Political History and George Orwell's 1984

             The philosopher George Santayana once said that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." The definition of "condemned" means "sentenced to punishment". Santayana warns mankind that to forget the past sentences us to repeat it over and over again. It means that man is unable to free himself from that condemnation, or sentencing. George Orwell in his book 1984 agrees with Santayana and writes novel warning mankind about the horrors that await the society that loses sight of its past. Does Orwell have the knowledge and experience to support his statement? Does he have political expertise to confirm his analyses? Does he have insight into the mind of man to know that ultimate power over people can corrupt? Orwell's fear of totalitarianism is what drives the novel in 1984.
             Orwell's book 1984 is a dystopian novel that presents the concept of the world and its problems after the First and Second World Wars. Orwell declared himself a Socialist, committed to the Socialist solution to the political and social problems of the world. He believed that governments should be more involved in the caring of all people and their need to work, have housing, and access to food. Orwell had lived and worked in Burma with the Indian Imperial Police and had seen first hand the double standard of that political structure. He had lived with the poor in Paris, France, and traveled the road with the poor in England. He had fought in the Spanish War and was wounded. He had worked as a journalist for the BBC during the Second World War. Orwell's experience, as well as his perceptive ability and insight into the history of mankind, gave rise to his fear of totalitarianism. He had seen this in the rise of the Third Reich, as well as Stalin's form of Communism. In his novel 1984, Orwell describes a totalitarian society ruled by "Big Brother" and his Inner Party of powerful people. His protagonist, Winston Smith, works in the Ministry of Trut...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
Political History and George Orwell's 1984. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 10:58, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/6045.html