George Orwell's 1984 - Book Report/Review Example

George Orwell’s 1984 George Orwell began his career as a journalist and English He was the advocate of social justice. He believed in democratic socialism and was opposed to the operation of totalitarian rule in a state or nation. His reputation as a writer of social science fiction goes unquestioned in the world of literature. In his novels, the reference to the global war and the devastating consequences of it had been depicted to create social awareness among the people. He had always been motivated by the ideology of socialism and aimed at eradicating the social inequality and injustice.  He was against the society of oligarchies. In keeping with these views, Orwell had written a dystopian novel, “1984”. The setting of the novel was London, a part of Oceania. After the Second World War, United Kingdom was entangled into civil war and was integrated into the super-state of Oceania. The second super-state of Eurasia came into existence with USSR’s annexation of Europe. There was a third super-state of Eastasia comprising of East and South-East Asian regions. In the novel, Orwell had obliquely shown the continuous struggle for power among the intercontinental super-states disturbing the world peace. The protagonist of the novel, Winston Smith belonged to the Outer Party of the middle class and was a civil servant employed in manipulating the historical records according to the needs of the party.  He also did the work of deleting the official identity of the persons and rendered them unidentified. The body of Big Brother subjugated men and took control over their public and private moments. Winston Smith felt disillusioned by the state’s control over human mind and rebelled against the totalitarian system. He was convicted and tortured.  The novel is a voice against the corruption prevailing in a system followed by the tyrannical attitudes of the power holders. The disillusionment of the common mass on being reduced to mere puppets at the hands of the government The opening paragraph of the novel depicts a scene of an official building and makes a graphic description of the interior. The regular complains of power cut and lifts not functioning are typical of an office scenario run by the government or the opposition. Orwell has written the book in the year 1949 but this is a futuristic novel presenting the society and political proceedings of 1984. The post war dilemma of the state in flux has definitely molded Orwell’s political and sociological perceptions of the incidents. The fact is that the novel also fits in the recent times. This office has a picture and below it is written, ’BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU’ (Orwell, 2). This expression creates a degree of alertness and constantly reminding the people that they are under the strict supervision of the authorial body of the Big Brother. To add further the helicopter of the Police Patrol is hovering through the air and is peeping into the ‘people’s window’ (Orwell, 2). This is a pitiable condition where even the personal moments are scrutinized. Telescreen is yet another means of controlling the lives of the people.  It has the potentiality to capture a low frequency sound. The protagonist, Winston Smith works in the Ministry of Truth. The party ideologies are paradoxical in nature-‘WAR IS PEACE/FREEDOM IS SLAVERY/IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH’ (Orwell, 4). The Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Love, and the Ministry of Plenty are introduced in the very beginning. It should be kept in mind that the Newspeak language means the opposite of what is said. Winston Smith, as an employer does perform his duties but a rebellion instinct urges him to overcome the barriers and he starts maintaining a diary. This act of self-expression is denied. Freedom of expression is alien to the people living under a totalitarian rule. The general public is not content with the dictates of the party but has conditioned their mind to accept the situation but the problem of Winston Smith is that he sees himself as a separate entity and cannot tolerate absolute subjugation. The colonization of the mind is to such an extent that the citizens are forced to participate in Two Minute Hate. This is a rally conducted by the government to express hatred for the rival nations of Oceania. The machinery of manipulating mass opinion is prevalent in the present voting system of the twentieth century.  Winston apprehends that he will be punished for giving vent to his personal emotion and would be charged with thought crime. The government in order to check the disloyalty of the adults has organized a body of the Junior Spies. The dream of Winston’s mother drowned in a shipwreck symbolizes his disgust with the government. The naked girls in the dream suggest a cry for liberation and a desire to annihilate the government. There is a desire for a place where’ there is no darkness’. (Orwell, 25)  Winston himself is engaged in manipulating history as he removes the name of Comrade Withers and invents a character call Comrade Ogilvy.  There are revisions done on the dictionary of the Newspeak to remove words expressing a rebellious upsurge of emotions. The Big Brother also checks the physical encounter between a man and a woman.  