A rebel can be defined as someone who has armed resistance against an established ruler or government. In 1984, a dystopian society themed novel by George Orwell, the protagonist Winston Smith is proven to be a rebel through his thoughts and actions throughout the story. His firm belief in the Brotherhood and his on going romantic relationship with his lover Julia, ultimately proves he is a rebel, following his terms and conditions rather than those of others. The protagonist, Winston Smith, can be described as a rebel for having thoughts that are forbidden according to the rules of Ingsoc. Winston Smith knows and understands that Ingsoc and Big Brother are committing an injustice of their own:”To the future or the past, to a time when thought is free when men are different than one anther and do not live alone... To a time when truth exists and what is done cannot be undone.
It is undeniable that there are a number of parallels between the protagonists of both Orwell’s ‘1984’ and the Wachowski brothers’ ‘The Matrix’. For instance, Neo and Winston Smith both, at one point in their lives, ascertain that something is ‘not right’ in the world they live in. Once this realisation has occurred, existentialist ideologies surface and the true motives of each protagonist are revealed, they are rebel figures, intent on opposing the government and
Big Brother is the example of all the ideals of the totalitarian party. In compare to Big Brother, Winston Smith keeps the idea of democracy underlines freedom; he has to hide his own thought because the Big Brother's party will punish him by death if the party finds it out. George Orwell evaluates of Big Brother's society by describing it as a dark and a gloomy place. It warns that people might believe that everyone must become slaves to the government in order to have an orderly society, but at the expense of the freedom of the people The super-country of Oceania is in a constant state of war in which the novel 1984 is set in, and bomb explosions are omnipresent. The living conditions are poor – very poor – with the buildings broken-down, the food artificial and rationed out, wages poor, and clothing cheap.
Ben and William Franklin were masters at the art of compromise. They used compromise in their public and personal life to create influence and prosperity for themselves. But as the conflicts between England and the American Colonies increased in the middle eighteenth century, and the rift between the loyalists and patriots became more defined, both father and son found themselves having to choose distinct sides where their usual mode of compromise could not be kept intact. As it would be, father and son chose opposite sides of the conflict. Due to this, by examining the breakdown of Ben and William Franklin's nature to compromise in their dealings as public figures, a clear parallel can be seen with that of the breakdown in their private lives as father and son.
How similar were the dictatorships of hitler and stalin? However much they disliked each other, Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin were actually very similar people - they were both ruthless and amoral, and drove their countries to greatness (albeit this statement does depend on your idea of greatness). These men were persistent and they obsessed over making sure their countries were the ideal world in their minds. They focused on breeding hard working, ‘perfect’ people to live in their countries, while getting rid of anyone who didn’t fit their ideals. Rise to power Josef Stalin was a keen, intellectual man who knew how to make sure he was viewed well by the public.
Abuse of Power/ Moral Code of War Quotes “Anyone entrusted with power will abuse it if not also animated with the love of truth and virtue, no matter whether he be a prince, or one of the people.” -Jean de La Fontaine “Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also the abuse of power.” -James Madison “Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you.” -H. Jackson Brown, Jr. “All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers” -Francois Fenelon “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” -Abraham Lincoln “Calculated risks of abuse are taken in order to preserve higher values.” -Warren E. Berger “Children are often silent victims of abuse.” -Rick Larson “Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself.” -Elie Wiesel “Democracy is an abuse of statistics.” -Jorge Luis Borges “Knowledge is power. Information is power. The secreting or hoarding of knowledge or information may be an act of tyranny camouflaged by humility.” -Robin Morgan “The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.” -Jean de La Fontaine “If we do not end war- war will end us. Everybody says that, millions of people believe it, and nobody does anything.” ~H.G. Wells “You can’t say civilization does not advance… in every war they kill you in a new way.” -Will Rogers “Power corrupts.
Winston’s acceptance of what O’Brien says goes against what Winston had written in his diary that, “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four” (Orwell 47). This is a great example of Fromm’s belief that disobedience in the face of irrational authority leads to freedom. As stated in the previous paragraph, Fromm wrote that irrational authority, “has to use force or suggestion, because no one would let himself be exploited if he were free to prevent it” (Fromm 686). In 1984, O’Brien uses electrocution to enforce the will and authority of The Party on Winston. For his part, Winston does attempt to resist O’Brien, but in the face of such pain and fanaticism, submits to the irrational authority.
“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut is a prime example of what happens when government tries to “control man” and make a, in the government’s opinion, utopian society. Throughout the progression of “Harrison Bergeron,” one can see that trying to achieve total equality by any means is not the ideal way to attain a utopian society. Although the members of the public, for the most part, went along with what was happening it was primarily do to the handicaps that they were forced to wear. In the story the handicapper general Diana Moon-Glampers, a representation of a president or authority figure, is the main enforcer behind everyone wearing handicaps. The handicaps include chains for those who are gifted athletically, masks for those who are beautiful, and earpieces for those who are intellectually above average.
He believes that it was the role of the government that would keep these instincts in line. If these instincts were not controlled it would lead to war. Hobbes views were shaped by his life experiences during the English Civil War. He believed people were evil and selfish. Hobbes idea that “people orbiting their ruler” leads me to the idea of socialism/communism (Sayre, 2012).
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".