George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian novel published in 1949 which highlights the main characteristics of a dystopia which include the illusion given to the people of the society that they live in a Utopia and the society being under constant surveillance and many more. Totalitarianism is a running theme throughout Nineteen Eighty-Four which is a form of political system where the state recognises no limits to its authority and tried to regulate all aspects of public and private life. Many see Orwell’s novel as a well-crafted one it has remained a powerful warning against the dangers of totalitarian society, due to the fact that he had arguably based it upon the dangers he had witnessed in Spain, Germany and the Soviet Union where absolute political authority existed in an age of advanced technology. The main political party of power throughout the novel, simply known as The Party, is introduced as one which holds absolute power of the society, organising daily routines, living standards and how people were to dress and conduct themselves. They have a slogan which is written on most things written as: “War is peace.
Honors English 9 (1) 30 March 2011 Schutzstaffel: the Bad, the Worse, and the Heinous Unambiguously the most terrible group of torturers to ever exist, the Schutzstaffel, more commonly known as the SS, were the leaders of the infamous Holocaust. The SS was an exceptionally methodical group, working rhythmically and brilliantly and nearly never failing to accomplish what they wanted to, when they wanted to. Hitler originally raised the organization as a group of elite personal bodyguards, and they remained as so until Heinrich Himmler was chosen as their leader by Hitler himself (USHMM: SS and the Camp System). The SS quickly evolved into the egregious coalition known to so many today. They orchestrated the majority of the Holocaust; the solution to the “Jewish question” as it was called by German forces (USHMM: SS and the Holocaust).
America Represented in Americans Americans have become known for stereotypical lifestyles and attitudes. Most notably the ingrained American nature of the people is evident in American literature. In the novels Poisonwood Bible, by Barbra Kingsolver, and East of Eden, by John Steinbeck, the quintessential American nature is ever present, and it is this essence of America that helps to drive both novels. While Poisonwood Bible does not take place in America, like East of Eden, that does not diminish the strong influence of American culture on the characters within the novel, and in both novels it is the attitudes and customs that the characters learn while living in America that drive the plot. Lying underneath the complex layers of these novels are backbones built upon biblical allusions.
Consequently the very nature of both authorities demands collective conformity, and this is the driving force for the abolishment of individualism. However the extent to which this happens is different in both novels. In Lord of the Flies, towards the end of the novel individualism is nearly diminished, as almost all the boys in the island had joined Jack’s tribe as a group of “savages”. This meant that all of them had become the same to support the new regime. The sense of despair is felt as Ralph reflects on this – “Samneric were savages like the rest…” The fact that he thought “the rest” were all “savages” implies that he thought each individual were identical characteristically in their violent ways.
Suspending all their personal beliefs, they transform into an audience overseeing a crime. The mob which is merely an audience enflamed, sparked by a self conceived title of ‘legitimate’ authority is fronted by the likes of Juror 10, 3 & 7; who as mentioned earlier stoically push for the boy to receive the full penalty of his “crime”. Once entering the stronghold of the judicial adjudicators, each juror is “instructed to apply the standard of reasonable doubt”. In order for the life of another to not simply be discarded like a bag of refuse, Juror 8 fronts this argument. Seemingly backed by the constant attempts of the foreman to compose the static of opinions expressed by those voting “guilty, Juror 8’s war see’s many other jurors reformed.
George Orwell uses these allusions to help paint a picture of the totalitarian government that “The Party,” associated with “Big Brother,” imposed upon all the citizens of Oceana, including Winston Smith. According to Britannica Online, Totalitarianism is characterized by “strong central rule that attempts to control and direct all aspects of individual life through coercion and repression.” People of Oceana were under many forms of oppression. The most apparent and present form of this oppression is “Big Brother.” The phrase “Big Brother is watching” is stated throughout the novel to instill fear within Winston and the other citizens of Oceana. “The Party” implements a wide array of tactics to domesticate the average human. These forms of brainwashing included the mental bombardment of propaganda through the two way televisions, as well as posters of Big Brother with the message “Big Brother is watching.” These constant
This reinforces the idea that we are losing our cultural identity by conforming to American standards including their way of spelling and punctuation. Dawe is successful in displaying how Australia is conforming to American standards and how Australia is losing its cultural identity. Entrapment is a strong motif throughout the poem. The child is trapped in his high chair as other societies are similarly imprisoned by the conformist nature of consumerism and capitalism. The announcement to the child which states today he is able to play with “Mummy’s things” marks the beginning of his indoctrination into the consumer culture that America has to offer.
He creates a symbolic world where Nurse Ratchet disregards the rights of her patients, subjects them to undeserved punishments, and controls every aspect of their day-to-day lives, and exacts her revenge on the would-be hero McMurphy. Ken Kesey shows his distaste for the system by creating McMurphy, a voice that the patients can follow as a leader that stands up for their cause. This is what Ken Kesey wanted for our society, and that is why McMurphy was created to destroy the systems foundation so that the society could reconstruct it. McMurphy symbolizes much more than just fixing a broken system. He symbolizes standing up for freedom and the rights that
Reading Response – ‘Harrison Bergeron’ ‘Harrison Bergeron’ is a short story written by Kurt Vonnegurt. The story is situated in the distant future of 2081. The story is about the community being forcefully changed by the corrupt government. They force people to be equal as one another. There is no one that outshines each other.
Through this conversation, we can realize the incredible influence that social code has had over people. Therefore, we can clearly figure out that racism has become a part of daily life at that time in Burma i.e. people are racist without them even meaning it. Analyzing Flory further, we know that he disagrees with the social behavior of the Europeans towards the natives, but still does follow this path of social conduct when he has been pressurized into a decision. With a complete understanding that Dr. Veraswami’s future lies in becoming a member of the European Club, Flory signs a piece of paper saying that his friend should not be elected.