Winston is the mouthpiece of Orwell and believes proletariat section has the power to bring about a positive change in the system. They form a nation’s majority of population.  This concept is true to every age and time.  A party till date is not freed from the hands of corruption. The torture that Winston receives in the cell emphasizes the theme of horror and physical pain. The physical tortures that Winston suffers in the cell have been vividly described to speak about the follies of the government who gives severe corporal punishment even in trifle matters. The horror of alienation and the ideological differences are also suggested through the personal relationship of Winston and Julia. Orwell in the novel has tried to create awareness among the people about the totalitarian system which’…controls the future: …controls the present, controls the past’. (Orwell, 35) The Nazi Germany was also like the Big Brother controlling the public and private lives of the people. The Nazi Germany was a totalitarian state firmly rooted in fascism. The fascist ideology of the Nazi Germany was not tolerant towards the other races and denigrated the non-Aryans. The Nazi rule was characterized by jingoism, the people were united based on the German language, and the use of vernacular languages was prohibited. The paramilitary organizations were there to topple down the oppositions. The world history had always inspired Orwell and his views about communism and fascism. Fascism emerged as a political movement in Italy during 1920s and then spread to other European countries as a reaction against the socio-political changes brought about by the Second World War and by the spread of communism and socialism. Mussolini’s Italy took a strong hold over the citizens and stood for nationalism, anti-socialism, and single party system. Adolf Hitler‘s National Socialist German Worker’s Party was tyrannical in nature and expressed detest for other religions like the Jews. The concentration camps for the Jews and the holocaust of death terrorized the whole world. The Big Brother in the novel had not only demanded for the absolute surrender of the citizens to the nation but also ordered its citizens to be faithful. This was in fact the fascist propaganda, which not only required passive confirmation from all the Italians but also made sure of their sincere commitment and active participation of the people in the regeneration of the nation’s status. The Mussolini cult moved with the propaganda, ‘Mussolini is always right’ echoed the idea of the novel that the big Brother is never wrong. The influence of the papacy ended just like the demolished status of the church, which has been suggested, by the novel and the simultaneous loss of faith and morality. The game of power struggle and annexation of nation was incorporated in Mussolini’s rule. He was interested to capture Africa and the Balkan domain. Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin wanted to replace the older order and aimed at rejuvenating the decaying state of their nation and they advocated that only dictatorship could bring radical changes. The advancement of science and technology increased the rate of mass surveillance. The leap towards the development in the field of mass communication enabled the regimes to manipulate the mind of their subjects. Orwell had envisioned the near future and he had been partially correct. The world of the 21st century is a world of globalization. The concept of totalitarianism operates in the power game of the political parties to manipulate their subjects and carry out their propagandas. (Pauley)   The novel belongs to the genre of social science fiction. Its futuristic approach is Orwell’s prediction of a near future that will be a victim of the oppressions of the government. The time when Orwell wrote this novel was the year 1949. It was the time when the world had just overcame the horrors of the Second World War but the tension of the Cold War had not yet subsided.  The psychological manipulation of the party is a phenomenon, which operates in every political system irrespective of time. However, with the growth of the mass media party corruption has increased. The incessant control over human mind and providing a biased version of information are presently done by the mass media. In the novel, we find how the Telescreen regulates the behavioral pattern of the citizens. The Police Patrol in the novel is a body operating in accordance with the government and is not that independent to control crime. This is also prevalent until now. The powerful party influences the police department.  The evils of technology are also shown in the novel. The paradoxical concept of doublethink is also explored. The setting of the story is London, which is known for its rich cultural heritage but underneath we find the plight of the poverty-ridden society. In the end, we find a sense of reconciliation. Winston reconciles with the Big Brother and overcomes his personal fear. The word ‘Big Brother’ apparently adheres to the feeling of care but in the power struggle the rational and moral values are lost. As we know, that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Works Cited Orwell, George 1984, London, Penguin Books, 1981 Pauley, Bruce F. Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini: Totalitarianism in the Twentieth Century, Harlan Davidson, 2003 Read More