The classic novel 1984 by the George Orwell explored the brutality of totalitarian regime. He wrote this book as a warning because he predicted that if the government continued to grow rapidly unimpeded, it would lead to a dystropic future. His warning were suppose do have come true in 1984 but didn’t. His warnings are still valid as the world we know today is racing its way towards the immensely bleak future that Orwell predicted for us. There are many reasons as to why I believe that his warnings are still apparent today.
“A Past to Remember” – 1984 Critical Analysis Memories and How They Affect the Present Human memory has the ability to recall events that happened years before, block others and even create false events. Memories are extremely important in shaping who somebody is, and how one acts. In 1984, George Orwell depicts that memories largely influence the lives of individuals and affect the authority of the power-hungry government that is in place. Orwell shows his audience that it is the perception of the past and memories, not reality, that determine the truth an individual perceives. In 1984, the government refuses to allow the public their own memories and changes memories in order to have complete control over society.
This is ironic because if in this society, if a war broke out, it would be the government and the officials who would pay the price, but in 1984, it is the citizens that are paying the price. It is also symbolic because it proves how effectively the government have manipulated the citizens. Even with the bombs dropping, the citizens know that they have no power and do not even make an effort to complain. Also, Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford were leaders of the Revolution are both symbolic and Ironic because they act as a last hope against Big Brother and they were once leaders, but became total opposite, which is an
These ways of surveillance should never take place. In Oceania, the citizens have to be 100% obedient at all times or they will be arrested and tortured. Without your own privacy, people basically cannot live the life they want to live because the government is always watching them and making sure they do not do anything against its beliefs. If I were in the same position as Winston, I would also rebel against the Party and Big
One particularly dangerous exercise of power is the enforcement of cruel and unusual punishments towards supposed criminals. Winston explained one such punishment, saying, “When once you had succumbed to thoughtcrime it was certain that by a given date you would be dead” (130). Winston was absolutely sure of this, because he was taught this all throughout his life – that you will be eliminated if your thoughts didn’t align with the Party’s. He understood that once you began freely thinking, you were destined to be caught thinking thoughts that did not align with the state. If a Party member began to understand that the state is not actually working for good of the people, he/she would be in a never-ending struggle to avoid getting caught by
In 1984, Big Brother advocates a totalitarian society through controlling love and relationships. The Party’s ultimate motif remains to destroy the sense of love and care, in order to do away with family life so that Big Brother can practice ultimate control. Most of the time, “Chastity was as deep ingrained in [the girls] as Party loyalty. By careful early conditioning… the natural feeling had been driven out of them.” (67). As children, the Party brainwashed females so they believed that a way to obtain loyalty towards the Party happened through chastity.
Betrayal is the act of using treachery or disloyalty to expose an enemy. In 1984, by George Orwell, the nature of betrayal was often portrayed in the society of Oceania through government manipulation and through the acts of the characters, like Julia, who betrayed Winston. To the novel as a whole, betrayal contributed to the overall helplessness of the characters and possibility of what can happen to future society. In 1984, betrayal demonstrated how no amount of love or loyalty to someone or something could overcome Big Brothers government. In 1984, Julia and Winston not only demonstrated how they betrayed each other but also how they betrayed their own values.
In society today, it is often that the powerful individuals retain their power by manipulating the masses and keeping them ignorant. In George Orwell’s 1984, the Party has used tactics which suppress the rights and freedoms of the Outer Party and the Proles. In order to keep their ruling status, the Party promotes ignorance and fear among its peoples. In this case, Oceania’s citizens can be compared with modern individuals who are immersed with propaganda-generating media which releases biased news because the government or intellectuals want citizens to stay ignorant in order to stabilize their power in society. There are similarities between the telescreens used in 1984 and modern-day propaganda because both have a similar purpose which
Another modern example of Indoctrination is the teachings the government supplies the teachers. Government can make a mistake and have the student’s up to any history of significant or non-significant matters. The only thing worse than a student not receiving an education is a student receiving the wrong information. Our society mostly today does a good job of persuading through advertisements. When we watch television the same thing happens to our brains as happens when we hear a story, our critical minds shut down and we absorb what the story is saying.
In the book 1984 by George Orwell, there is a large imbalance between the individual and the society. The individual within the society is treated unfairly, and the government is the main force behind the unjust treatment. Is it fair that the individual cannot have emotions toward the Inner Party? Is it fair that the citizens in 1984 have no privacy what so ever? Is it fair, that if he or she doesn’t love Big brother, then he or she must get vaporized?