Winston's Use Of Symbolism In The Novel 1984 By George Orwell

The protagonist in Orwell’s 1984 is Winston Smith. In the novel the reader experiences the dangers of a totalitarian world through the eyes of Winston Smith. He, unlike the other citizens of Oceania, is aware of the illusions that the Party, Big Brother, and the Thought Police institute. Winston’s personality is extremely pensive and curious; he is desperate to understand the reasons why the Party exercises absolute power in Oceania. Winston tests the limits of the Party’s power through his secret journal, committing an illegal affair, and being indicted into an Anti-Party Brotherhood. He does all his in hopes to achieve freedom and independence, yet in the end it only leads to physical and psychological torture, transforming him into a loyal subject of Big Brother.

The language of this passage, illustrates Winston’s frantic thoughts and worries, by having long, and sometimes grotesque sentences, describing life, death, and suicide, the current topics circulating Winston’s mind. Prior to this passage, Winston’s had just had an encounter with the dark-haired girl, where he believing her to be a spy who was following him, contemplated killing her, but found himself unable to. In this passage he’s very overwhelmed by this past event and his thoughts are portrayed in long, sentences, that show the current hopelessness he feels. He thinks to himself; “On the battlefield, in the torture chamber, on a sinking ship, the issues you are fighting are always forgotten, because the body swells up until it fills the universe, and even when you are not paralyzed by fright or screaming with pain, life

1984, written warningly by George Orwell, pseudonym of Eric Blair, involves main character Winston Smith, a member of the “Party,” strongly resembling communism, in a nation named Oceania. The Party is referred to as “Big Brother” throughout the entire book due to the governments over-bearing control- no free thought, relationships, or expression of individuality is allowed, excessive spying- Big Brother watches everyone via “telescreens,” a device planted in every room, including bathroom stalls, and spying on your thoughts which creates a new crime known as thoughtcrime, and even rewrites history- erasing any recollection of the past and controlling the language so far that no part of vocabulary includes rebellion or anti-governmental ideas. Winston then becomes fed up with the oppression he’s faced

The lyrics of Radiohead’s 2003 single, “2+2=5” refer to both 1984 by George Orwell and the administration of President George W. Bush. In the three distinct sections of the song, we hear about a character who chooses to live in ignorance, then becomes aware of the evils of his society. In the final segment of the song, the character struggles after learning about the truth, much like Winston Smith did in Orwell’s novel. The music was written and released during the presidency of George W. Bush, whose public reputation had shifted from negative to positive in the years following his controversial election in 2000. The songwriters suggest that, just as citizens of Oceania were trained to forget about history in order to maintain their

Thesis: In George Orwell’s 1984, Winston resists the Party’s degradation of basic human rights through his intimate relationship with Julia in an effort to maintain his individuality. His example inspires people today to find ways to preserve their civil liberties when faced with oppression.

When George Orwell writes his dystopian novel ‘1984’ in 1949, he is extremely disturbed with the state of the world after witnessing the methods of the Soviet Union and other fascist regimes during World War Two. During this period, the Soviet Union famously burned books and controlled all media outlets in an attempt to assert dominance over the people of the USSR. In response to his emotional disquiet over these issues, Orwell writes a warning to the world of what he fears would come to pass should totalitarian governments continue to grow in power. In ‘1984’, Orwell writes of the government destroying all media that conflicts with the current political ideology, ‘thought-police’ arresting anybody who shows even the slightest signs of thinking

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.

George Orwell’s 1984 is more than just a novel, it is a warning to a potential dystopian society of the future. Written in 1949, Orwell envisioned a totalitarian government under the figurehead Big Brother. In this totalitarian society, every thought and action is carefully examined for any sign of rebellion against the ruling party. Emotion has been abolished and love is nonexistent; an entire new language is being drafted to reduce human thought to the bare minimum. In a society such as the one portrayed in 1984, one is hardly human. In George Orwell’s 1984, the party uses fear, oppression, and propaganda to strip the people of their humanity.

The book 1984 tells a story of a world that is undergoing a totalitarian rule, whereby the freedom of human beings is removed and there is injustice present to all by the loss of privacy. It is a world where information can be changed and influenced in order to favour the Great Powers, I believe that this world of 1984 is possible for its looming signs are present worldwide.

Jacobs made a strong argument about the body representation made by Orwell in his book, especially in the character of Winston. This seemed to be attributed to the fact that Orwell was dying when he wrote the book, so the story included his “personal failings” (Jacobs 14). Since Winston’s resistance did not win in the end, and he was overcome by Big Brother, the book seems to tell that resistance is doomed. This is especially true in the last two sentences in Orwell’s book in which he wrote, “He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother” (376). Referring to Winston’s loving of Big Brother as victory over himself was like Orwell telling the readers that minds can be broken under torture, and that this pain could make the mind think of betraying loved ones. When Winston was tortured with his greatest fear, the rats, he said, “Do it to Julia! Not me! I don’t care what you do to her. Tear her face off, strip her to the bones” (Orwell 362).

Living in a world that continues to make advancements technologically and politically, a book written more than 50 years ago still warns the world of what could happen if government becomes too forceful. Because of George Orwell's strong hatred for totalitarianism and its life dictating qualities, readers can get a taste of the perfect "dystopia". Though the people of today have been warned and are afraid of an all controlling government, they continue to allow the concept of 1984 to become more and more real. If people continue to just watch their governments make decisions and not ask questions, they will fall victim to its power. If a man not of this time understands the terror of totalitarianism, everyone should

Readers of George Orwell have long appreciated the significance of his representation of a futuristic dystopian world. ‘Big brother is watching you,’ ‘Thought police,’ ‘Ministry of love,’ ‘Hate week,’ are expressions that Orwell used to represent his preoccupation with the totalitarian regimes of 20th century. More than one out of four Americans said they have red his dystopia and use his expressions in their language. Many critics claim that the novel opened up new prospects of political awareness. ‘1984’ is a political fiction in which the government eliminates all forms of political opposition, be it real or imaginary. The atmosphere of the novel is completely depressing because there is no hope for change. The government dominates people morally and forces them to live in constant fear. His terrifying vision of a future in which all aspects of society are controlled by a tyrannical system attracted the

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.

This paperweight represents many different things related to Winston. It symbolizes the past in which Winston strives to understand because it is a “little chunk of history they’ve (the Party) forgotten to alter.” It is something little from the past that Winston wishes he knew about. The paperweight also represents his dreams of freedom of the mind, the ability to remember something that “the Party” does not want him to. Also the paperweight does not just represent the past, it represents Winston’s desire to make the substantially important connection to the past. The glass paperweight is also significant because it shows that “the Party” cannot always control every memory that someone carries with them. Also throughout the novel Winston mentions “a place” which is also a very significant part of the novel and his journey. “The Place Where There is No Darkness” is very symbolic to the development of Winston and his thoughts about his fate. Throughout the novel Winston imagines meeting O’Brien in this place. The words first come to him in a dream and he ponders them for the remainder of the novel. Eventually Winston does meet O’Brien in “the place where there is no darkness” and instead of it being paradise like Winston imagined, it is a prison cell where the light is never turned off. Winston’s idea of “the place where there is no darkness” symbolizes his ultimate doomed fate. When the words first come to him Winston thinks

As a political journalist of World War II, Orwell promised “Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for socialism" (“Why I Write” 7). In 1948, he published the novel 1984, attacking the fascist regimes of Europe and the English left-wing intelligentsia that supported them. In the futuristic novel, the main character, Winston Smith, desperately tries to hold onto his identity and spirit as the government attempts to control both the minds of its citizens and their ability to