Warning of 1984
Warnings of 1984
George Orwell’s novel 1984 is a political novel written with the intent of warning readers of the dangers of communism and totalitarian governments. Secker and Warburg published the novel in 1949. Orwell’s motivation for writing this piece came from his time serving as a reporter during the Spanish Civil War. There he witnessed first hand the atrocities committed by the fascist government. The rise of Hitler in Germany and Stalin in Russia also served to inspire Orwell’s hatred of political authority.
1984 was designed to open the eyes of its readers to the possible outcomes of allowing governments to control the public. At the time that it was published, at the dawn of the nuclear age and the start of the Cold War, Orwell’s vision of a nightmarish society in which every person would be monitored continuously by a “telescreen” would have seemed terrifyingly plausible.
The novel's main character, Winston Smith, lives as a low-ranking member of the ruling Party in London. The Party controls all aspects of daily life and attempts to control people’s thoughts by enforcing an invented language called Newspeak, in which all words relating to political rebellion have been eliminated and any rebellious thoughts (labeled Thoughtcrime) are illegal. The symbolism used, including the omnipresent Party Leader (Big Brother), the political slogans, the squalor of the working class, and even Winston's job in the Ministry of Truth where he arbitrarily alters political records to fit the needs of the Party reinforces the State’s total suppression of free thought, sex, and any expression of individuality. His illegal affair with Julia eventually leads to his arrest, torture, and mental reconditioning by the
George Orwell’s novel 1984 is a political novel written with the intent of warning readers of the dangers of communism and totalitarian governments. Secker and Warburg published the novel in 1949. Orwell’s motivation for writing this piece came from his time serving as a reporter during the Spanish Civil War. There he witnessed first hand the atrocities committed by the fascist government. The rise of Hitler in Germany and Stalin in Russia also served to inspire Orwell’s hatred of political authority.
1984 was designed to open the eyes of its readers to the possible outcomes of allowing governments to control the public. At the time that it was published, at the dawn of the nuclear age and the start of the Cold War, Orwell’s vision of a nightmarish society in which every person would be monitored continuously by a “telescreen” would have seemed terrifyingly plausible.
The novel's main character, Winston Smith, lives as a low-ranking member of the ruling Party in London. The Party controls all aspects of daily life and attempts to control people’s thoughts by enforcing an invented language called Newspeak, in which all words relating to political rebellion have been eliminated and any rebellious thoughts (labeled Thoughtcrime) are illegal. The symbolism used, including the omnipresent Party Leader (Big Brother), the political slogans, the squalor of the working class, and even Winston's job in the Ministry of Truth where he arbitrarily alters political records to fit the needs of the Party reinforces the State’s total suppression of free thought, sex, and any expression of individuality. His illegal affair with Julia eventually leads to his arrest, torture, and mental reconditioning by the