could get you into trouble. Winston is determined nonetheless. When O’Brien got in touch with him in an attempt to arrange a meeting, Winston finally thought that this was going to be it. It turns out that O’Brien was actually just an undercover member of the Party, spying on people like Winston to prevent rebellions. “It occurred to Winston that for the first time in his life he was looking, with knowledge, at a member of the Thought Police” (Orwell 185). Winston was set up because he proceeded about his daily life, not even thinking about the possibility of someone (that he is unaware of) watching his every move. It is a bit frightening because with the technology that exists today, it could be getting much easier to access our private …show more content…
The show is a game with about twenty houseguests who compete in challenges in hopes of voting each other off, and being the last one remaining in the house for a grand prize of $500,000. I am pretty familiar with this show, and even though it is fun and comical, it does a great job of mimicking similar aspects of the life that Winston lived, as well as the lives that we are currently living. The contestants on the show have fun, play games, and talk to one another. At the same time, there are millions of people on the other side of the screen who are watching their every move. For this game, it is just the viewers of the show like me and you. But for Winston, it is the dreadful Big Brother who omits any type of freedom. This reality TV show is sort of a metaphor for how the government could be watching us, and it is how the Party was always on top of the common people in 1984. “For the first time he perceived that if you want to keep a secret you must also hide it from yourself” (Orwell 231). It was unfortunate that Winston had to come to terms with this idea, but it is true. He could not trust a single soul, and it was awful to imagine that he had to try and keep his live so hidden from Big Brother that he had to “keep secrets from himself”. This hyperbole is a perfect representation of the dictatorship principles that the Party was
Towards the end of Orwell’s novel that presents a dystopian society, the antagonist, O’Brien, a close member of the inner party, warns Winston, the protagonist and one of only two reasonable people left, that “We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them” (319). Winston, who has been taken prisoner for his political dissent, receives this grave warning tied down to a chair with O’Brien’s face staring at him from above. This alarming solution to the infamous mystery frightens Winston a significant amount, who after sacrificing so much, has just learned his fate. Orwell has brought about this fate to emphasize the perpetual triumph of the party over its enemies. In George Orwell's 1984, the author creates the totalitarian state of Oceania to warn the reader of the potential corruption and oppression of such a government.
In order for the “Big Brother” to maintain this ideology, the ruler needs to have highly organized system and individuals to follow each and every task. In the novel, Oceania’s society has reached the level of brainwashing. In order for anyone to conquer such a vast and complicated system, the individual will need a highly-organized plan and a sophisticated mind to carry through. Winston possesses neither of these traits; therefore he was doomed to fail.
One of the most important concepts that many individuals in modern day society value the most is the idea that they have the freedom to do whatever they please. The term freedom means “being able to act, think, and speak in any way one wants to without any type of hindrance,”(Dictionary.com). In the book, 1984, by George Orwell, the totalitarian society ruled by Big Brother, in many ways, controls its citizens by hindering any types of freedom a member of the society might have. In a society that is decorated with telescreens, hidden microphones, and strict rules, Orwell illustrates the many ways Big Brother uses that to its advantage to stifle the freedom of its citizens. However, under all the scrutiny of Big Brother, there are
Winston goes through emotional change throughout 1984 that changes his perspective and personality. At the beginning of the book, Winston is filled with hatred towards the Party. “They’ll shoot me in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother they always shoot you in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother-” (Orwell, 19). Winston’s fury towards the Party and Big Brother is evident. Through his diary entries, you can definitely tell that he harbors an intense anger towards them. So, it may seem that this trait will never change and make him always fight for it. The reader may at first think that he will never change views. But then, Winston completely changes perspective at the end of the book when he states, “He loved Big Brother.” (Orwell, 298). This keeps Winston from becoming another boring character who refuses to change his opinion which makes for an interesting book and a more complex character.
Lastly, when O’Brien came in contact with Winston, he asked about Big Brother and asked to join their party. “We believe that there is some kind of conspiracy, some/ kind of secret organization working against the Party, and/ that you are involved in it. We want to join it and work for/ it. “(177) In this quotation, Winston clearly exposes the fact that he is against Big Brother and he wants to join O’Brien’s group, and that he doesn’t care about the fact that O’Brien may be just pretending to be an ally, or the fact that even thinking of going against Big Brother can kill him. This clearly shows how brave Winston is compared to all the other people in Oceania who have yet to dare such a thing.
Throughout the novel, Winston is always hiding his thoughts about the Party and about Big Brother, although he is completely against it. However, in order to ensure that he does not get caught, he must act as though he loves them and agrees with their power over society. Surveillance is shaping these characters to be a perfect representation of what they are expected to be, instead of being who they are.
Have you ever been in a situation in which you have gone against what others have said? Perhaps you didn’t agree with what they said. What about breaking the rules for the greater good? Well in the novel, 1984 by George Orwell- Winston goes against the rules that the party has put up. He falls in love with a girl named Julia, and they are taken to trial at the Ministry of love. The theme to best fit the story would be- Freedom is Worth Fighting For.
