Preview

1984 Warning Signs

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1361 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
1984 Warning Signs
The Warning Signs of 1984 Eric Arthur Blair, also known as George Orwell, made one of the more brilliant and questionable books of the 20th century. Orwell lived through a time of new political movements and mass destruction of World War II. Communism, fascism, and the idea of a totalitarian government concerned Orwell, and also had a big influence on his novel 1984. In this novel, Orwell tries to show the readers what the dangers of a Totalitarian government really are, attempting to prevent it from happening one day. Orwell wrote this novel when communism began rising. He wanted to inform people of his opinion, which he was never shy about doing in the past. Communism was a ruthless form of government, and the most ruthless communist leader …show more content…
He was completely against these forms of government and wanted a way to express this view and make the people aware of what a totalitarian government could really do. The main fascist/communist country of his time period was the Soviet Union run by the ruthless leader, Joseph Stalin. Stalin’s form of government was a dictatorship, where he ruled the people and the people had no say. When people such as farmers attempted to resist Stalin, he would take everything they owned including their crops which killed off millions of people (Crowley, Parker). This is what communist Stalin perceived to be the best way to run a country. If people attempted to disobey Stalin and his government, he would simply kill them off because he believed that he knew the best way to run a nation and did not want anyone to threaten his ideas. Throughout the entire novel of 1984, Orwell is stating ways that a totalitarian government will destroy any nation. This book was strongly based off of Orwell’s real life political views. The totalitarian government in 1984 mirrors the communist government of Russia in the 1940’s. Orwell’s main goal of this book was to show his political views towards communism. A totalitarian government is a government in which all decisions and authority is done by the state and the people have no say. This form of government is shown in 1984, “BIG BROTHER IS …show more content…
In 1984, this is exactly what Winston Smith was doing. In reality, this was how Orwell felt in his head attempting to fight a battle against communism. Orwell was a socialist who wrote many things about being against communism, which not many have. Winston also writes in his diary about being against the party: “diary open -- DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER,” (Orwell, pg. 20). In 1984, Winston talks about how he works on at a speakwrite machine, which forces people to believe things that only the government wants them to believe, this is also how communism worked. During the communist era, there were many propaganda posters promoting communism and scaring people. This is similar to the posters that state “Big Brother is Watching You” (Orwell, pg. 2) in 1984. Winston and George Orwell are similar in many ways, considering Orwell did base his novel relatively off of himself. In the real world, Orwell was sick for a lot of his life with lung complications, and eventually died from tuberculosis (Rossi). In 1984, Winston is also sick with a nagging cough and a “varicose ulcer above his right ankle,” (Orwell, pg. 1). Orwell, like Winston, wanted so badly for people to understand the consequences of this form of government. Orwell was slightly more straight forward with his viewpoint on the communist government, while Winston kept it all to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the book, George Orwell was very clear is presenting his feelings about totalitarianism to the reader. He shows, through the characters of his novel, that he believes that totalitarianism is a negative thing. George Orwell also makes it very obvious that he does not ever want the human race to get to the point that the characters of 1984 came to. He did not want people to be endlessly watched by their dictator, president, or leader. George Orwell wanted people to be able to live their lives in privacy, as all people should.…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Warning of 1984

    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages

    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.…

    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bachman, Sophia 1984 Summative Essay As Thomas Jefferson once stated, “No government can continue good but under the control of the people.” The government controlling every aspect of your life, watching your every move, and judging you every second, that is what the people in the novel 1984 are experiencing everyday. The definition of a totalitarianism government is absolute control by the state or a governing branch of a highly centralized institution. The totalitarian government headed by Big Brother in the novel 1984, has control over everything in everyone’s life. George Orwell uses the theme of totalitarianism to warn that if the government has too much control over people and if something does not change, human rights and individual…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    George Orwell wrote the book 1984 as a warning to the people in the future. Orwell opened the people’s eyes to the way the government controls the people by torture and control of information and language. Also, the government controls by war and fear, brainwashing, propaganda, and several other evils. One of the major ways the government controlled the people in the book was by propaganda. Propaganda is the information, ideas, or rumors intentionally spread widely to help or harm a person, group, nation, etc. In 1984, George Orwell warns us about the use of propaganda by government to control people. The propaganda used by the government in 1984, during the time period of the book, and today is used to keep the government in control, to force people to think in one way and to make the citizens think what the government wants them to.…

