Good Guy

1984 by George Orwell

1984 by George Orwell

Outline

Thesis Statement- This paper will examine how George Orwell wrote 1984 as a political statement against totalitarianism.

I Introduction

II Summary of 1984

III Roles of major Charters

A. Big Brother

B. Winston

C. O'Brien

D. Julia

E. Shop owner

IV Propaganda

A. Ministry of Truth

B. Ministry of Love

V Orwell's thoughts on Totalitarianism

A. From life experiences

B. From a writers point of view

VI Conclusion

Introduction "Orwell observed that every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it" ("George Orwell"). George Orwell has been a major contributor to anticommunist literature around the World War II period. Orwell lived in England during World War II, a time when the totalitarianism state, Nazi Germany, was at war with England and destroyed the city of London. " I know that building' said Winston finally. Its a ruin now. It's in the middle of the street outside the Palace of Justice.' That's right. Outside the Law Courts. It was bombed in-oh many years ago'" (Orwell 83). This reflects Orwell's own life experiences as a citizen in war torn England and how he uses this in 1984. George Orwell is famous for two major novels which attack totalitarianism. The first is Animal Farm a satire describing the leaders of the Soviet Union as animals on an animal farm. The second novel is 1984 a story of dictators who are in complete control of a large part of the world after the Allies lost in World War II . The government in this novel gives no freedoms to its citizens. They live in fear because they are afraid of having bad thoughts about the government of Oceania, a crime punishable by death. This is the gem in Orwell's collection of novels against totalitarianism. This paper will show how George Orwell wrote 1984 as a political statement against totalitarianism. 1984 is about life in a world where no personal freedoms exist. Winston the main character, is a man of 39 who is not extraordinary in either intelligence or character, but is disgusted with the world he lives in. He works in the Ministry of Truth, a place where history and the truth is rewritten to fit the party's beliefs. Winston is aware of the untruths, because he makes them true. This makes him very upset with the government of Oceania, where Big Brother, a larger than life figure, controls the people. His dissatisfaction increases to a point where he rebels against the government in small ways. Winston's first act of rebellion is buying and writing in a diary. This act is known as a thought crime and is punishable by death. A thought crime is any bad thought against the government of Oceania. Winston commits many thought crimes and becomes paranoid about being caught, which he knows is inevitable (Greenblast 113). He becomes paranoid because he is followed by a young woman who is actively involved in many community groups. Winston is obsessed with the past, a time before Oceania was under strict dictatorship. He goes into an antique shop and buys a shell covered in glass which is another crime punishable by death. He sees the same woman following him. Many thoughts race through his mind "I wanted to rape you and then murder you afterwards. Two weeks ago I thought seriously of smashing your head in with a cobblestone. If you really want to know, I imagined that you had something to do with the Thought Police" (Orwell 101). The girl who was following him slipped him a note while at work. The note said "I love you"(90). They make plans to meet each other and carry on an illegal love affair. This love affair is another rebellion against the government. It goes on for some time. Winston rents a room where he and Julia can be secluded from the outside world. They meet a man named O'Brien who indicates that he is another revolutionary. Winston and Julia go to his house to meet with him. O'Brien gives than a seditious book to read. Soon after that, they are caught by the Thought Police and never see each other again. O'Brien, becomes Winston's rehabilitator and torturer for the next 9 months. O'Brien tortures Winston in stages. The first two stages are to force the party's beliefs on him then learn and understand what is expected of him. In the third stage, Winston is made to face what he secretly fears most, rats eating his face. After being completely rehabilitated by O'Brien, Winston now loves the establishment and the government. He is set free. Big Brother is the figurehead of a government that has total control. The Big Brother regime uses propaganda and puts fear in its citizens to keep the general population in line. "Big Brother is watching you"(Orwell 5) is just one example of many party slogans that puts fear in its citizens. Big Brother uses various ways to catch people guilty of bad thoughts "In the world of 1984 the tyrant Big Brother does employ a vast army of informers called thought police, who watch every citizen at all times for the least signs of criminal deviation which may consist simply of unorthodox thoughts"(112). Winston Smith represents Orwell's view on totalitarianism. Winston rebels against the government of Oceania by starting a diary and constantly having bad thoughts against the government. "Winston knows that he is doomed from the moment he has his first heretical thought . The tensions of the novel concerns how long he can stay alive and whether it is possible for Winston to die without mentally betraying his rebellion" (Greenblast 115). Winston starts writing in a diary for two reasons. The first is that he wants to be able to remember the daily occurrences in the world. In 1984, the memory of individuals, is effectively manipulated, programmed, and controlled from the outside by the party (Kolakowski 127). People don't know what they are consciously remembering and what is told to them. "The party had invented airplanes" (Orwell 127) is just one example