Prompt: American essayist and social critic H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) wrote, “The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.” In a well-written essay, examine the extent to which Mencken’s observation applies to contemporary society, supporting your position with appropriate evidence. In George Orwell’s 1984, Orwell writes of a society where the citizens are on government surveillance twenty four seven, having endless war with constantly changing enemies and forced to watch television that broadcast government propagandas. Many of us who have read or know the plot of the book either feared for our lives or laughed about it, thinking and hoping that this will never happen to us.
Utopian and Dystopian texts are heavily influenced by the societies and realities which shape/d their world. Often the context of the composers will be not looked on as ideal in the present, like those ideologies in the 20th Century which sought to create a world at the cost of the rights and freedoms of people. Therefore, these texts demonstrate the consequences of such, and are therefore didactic in purpose. This is apparent in the novel 1984 by Orwell and V for Vendetta by McTeigue as both are allegories of the oppression by government. 1984 is a product of Orwell’s 20th Century context as it reflects the oppression of totalitarian governments of Communist Russia and Fascist Germany.
Cassidy Moss Romaguera English IV: E 13 October 2013 The Exploitation of Love and Technology In the Dystopian novels 1984 and Brave New World, George Orwell and Aldous Huxley create atmospheres that consist of their prediction of the future. “1984” and Brave New World contain totalitarian governments that encompass distorted views on the way societies should behave. Although the two leaders in the novels, Big Brother and His Fordship, carry out their regulations differently, the idea of how to control a society remains consistent. The key to maintain and establish a successful totalitarian society is through controlling the ideology toward personal relations and correctly using the advancement of technology for the “common good”. In 1984, Big Brother advocates a totalitarian society through controlling love and relationships.
1984 Compared to Individuality and Freedom While reading George Orwell’s disturbing novel 1984, there are many items that are able to be taken away from it. Some might see doublethink used today in each political party's talking points. Others might see the Patriot Act as a first stage towards a similar sort of government encroachment on privacy that was a part of Orwell's story. Obviously, when compared to some of the truly oppressive governments, this novel is clearly very similar to those situations. One of the novel’s lessons shows how the government managed to stay in power despite the terrible depression that the people were living in and lack of freedom that was given.
The similar fear of the state's abuse of power and technology at the expense of human individuality present within these novels speaks to the relevance of these novels within their historical context and their usefulness for awakening people to the horrendous consequences of their ignorance. Eventually all the alienated characters come before some prophesising hand of the government who is ready to rationalize the right and duty of the government to possess such control over its people. In 1984 this is during the torture of Winston for his crime of not loving Big Brother. Orwell then reveals the horrors of an advanced dystopia through O’Brien such as the death of the individual, "Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Not in the individual mind.
On the issue of admiration Machiavelli states that a prince ideally should be loved and feared, but it is more important that he be feared. It is more likely that his citizens would be loyal to him if they feared him. I believe that the true nature of man has not changed since Machiavelli’s time. I think that most modern governments still employ many of his general principals for ruling. Laws and punishment are necessary to prevent people from committing crimes.
1. The world in which Winston Smith lives in is filled with condradictions also known as doublethink a phrase used many times in this book meaning to accept the idea of two condraticions being both correct. The word is in Newspeak a language derrived from english making it simpler and using terminolgy used this world . Some examples of the condradictions we see in 1984 is the Ministries which make up their government. First, we have the Ministry of Truth, or Minitru, which is involved with changing documented history.
The reason why I endured desperation towards the extent of the book (1984) is, because Winston Smith has been fully and utterly defeated by the system. Throughout the course of the book, I was waiting and hoping that Winston would become victorious in some way. I truly dislike the society a lot and I agree with what Winston Smith is doing and I really want him to win. If he had won in some type of way, I would allege that Orwell is proclaiming that the human spirit will win in the extent of time.
Similarly, the suppression is seen through the irony that the party uses to keep people under their control The memory hole, Winston thought he could use to store his memories was actually an incinerator. Big brothers are supposed to help younger siblings and take care of them which are the opposite of what Big Brother does. The situation where Winston believe that his friends Mr. Charrington and O’Brien were part of the brotherhood when they were actually working for the thought police the whole time. In brief, the suppression of individuality by extreme government control, in 1984 is that there is no way for the people of the outer party to ever gain freedom or form a rebellion. The author has used many different ways to show the power of the party throughout the book.
Paulos Liu AP Language and Composition Link 12/16/12 The Corruption of Man In the United States, individualism is supported and valued, while still encouraging the importance of tolerating other cultures. Yet within this society, there are pressures to conform, and to not only tolerate, but to become another. In the novel, Brave New World, Aldous Huxley creates a world that, instead of encouraging toleration, brainwashes their individuals to create a homogenous society. Through Bernard and Lenina, Huxley comments on the corruption of the individual, and ultimately the society as a whole, because of the natural urge for acceptance. Huxley, through the rise of Bernard to a popular status, expresses the fall of an individual through the