Power and the Use of Language, Orwell's 1984 And Beyond
George Orwell's 1949 dystopian novel 1984 has become almost iconoclastic in its meaning for contemporary society. Almost like the term Machiavellianism, 1984 evokes images in popular culture, along with the author's name as an adjective, and phrases that were used in the book. Even the term "Orwellian" denotes a certain type of society; phrases like "Big Brother," "Newspeak," "Thought-Police," etc. are now part of the vocabulary when describing totalitarian regimes. The novel's premise has become part of a modern archetype, imitated on television, popular music, movies, and even one of the most popular advertisements ever made, the 1984 launch of Apple's Macintosh.
Nineteen Eighty-Four focuses on a new type of society -- repressive, totalitarian, staunch, all-powerful, all knowing, oligarchical, and pervasive. The novel's main character, Winston Smith, is a simple civil servant assigned to the daily task of perpetuating the regime's history (i.e. propaganda). Smith grows increasingly disillusioned with the concepts of society, forms a rebellion against the system, and is eventually arrested and tortured. Society is hierarchical, controlled by "Big Brother," and the irony of dystopia is epitomized when Winston is sent to the "Ministry of Love," for reeducation purposes. The novel ends with Winston finally accepting Big Brother as God, certainly death for his individuality, although the reader is left uncertain as to Winston's execution.
The satirical contractions of education in Nineteen Eighty-Four come in the guise of doublespeak -- a way of assigned thinking that confuses in its complete opposition: "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength" -- all controlled by the Ministry of Truth (4). Children are brought up in public institutions, "begotten by artificial insemination (artsem, it was called," so that everyone would be granted an equal education (Party indoctrination) (p. 66).
For Orwell, as a British intellectual, we may be certain that his use of language...
ORWELL George Orwell Orwell's Idealism In my interpretation of George Orwell's writings the overall ideology that informs his work emphasizes the power of language. In his time there was a lot of political upheaval and he was very concerned with writers and their abuse of the power their language contained and how that power affected readers. Though he doesn't express this concern outright its evident in his criticism's of the perversions of language
Orwell's 1984 There are many similarities between Orwell's 1984 and our world today. One could draw parallels between Emmanuel Goldstein as the Party's personification of evil and the West's depiction of Bin Laden. The "War is Peace" slogan is certainly visible in so many words in today's Congress (which consists of numerous warmongers, supporters of "security" and "peace" through promotion of the military-industrial complex). "Freedom is Slavery" is true enough for
" Orwell presents a rather romantic picture of the life of a writer. A writer is someone who is driven internally, psychically, spiritually. The desire to write might initially be due to an admiration of a famous author, or a personal affection for the Harry Potter books. Or, the desire to write might be due to a want of recognition, fame, or even fortune. Writing can be used as a weapon
The book even goes beyond this assertion because in Oceania Big Brother even controlled the thoughts of the people. This made it impossible for people to rebel because rebellion cannot be carried out without ideas and the cooperation of many people. The novel also focuses the reader to consider the power of their thoughts. In the book a government believed that though was so powerful that it created a system
" Why is this the case? Why are some concerned about privacy and others not at all? The answer lies in the fact that society is mirroring both authors' perspectives, Orwell's and Huxley's -- one fearful and the other apathetic. Society is thus a dichotomy of two anti-utopian visions. Yet, Zittrain, like Boyd and Baym, supports the new media technology by asserting that "the Net is quite literally what we make
Rhetoric and Politics in Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" In his essay "Politics and the English Language," George Orwell uncovered the way language contributes to the reinforcement of certain political ideas. According to Orwell, sloppy language contributes to poor thinking, which in turn further degrades language and allows language to be deployed in the service of violence and repression. Considering this process underlines how language ideologically circumscribes the possible beliefs
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