Being a member of the Party, Winston must maintain constant loyalty to the government, or at the very least, sustain the appearance that he does. “A Party member lives from birth to death under the eye of the Thought Police. Even when he is alone he can be sure that he is alone.” (Orwell, p. 210) With the incorporation of spies along with Telescreens, Winston has no true privacy. He couldn’t decide to completely or even remotely remove himself from the government because he would immediately be caught by the Thought Police. Not only that, but he continues the unjust action of rewriting and reworking pieces of media to accommodate the need for Big Brother to always be right. This is his government job and with he that, he works for a cause he stands against. The idea of disassociating oneself from the Party is irrational, their government supplies food, clothing, housing, and a purpose. Although the war is a huge faux to maintain all its members with poverty, they are still dependant of the Party to survive. To leave the Party is to openly admit Thought Crime—the same as committing suicide .
One day when I was eleven years old, I told my mom that I believe I should own a phone. I would tell her every day, “please get me a phone” and then listed a bunch of reasons on why I should own one. My mom would disagree with me and say, “no, it’s too expensive” or “no, your not responsible enough.” Despite this, I continued to try and convince her, it took several months of convincing and pleading, and then finally, on Christmas morning, I ripped open my present and there was the iPhone 6s lying in my hands. Now I was able to socialize and connect with friends and family. In the dystopian novel, 1984 by George Orwell, Winston Smith lives under the control of Oceania’s government called the Party. The citizens of Oceania are dehumanized
People hear about political issues all over the news and form their own opinions on them, but are they really deciding beliefs for themselves or are they just believing whatever the media tells them? Because of the modern day media biased, many people do not think independently, even when they think they are. They merely believe the lies the media feeds them and do not research the matter themselves to get an accurate idea of what is truly going on and how the control of information will impact the world around them. Because of people’s tendency to accept any piece of information that gets shoved down their throats, the US is slowly digging itself into the same government-controlled, no-freedom world as in the book 1984 by George Orwell.
The culture surrounding Winston is very confined. With the telescreens watching everyone and everything, it's hard for anyone to have free thought. An example of how Big Brother can tell if a person is not thinking the way they should be, is that they can tell by facial expressions. Orwell writes "To wear an improper expression... was... a punishable offense" (54) With restrictions like this, it is hard for characters to do what they please. This effects Winston by making him act a certain way so that he can avoid being caught. However, Winston does not seem to mind being caught for some time. When Winston is writing in his journal, he writes "theyll shoot me i dont care" (20). This is just a fragment of what Winston wrote in this entry. The fact that Orwell gave Winston the trait to write with improper grammar signifies how delirious Winston is when he writes this. (make sure you put a conclusion sentence)
freedom. No joy. No love. No peace. This is the world painted by George Orwell in 1984. Written in 1949, Orwell describes a quite depressing future for the world. It includes televisions that cannot be turned off and act as video cameras into each person's living quarters. Winston, the main character, lives under the control of "Big Brother", the government. Winston wants to rebel from this control and hears about a secret society that wants to usurp Big Brother. Winston beings taking risks, looking for any connection with the days before Big Brother got into power. Winston knows that the "Thought Police" will catch him soon, for they see everything, but he does not care. He can't go on without knowing the truth and progressively becomes
Winston 's current situation working there is the major factor which lets him realize how Big brothers hold back the peoples opportunity to freedom. However, Winston keeps his thoughts and hate about Big Brother and the party for his own secret in his diary because the party will not allow anyone keeping a rebellious idea. After a while Big Brother realizes Winston’s suspicious behavior and has an individual named O’Brien sent to watch over Winston. O’Brien is a very smart man from the Ministry of truth, who is a member of the 'inner party '(the higher class). Winston comes to trust him and shares his inner secrets and ideas about the rebellion against Big Brother. O 'Brien tells Winston about a man named Emmanuel Goldstein whom claims to know the leader of the rebels against Big Brother. This also promises Winston to get a copy of the book he Longley desires. Suddenly O’Brien goes against Winston as Big Brother had already planned. Showing major secretive external conflict.
He discovers Julia, whom he falls in love with, and she has the same beliefs as him. Together they find O'Brien-a member of the inner-party, whom-Winston believes-could overthrow "The Party" (the Government), and Big Brother: the supreme governmental leader that may be fictional or may be real, we never know. They become inner-party members but then are betrayed by O'Brien, separated from each other (that's the last we hear of Julia), and Winston is tortured, until he believes the way of the party. He finally is put through enough torture in the Ministry of Love that he gives in, and believes everything the party believes-the past is alterable, the present can change, and that 2+2=5 if they say it is so.
Tired of feeling the way he is, with the monotonous struggle of everyday life Winston decides to oppose the party in more real ways; and begins to deviate from certain set behaviors to free himself from this bondage of the party. “To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free, when men are different from one another and do not live alone-to a time when truth exists and what is done cannot be undone”(25-26). He has realized what the government does to people; how everyone is made to be the same, where no one is allowed to think on their own. The party is omnipotent in all affairs and he will not go along with it anymore. Winston has made up his mind; he is going to do everything he can to bring down the party. He and Julia go to O’Brien’s apartment one afternoon, and Winston’s true hatred is revealed. “We believe that there is some kind of conspiracy, some kind of secret organization working against the Party,