    • 1693 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Orwell did not change anything about Totalitarianism when interpreting into the novel. He put on worshipping country leaders, strong dislike, and war hysterics. Children are brought up in families to work for the government as spies. They watch their elders both day and night (Voorhes 88). Big Brother is supposed to represent a soft element from a children’s story to society. Yet to the readers, he represents a political monster to add to Orwell’s science fiction novel, with horror elements mixed in. 1984 may have been inspired by the super-weapons of the cold war. The technology used in the cold war made a ‘social demand’. These technological advancements all served for the purpose to spread mass murder or even to at least intimidating sheer elimination. This can be seen throughout the novel, like when Syme disappeared (Deutscher 119-120). “ He lunged out a huge filthy pipe which was already half full of charred tobacco. With the tobacco ration at a hundred grams a week, it was seldom possible to fill a pipe to the top. Winston was smoking a Victory Cigarette which he held carefully horizontal. The new ration will not start until tomorrow and he had only four cigarettes left” (Orwell 58). During World War II, the government rations out good and often lowers the ration size so small due to overpopulation.…

    • 223 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the year of 1949, George Orwell saw a possible future from his reflection of the totalitarian regimes of World War II and experience in Spain as well as Russia, especially with Stalin. This would culminate into the novel known as 1984, in which the Party and their leader – Big Brother – have complete control of the nation known as Oceania, where everyone is under constant surveillance by the Thought Police. The story is set in London which has decayed just as much as the people’s souls and minds, shown as a “negative utopia”.…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The world sixty years ago as seen by George Orwell was a different place than the one we live in and experience today. Technology was quickly developing and become a part of daily life. Atomic warfare was still a new threat, and the aftershock of its use in World War II was still raw in everyone’s minds. Totalitarianism was seen as a social experiment of sorts, and not having yet experienced the Cold War, some of America’s great minds were still looking at these governments with an open mind. Orwell thought that society needed to be forewarned about both the possible and real dangers of these issues, so his manifesto, 1984, was his call for social change, his call to respect the dangers that technology, war, and totalitarianism introduced.…

    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1984 Essay on Power

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Orwell wrote 1984 almost forty years before the actual year of 1984, in response to Russian totalitarian government. In the novel, Oceania controls everything: what people eat, where they live, who they marry, and their thoughts. Posters saying “Big Brother is watching you” and telescreens allow government to keep a close eye on society while pressuring people to always love Big Brother and the Party. The government is apathetic towards people’s happiness and lack of privacy; having full control over people and society is the government’s only concern. Orwell symbolizes Russian government and control through Oceania. He communicates his views on totalitarian governments by creating dreadful living conditions and rebellious characters within his novels. A government with excessive power will destroy blitheness; as time passes, creating change in a powerful government is impossible. The novel is the story of an ordinary man, Winston, and his attempt to rebel and promote change against the Oceania. By the end of the novel, he failed in his rebellious attempt after being beaten, tortured, and starved in the Ministry of Love. Oceania convinced society that the government was perfect by controlling their beliefs.…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    1984 by George Orwell

    • 1295 Words
    • 6 Pages

    1984 1984 by George Orwell is a novel about a man, Winston Smith, living in a dystopian, totalitarian government. The book circulates around the negative ideal of a harsh government strictly controlling the people of a society. 1984 shares some unique similarities as well as differs greatly from actual life that many English lived during the 80’s, even though the book was written nearly 40 years prior and was not looking at a realistic interpretation of what the world would be like. Orwell had a specific idea his book would flow around; Humans cannot be completely controlled by government. But as we near the end of the book, it becomes clearer that in extremely harsh circumstances, one can be fully controlled when faced with fear.…

    • 1295 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    George Orwell 1984

