1984 Ap Essay
1976. The conflict created when the will of an individual opposes the will of the majority is the recurring theme of many novels, plays, and essays. Select the work of an essayist who is in opposition to his or her society; or from a work of recognized literary merit, select a fictional character who is in opposition to his or her society. In a critical essay, analyze the conflict and discuss the moral and ethical implications for both the individual and the society. Do not summarize the plot or action of the work you choose.
War is peace, Freedom is slavery, Ignorance is strength. These three phrases may contradict everything that you know and have been taught, but in the “negative utopia” of George Orwell’s novel 1984 these are the slogans of the Party and of Big Brother which governs Oceania (modern day England). This society suppresses all free thinking, free enterprise, and all other freedoms. George Orwell predicts that the world will come to this if someone does not stand up to the dominant society. This someone is Winston Smith, the thoughts and actions of Winston in 1984 place him against the Party, their views, and Big Brother. The Party which is the chief government rule of Oceania has strict rules limiting the person to think the way the Party thinks. The Ministry of Truth where Winston is employed does the job of destroying anything from the past that contradicts any rule of the Party or of anything Big Brother says. “Who controls the past,” ran the Party slogan, “controls the future: who controls the present controls the past,” (34). They create their own past to set up the future, if something changes now that was previously recorded, it was changed as to not harm the integrity of the Party. The ethical implications of the society are to control people and to do everything in their power to maintain sovereignty. It is the will of the Party to put fear into the minds of every citizen and alter their own free will to make them love Big
War is peace, Freedom is slavery, Ignorance is strength. These three phrases may contradict everything that you know and have been taught, but in the “negative utopia” of George Orwell’s novel 1984 these are the slogans of the Party and of Big Brother which governs Oceania (modern day England). This society suppresses all free thinking, free enterprise, and all other freedoms. George Orwell predicts that the world will come to this if someone does not stand up to the dominant society. This someone is Winston Smith, the thoughts and actions of Winston in 1984 place him against the Party, their views, and Big Brother. The Party which is the chief government rule of Oceania has strict rules limiting the person to think the way the Party thinks. The Ministry of Truth where Winston is employed does the job of destroying anything from the past that contradicts any rule of the Party or of anything Big Brother says. “Who controls the past,” ran the Party slogan, “controls the future: who controls the present controls the past,” (34). They create their own past to set up the future, if something changes now that was previously recorded, it was changed as to not harm the integrity of the Party. The ethical implications of the society are to control people and to do everything in their power to maintain sovereignty. It is the will of the Party to put fear into the minds of every citizen and alter their own free will to make them love Big