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1984
1. Biography
George Orwell is the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, a British writer with
political conscience. He was born in India but educated in England at
Eton College. He served the Indian Imperial Police in Burma from 1922 to
1927. In sick health, he returned to Europe to live in poverty as a
struggling writer. Orwell joined the Republican forces in the Spanish civil
war, and wrote a chilling account of this experience. He went on to write
many books, mostly autobiographical, and achieved successes as a brilliant
writer.
2. Synopsis
The novel takes place in a theoretical and fictional dystopian totalitarian
society. The story begins in London on April 4, 1984 after an atomic world
war divides the world into three states. London is the capital of Oceania
which is run by INGSOC(English Socialism). The controllers are called "The
Party." The Party is divided into two sections, The Inner Party, and The
Outer Party which are the "Rich" and the "middle-class." There is a third
group of people called "The Proles," or "The Proletariat" which are the
poor, and considered to be animals by the party. The main leader of this
government is Big Brother. The novel is told in third person and partly
first person, and is also divided into three parts. In the first part the
main character and his conflicts with the world he lives in are revealed.
Winston Smith is a bureaucrat who works for the government by altering
history at the Ministry of Truth. He begins to ponder the reason things
are so bad and commits a terrible crime. In the second part, he falls in
love with Julia, and is taken in by a man named O'Brien, a member of the
anti-party society called the Brotherhood. O'Brien turns out to be a true
member of The Inner Party. Winston and Julia are captured and hauled off
to the Ministry of Love (Minilove in Newspeak). Here, during the final
part of the story, Winston is incarcerated and rehabilitated by The Party.
O'Brien constantly tells Winston that Winston is crazy, and that he is
trying to help him. During these sessions he reveals the true purposes of
INGSOC. The party's goals can be summed up in their mottoes. "WAR IS PEACE,
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, and IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH(Orwell, 7)."
3. Theme
Under the rule of INGSOC, members of The Party are engrossed in their work.
It is essential that the government keeps its people happy in order to
avoid rebellions and "thought crimes." Winston's greatest downfall springs
from his only pleasure, his work. He found it easy to become lost in the
intricacies of his duties guided only by the principles of INGSOC and his
best estimate of what the Party wanted him to say. A typical task might
include correcting an article in the Times, written entirely in Newspeak.
In one instance he reviews an article which read:times 3.12.83 reporting bb
dayorder doubleplusungood refs unpersons rewrite fullwise upsub
antefiling(Dr. Tom Costa., 1). In Oldspeak (or standard English) this might
be rendered: The reporting of Big Brother's Order for the Day in the Times
of December 3rd 1983 is extremely unsatisfactory and makes references to
nonexistent persons. Rewrite it in full and submit your draft to higher
authority before filing(Dr. Tom Costa., 1). The ability of Winston to do
this job can be accredited to the control of his government. Through the
use of various techniques such as propaganda and the "Thought Police," Big
Brother is able to not only brainwash his people, but also to reprogram
them to love and serve him.
4. Structural Feature
How does Orwell use distortion and irony to reveal the true motive of the
IGNSOC government? By distorting the motive of a government into three
elusively ironic statements, "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, and
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH(Orwell, 7)." Orwell is able to convey the reality of
IGNSOC's goals. "IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" is the basic idea that ignorant
people are content people. The Outer Party is kept ignorant because the
truth is adjustable, and the Proles are kept content with ineffectual
liberties such as love, sex, and families. "FREEDOM IS SLAVERY" breathes
insecurity into the individualist. It implies that as an individual you
will sink, as a group you are immortal. "WAR IS PEACE" leads people to
believe that war is a good thing when in reality it is only good for the
government that they should believe this. Ironically, it is almost true,
at lest in 1984. Because the states are at war, they are locked in
perpetual deadlock. The war never endangers any of the state's important
land and it prevents the equal distribution of goods by consuming them.
Overproduction and equal distribution of goods would allow true socialism,
which the party was never interested in from the beginning. The Party
realizes that throughout history a society divides itself into high, middle,
and low classes. The high class is maintained by keeping the middle and
low classes in constant drudgery and everyone is kept content by means of
"doublethink" and "newspeak." The only peace war creates is reserved for
the government.
5. Literary Merit
"George Orwell's 1984 is the expression of a mood, and it is a
warning(Erich Fromm)." After Word War II, many people who read this novel
experienced mixed reactions. It cannot be denied however, that George
Orwell made some stunning predictions about the future. "The basic theme
of this novel is that if we don't watch out 1984 will find us(Jason
Caminiti)." I believe it may already have. Take the statement "WAR IS
PEACE." We are constantly at war with other countries, if not defending
our own borders, defending an allies. It is as if we need a war to unify
our nation. If a president doesn't go to war at least once, he is
considered weak and incompetent. Even our own language is deteriorating
with the advent and acceptation of "political correctness." 1984 was an
excellent novel, chillingly blunt, and terrifyingly accurate.
Bibliography
Encarta. "George Orwell" Microsoft copyright 1993.
Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Penguin Group, 1950.
website. Dr. Tom Costa. tmc5a@clinch.edu
http://pluto.clinch.edu/history/wciv2/civ2ref/1984.htm
ADDITIONAL FEATURED ESSAYS
Comparing 'Casablanca' To '1984'
How can a hero survive in a world gone mad? Both Casablanca, the classic 1940s film, and hailed as the greatest movie ev
1984: Control Is Power
In the novel 1984, George Orwell demonstrates that power is obtained through control, just like some aspects of today in
Comparison Of 1984 And The Cry
A comparison of life in London, Air Strip One (or Great Britain) in the George Orwell novel ‘1984’ and Waknuk, Canada in
Looking To The Future 1984
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH"(Orwell 3). It is the year 1984 in London, Oceania. Winston Smith is one of many people in Orwell’
1984: Satire Of The Middle Class
1984 is a political parable. George Orwell wrote the novel to show society what it could become if things kept getting w
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