1984 was written by Orwell as a warning to the world as he saw it, he opposed totalitarianism in all it’s forms and, on one occasion said “I believe that totalitarianism, if not fought against, could triumph again”. The concept for 1984 came about through Orwell’s experiences in Burma and Spain that involved propaganda and totalitarian regimes. This is reflected in the text through the party and the use of ‘Big Brother’ posters. Orwell helps the audience recognise the negative aspects of the dystopian and totalitarian world through Winston’s perspective, a perspective that the audience relates to, as Winston bears many of our own ideals, such as the want for freedom and a democratic society. It is undeniable that there are a number of parallels between the protagonists of both Orwell’s ‘1984’ and the Wachowski brothers’ ‘The Matrix’.
Who are the composers of the texts? 1984 – George Orwell The Matrix - Andy and Larry Wachowski When were the texts composed? 1984 – First published in 1948 The Matrix – Released 1999 George Orwell – Biography and Influences George Orwell uses 1984 to publicise the danger of political authority and the dangers of a totalitarian society. Orwell had witnessed this in countries such as Spain, the Soviet Union and Germany as a result of the age of advancing technology. 1984 remains as one of the most powerful sources of warnings issued against totalitarian societies.
Specifically, Orwell saw such developments during his time in Spain and in Russia, where he witnessed the rise of communism and the accompanying destruction of civil liberties, honest government, and economic strength. During a time when much of the Western world was lauding communism as a step towards human progress in the development of equality in government, Orwell clearly and definitively spoke out against the practice. In 1984, Orwell presents a dystopia, or in other words, the perfect totalitarian state. In composing this novel, Orwell gave the world a glimpse of what the embrace of communism might lead to if allowed to proceed unchecked. The Party is unflawed in its universal control over society, as evidenced by its ability to break even an independent thinker such as Winston, and has mastered every aspect of psychological control, largely through utilizing technological developments (allowing for inventions such as the telescreen) to their advantage.
He charged that there were 205 communist spies in the state department who were selling out the United States. McCarthy warned that there were communist traitors in American government and society that were threatening to destroy the United States. He declared: "When a great democracy is destroyed, it will not be because of enemies from without, but rather because of enemies from within." McCarthy called for a "moral uprising" of Americans to drive these dangerous communists out of government and society. He also declared that the United States had lost ground in the world not as a result of foreign aggression, but “because of the traitorous actions of those who have been treated so well by this nation.” The corporate-controlled news media also shared the blame for McCarthy's ability to disseminate "great lies."
How is conflict explored by Orwell in 1984 and what impact does it have on the reader. The book, 1984 is written by George Orwell, it is about the conflict between Winston Smith and Big Brother; and the conflict between the two ideas, democracy and totalitarianism. Orwell wrote the novel to show society what it could become if things kept getting worse he identified of the expansion of communism when he wrote the novel. The conflict between democracy and totalitarianism created two characters, Winston Smith and Big Brother, in Orwell’s mind. Big Brother is the example of all the ideals of the totalitarian party.
No one can control this loss of freedom. People are born and rights and freedoms are instantly lost. Even though Aldous Huxley’s story, Brave New World and George Orwell’s story 1984 portrayed different predictions of what society could be in the future both stories shared a common loss of freedom of their people because of restrictions, the governments overstepping power, and brainwashing techniques. In both stories there was evidence of restrictions that lead to the loss of freedom of the people in their societies. One of the main pieces of evidence in George Orwell’s novel 1984 was the use of constant surveillance of their people with telescreens and spies.
One of the first ideas that becomes very clear when reading 1984 is the controlling government that easily resembles a totalitarian style society similar to those in the mid-twentieth century. One example is Big Brother, who is a supposed omnipotent figure who also limits and controls society the way he wants it to be. While Big Brother is more a title than anything else, his name puts fear in the people of Oceania similar to the way the names of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong put fear in the people of the world ("1984."). These men were also powerful dictators who used their powers to force their wants on the people, much in the same way as Big Brother. By creating this comparison between Big Brother and the totalitarian leaders, Orwell shows what a society could become with a long-term totalitarian leader: a place with no freedom, yet with people who believe they are free, shown by the Party slogan “Freedom is Slavery” (Orwell 4).
The book 1984 by George Orwell is one of the most powerful warnings ever issued against the dangers of a totalitarian society. It illustrates the worst human society imaginable, in an effort to convince readers to avoid any path that might lead toward such societal degradation. In his book, Orwell talked about the invasion of government into our lives, the effect that it would be on our freedom and the repercussions in everyday life. He describes a world beyond our imagination. Now it is being said the Fourth Amendment’s promise of protection from government invasion of privacy is in danger of being replaced by the futuristic surveillance state Orwell described (Liptak, 2011).” By the same token, does 1984 present a startling and haunting vision of the world today?
Orwell may have used Nazi Germany as a influence for the strong ‘surveillance of society theme’ Stalin’s rule and the Russian revolution were also another key influence in Orwell’s novel 1984. The events in the novel 1984 where quite closely related to certain aspects of the Russian Revolution. Both of these had a powerful leader that thought he was always right and leaders that were overthrown. In essence the novel 1984 showed how people tried to put revolutionary ideas in practice for a greater good, but ultimately this ends up in corruption and a worse solution all together. Orwell tells in interviews that he wanted to "make political writing into an art".
Orwell demonstrates how the Party, by controlling history, forces its members into lives of uncertainty, ignorance, and total reliance upon the Party for all of the information necessary to function in the world. According to O’Brien, this is how the Party can ‘create human nature’, believing that all humans are ‘infinitely malleable’. This is true as far as the text is concerned. The Party has the ability to manipulate the minds of its subjects which is key to the breadth of its power. Winston’s desire to attain a unilateral, abstract understanding of the Party’s methods and evils in order to consider and reject them epitomizes his speculative, restless nature.