GEORGE ORWELL_1984

george orwell

1984

INDEX

5. Style

1. Biography

6. 1984 (novel)

2. Context

3. Totalitarianism

7. Themes & Symbols

8. 1984 (film)

4. Works

Eric Arthur Blair

BIOGRAPHY (1)

His father was a British official in the Indian Civil Service; his mother, of French extraction, was the daughter of a merchant in Burma (Myanmar). He studied in England (Eton, Wellington). In 1922 he became an colonial officer of the Burmese Imperial Police > disappointed by the oppressive role of the imperial administration + his failing health > return to England (Burmese Days, Shooting an Elephant). 1928 > he quitted the Imperial Police and went back to England.

(Bengal, 1903- London, 1950)

BIOGRAPHY (2)

London/Paris > dedicated himself to becoming a writer He led a life of poverty and deprivation > guilty > expiate some of his guilt by immersing himself in the life of the poor and outcast people of Europe. (Down and Out in Paris and London: individual who is at odds with an oppressive or dishonest social environment) In 1936 Orwell went to Spain to fight for the Republicans against the Fascists in the Spanish Civil War.During the war he was wounded > forced to return to England (Homage to Catalonia). He dedicated the rest of his life to writing as a novelist, essayist, journalist and critic. He died of tuberculosis in 1950.

CONTEXT

Orwell's works are deeply rooted in the history of his times, an age of economic depression, totalitarism and imperialism, not to mention the Spanish CIvil War and World War II. The Civil War in Spain left him disillusioned with the socialist ideals he had embraced and brought him to the belief that any form of totalitarism is wrong since it denies human dignity.

totalitarianism

A form of government in which an oligarchy or a dictator has total power and strictly controls and oppresses dissenters. Opposition is therefore harshly repressed and rigid rules are imposed. Between the Two World Wars, some European countries had totalitarian regimes: Spain had Franco's military dictatorship, Germany had Hitler, the Soviet Union Stalin, Italy had Mussolini.

anti-totalitarianism

Orwell in one of the strongest anti-totalitarian voices of literature. His works express a clear warning against the mystification of power and the dangers of totalitarism in society.

" I write because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing"George Orwell

works

All of his work was based on his interest in the social and political conditions that he had observed in his own lifetime. He was fascinated by the power that censorship and language have in politics and in writing.

style

As a political writer, he needed to spread clear messages to change the social system.His works are characterised by: - CONCISE AND SIMPLE WRITING - OBJECTIVE RECORDINGS OF EVENTS - WELL-DEFINED PLOTS - USE OF SATIRE & ALLEGORY

main works

1984

Title: 1984 Author: George Orwell Type of work: novel Genre: dystopian* science-fiction novel Time and Place: England, 1949 Publication: 1949

plot

The world is diveded into 3 SUPERESTATES: OCEANIA, EURASIA and ESTASIA. Winston Smith, the protagonist, lives in London, the capital of AIRSTRIP ONE (England) in the superstate of OCEANIA. Oceania is a totalitarian state ruled by an organisation known as THE PARTY. (INGSOC)

Oceania and the other two world superstates, EURASIA and EASTASIA are involved in a continuous war over remaining territories. Going on > the war is an illusion maintained by the three superstates in order to keep their people in a state of fear, subjection and ignorance.

PLOT

Oceanic society is hierarchical and oligarchic.Winston is a member of the OUTER PARTY: like the others belonging to this group ha has been BRAINWASHED from a young age and is kept under constant surveillance by telescreen and the THOUGHT POLICE. The privileged INNER PARTY members, have the only aim to perpetuate the Party's power. At the top there is the BIG BROTHER, a man whose face appears on posters and screens.

The government is divided into four ministries: -The Ministry of Truth (news and education), -The Ministry of Love (law and order), -The Ministry of Peace (war), -The Ministry of Plenty (economic affairs)

Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth, changing historical records and rewriting history to agree with the party's current view and make it appear infallible and powerful.

The story is diveded into 3 parts:In the first part the author introduces the protagonist: Winston is a powerless man who tries to rebel against the rules of society, he feels that the only hope lies in the "proles". In the second part of the story he falls in love with Julia, breaking the rules of Oceania, because love is considered a crime. In the third part he is imprisoned and tortured until he confesses his crimes. He is brainwashed in order to be loyal again to the Big Brother.

Repression

THEMES

Power

Violence

Warfare

Rebellion

Use/Abuse of Language

Manipulation

Memory and the Past

Loyalty

Technology

Loss of individuality

power (totalitarianism)

The Party wants power for its own sake and it controls every aspect of citizens' lives. Instruments of power: - NEWSPEAK - DOUBLE THINK

use and abuse of language

Newspeak > to limit the way people think + have complete control of people’s mindsWithout words:- there is no way to express thought; - people will not commit thoughtcrime and rebel against the Party.

manipulation

Doublethink > manipulation of the mind that makes people accept contradictions and believe that only the Party is right > PROPAGANDAThis manipulation is handeld by the Ministry of Truth, where Winston works. The slogans completely reverse the meaning of democratic ideals like peace and freedom.

Double function: 1) to brainwash the population with the paradoxical slogans of ‘newspeak’ + distort and redefine reality and truth according to the state’s wishes. 2) to keep people under constant surveillance > every room has a two-way telescreen. Everywhere there're images of the nation’s phantasmic leader, who only appears on posters or on TV, saying ‘Big Brother is Watching You’.

technology

loss of individuality

two minutes hate

During the Two Minutes Hate, the party members watch films of people like Goldstein who are enemies of the Party.They scream in hatred at these people. The purpose of this is to make the people lose their individuality. They are all supposed to show the same emotions about the same things at the same time.

symbols

BIG BROTHERTHOUGHT POLICE WINSTON'S SECRET DIARY GLASS PAPERWEIGHT ROOM 101

1984 - film

Directed by: Michael Radford Based on: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell Produced by: Simon Perry Distributed by: 20th Century Fox Release date: 10 October 1984 (UK) Running time: 110 minutes Country: United Kingdom[3] Language: English

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