    • 991 Words
    • 4 Pages

    George Orwell’s classic novel ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ paints a bleak picture of a futuristic society controlled by a totalitarian government. 1984 is a novel about using power to control society. George Orwell's novel was published in 1948 and this is significant because World War II had recently ended and the Nazi dictatorship of Adolph Hitler in Germany had been defeated. This was not an end to dictatorship around the world; however, because Joseph Stalin controlled Russia in much the same way that Hitler had controlled Germany and Mao Zedong was in charge of China. Propaganda, fear, murder and thought control were methods that Hitler, Stalin and Mao used to gain power and to control their countries. In 1984, many similarities exist between the novel and Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia and Mao's China. Big Brother could easily represent Hitler, Stalin and Mao. Overall, the main methods of control in 1984 were control of education and information and over bearing system of rules.…

    • 991 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Satire Assessment Task

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Eric Blair, pen name, George Orwell, was a British political essayist and novelist. Along with this he was a passionate socialist, although did not consider the Soviet Union a good representation of what socialism truly is. It is the Soviet Union/Russian Revolution that acts as the general bases of moral outrage Orwell has transformed into art. Leadership in particular is questioned, along with the greed that comes with a corrupt leader. Joseph Stalin is this leader, and Orwell’s strong anti-totalitarian views are expressed in the novel through the satirical technique of an animal fable. To…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1984 Close Read

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Anna Burton 1/27/12 period 2A 1984 Close Read 1984, a novel by George Orwell, shows how terrifying a totalitarian government can be. In this passage, Winston doubts himself as a reliable source of reality, displaying the Party's ability to control others. He thinks, “If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable - what then?” Winston is able to identify the reason mind control is possible and is afraid that he himself has been controlled to think a certain way. Throughout the passage, the tone is perceived as desperate. Winston is desperate for someone to tell him that his reality is the truth. Orwell uses words like penetrated, battering, and frightening to describe the Party's tactics and show how hopeless escape is. The Party will always be there to make a person believe what they wish them to believe and there is no way to avoid them. Winston realizes this when he thinks, “In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it.” Throughout the passage and the book, the reader senses how powerful the Party is and why it is so difficult to overthrow a totalitarian government. The Party controls everything, even people's thoughts of rebellion which is referred to as thoughtcrime. Oceania is and will forever remain in a totalitarian state.…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Orwell’s primary goal in 1984 is to demonstrate the terrifying possibilities of a totalitarian government. The protagonist, Winston, is the looking glass into Orwell’s horrifying perfect communist society, where all of Winston’s worst paranoids and fears are realities. Winston’s personality is such that he resists the groupthink pressure that is put upon him, he attempts to gain individuality throughout the plot. This resistance allows the reader to gain a thorough understanding of the Party’s harsh oppression.…

    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    To understand Orwell’s prediction one needs to first Orwell was able to successfully summarize what he noticed the early totalitarian-style governments were doing. He took these methods of fear and created three slogans for the party. “Ignorance is strength,” (Orwell 6) referring to the abolishment of speech. For example, “In Nazi Germany, it was strictly forbidden, under penalty of serious reprisals to spread “rumors” about the camps” (Roviello). Orwell takes this idea of oppression of speech and once again takes it to an extreme by gradually removing words from speech so people could not say anything wrong about the party or Big Brother (Orwell). “War is peace,” (Orwell 6) referring to the constant conquest and violence of the 1940’s governments. For example, “Adolf Hitler declared that the impending war with the Soviet Union would be a “war of extermination,”” (Weingartner). Hitler also went onto say that the solution to all of Germany’s problems was the extermination of all the Jews. This mentality of war and violence solving all problems is a common theme demonstrated throughout Nineteen Eighty-Four. This can be seen in the scene where Winston is being tortured by the ministry of Love (Orwell). This torture is designed to ultimately cause him to love the party reinforcing the theme that violence will eventually cause peace. Lastly, “Freedom is slavery” (Orwell 6). This slogan is the most complicated. By saying that freedom is slavery it implies that these Totalitarian government’s care about their people. However, when your citizens are “vaporized” such that in the Soviet Union (Historical Context: 1984) it can be argued that the population is not the leader’s concern. The leaders can however, manipulate the people to believe that the citizens need the protection of the government and make the people think that freedom is slavery just not those exact words.…

    • 1380 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Totalitarian governments were a possibility when Orwell wrote this book, during this time Russia (formerly the Soviet Union) was ruled by Stalin, an oppressive ruler. It shows how that sort of government will destroy people and that it needed to be prevented before it started.…

    • 1217 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays