The political aspect of Orwell's 1984
When this novel was written, as a reflection of the society of the 1940's, both the domestic and international issues that were being confronted by all countries were put under the Orwellian microscope. Orwell tapped into the contemporary readers' fears of technology and retribution and perception of government to create the ultimate example of government supervision "for our own good", negative utopia if you will, gone awry. It is still relevant today, a full 55 years later, having spawned, through several leaps of commercialist imagination, an internationally reality TV show with the name of "Big Brother", and also as a starting point for the critics of what is perceived as government intrusion into citizens' private lives through excessive surveillance mechanisms. The latest controversy arises at many governments' wish to be able to view private communication for clues of international terrorist or other criminal acts and override encryption designed to prevent interpretation by anyone other than the intended recipient. This is of course outside the scope of this essay but shows that 1984 is still relevant now as a study into political power and methods. To arrive to the political outlook of 1984, it is necessary to descr
They are allowed certain liberties like love, having a family and sexual relations, frankly because they are considered stupid animals. A harrowing, and worrying, thought, for sure. Choppers won't be needed to view directly into people's homes, microphones are small enough to be disguised in spectacles, teddy bears or anything else and video cameras as smoke detectors. Orwell's stated purpose dictates the major theme. Today we know it could never happen the way Orwell envisaged it for the simple reason that there have better ways presently of how it could happen. Overprotection of goods can cause equal distribution of them and a coming near of the Inner and Outer Parties, which was not a desirable state of affairs for the former. In the fighting, he was famously shot through the throat but survived to write Homage to Catalonia which marked Orwell's decisive break with Stalinism and the enhancement of his reputation as moral conscious of the Left. Another point made by Orwell is the way in which the Party uses language to further political control over the people who speak it. His alarm and disgust at the way some political writers of his time (particularly those who supported and defended Stalin's policies and actions) distorted language in their attempts to justify what Orwell regarded as unjustifiable led him to invent the next logical step for a language twisted and corrupted for political ends: Newspeak. The London of 1984 is akin to the contemporary post-war wrecked city. He wants to show us how such governments can develop and what methods they use to keep the people they are governing in line. Both countries are gaining a few cities at a time and then losing them. You are part of a collective culture that will live on forever.
Common topics in this essay:
Winston Smith,
O'Brien Chapter,
Orwell Party,
,
Animal Farm,
Party Proles,
Eastern European,
Ministry Love,
War Peace,
Orwell's Goldstein,
inner party,
outer party,
party outer party,
happen orwell,
war peace,
writes diary,
political ideology,
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ignorance strength,
winston smith,
freedom slavery,
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Acceptance Essays
