Category Archives: 1984 (Part One, chapters I-V)

1984 WAnalysis

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From the opening chapter of the book, I gathered that Winston is our main character and he has a different outlook on life than everyone else. The story seems to take place is a dystopia type of environment,the government has the first and and last say on everything that goes on within the city. Big brother is always watching the citizens to make sure everyone is acting according to the rules and propaganda is forced into their heads 24 / 7.

The people live in dilapidated buildings, with horrible food and living conditions. The government doesn’t even care about this, they values their message much more. They devote their times into installing theres propaganda televisions throughout the city, they set up cameras everywhere to watch the citizens and they require everyone to be involved in this. Despite the obvious lack of care for the citizens, on the behalf of the government, the people never speak out or even dare to show unhappiness with the party due to fare. The society seems to be built and molded on the concept of fear and lies.

War is peace ,freedom is slavery ,ignorance is strength ( page 4), these are the official slogans of the Party, and are inscribed in massive letters on the white pyramid of the Ministry of Truth. This slogan combined with the constant propaganda, are what conform the minds of the citizens into believing the nonsense the leaders of the society are enforcing. With this, the party can get the people to accept whatever they are told no matter how illogical it is. All the people become pawns for the government, they are forced to live in a society that values everything but their well being or free will.

Winston is clearly one of the few people in the society who are aware of the deceit. in his hidden diary he express his emotions, despite knowing its an unpardonable crime. Subconsciously he acts out and revolts against big brother as he writes ” Down with big brother”(page 19). Being that that no one is allowed to keep physical records documenting the past, the  people can’t really challenge the government’s motivations, actions, and authority. Winston has slight memory of the times he was a child, before all the propaganda and history changes were implemented, which is why i believe he can see through the lies.  Winston has flash backs of the past in his dreams and is fully aware that the conditions he’s living in now aren’t the same as before.

This knowledge is very dangerous he, so he hides his thoughts from the though police, and tries his best to blend in with the society. Kind of like in zombie movies, people cover themselves in zombie blood and guts as a disguise, a way to blend in with the other zombies to escape death. Winston is trying his best at this point to stay low key and go unnoticed, because he is fully aware of what his disloyalty and non devotion to the Party will lead to. Torture/death or as they call it vaporization.”Names were removed from the registry, every record of you wiped out, your existence denied and then forgotten”( page 19)

 

1984 Part Uno

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1984 l-V

In These chapters Winston Smith is a protagonist that lives in a oppressive world. From Winston’s perspective he sees the brutal physical and psychological wrong that’s upon the people by their government. 1984 shows the scary totalitarian government , in which a single ruling class has power might use to control its people, and to show the extent of the control that government is able to extend. Winston has been subject to their control all of his life, but wants rebellion and freedom.
Unlike everyone else in Airstrip One, Winston wants to know how it would be if he were free. In the world of Airstrip One, freedom is a shocking and having self-expression is an crime. The extent of government control is unmeasurable. When Winston realizes that he has written “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” has him panic. He has been fearing the power of the Party for decades, and the guilt he feels after having committed a crime against the Party overwhelms him, having him certain that he will be caught and punished.
Whats important also of the Party’s oppression of is a subject that forces repression of sexual Desire. Winston has to suppress his sexual side while dreaming, he dreams in Chapter II of an imaginary Golden Country in which he makes love to the dark hair girl.
The Party’s control of the past is another serious issue of its psychological control over its people, no one is allowed to keep physical records documenting the past prevents people from challenging the government. Winston only vaguely remembers a time before the Party came to power, and memories of his past enter his mind only in dreams, which are the most secure thoughts, feelings, and memories that must be suppressed in conscious life which plays a big role. Think I finally finished on time with this one.

Contrary from their Society. Comparing the misfits from Brave New World and 1984.

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From the start of the book, 1984, Winston seems a lot like Bernard from Brave New World, in that both characters are misfits in their respective books, not satisfied with the society they are in.  Winston, before he came home, bought a blank book to write in as a diary.  Despite the world in 1984 claiming that there are no “laws”, Winslow’s actions is punishable by death if discovered.  He is doing something that could potentially get him killed by the Thought Police.  Winslow also hides in a blind spot of a metal plaque so that he could hide what he is doing while writing in his diary.  These actions are similar to how Bernard likes to take delight in doing things that, though not punishable by death, is contrary from what he is supposed to do like every other Alpha in the New World, such as doing things by himself, not participating in group sports, and not taking soma when upset.

Another thing that Winston and Bernard has in common is that they share opposing thoughts to the rest of their respective societies.  Bernard, in Brave New World, dislikes several things about the New World like how he’s treated poorly compared to others despite he, like many others, being conditioned to believe that everything is great.  Winston, in 1984, dislikes Big Brother and the oppressing society he is in where his actions and speech is constantly monitored.  During the Two Minute Hate, where everyone was writhing in hate towards a man in the television screen named Goldstein, Winston’s hate turned from him towards Big Brother, the Party, and the Thought Police.  This contrasts everyone else’s feeling around him as everyone booed and hissed at Goldstein and calmed down the moment Big Brother’s face came on screen and even chanted his initials near the end.  Winston, however, is unable to resist doing what everyone else was doing and was booing and hissing like everyone else during specific intervals.  Even like how Bernard has Helmholtz who seem to share similar opinions, Winston seems to have O’Brien as, during his attendance to the Two Minutes Hate, the moment he caught a glimpse of O’Brien’s eye, he saw that O’Brien shared the same thoughts as him towards Big Brother.  Winston’s hatred towards the society he lives in is especially known as during the time Winston was recalling the last Two Minutes Hate, he unconsciously wrote in his book repeatedly “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER”.

1984 Analysis

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Nineteen Eighty- Four by George Orwell takes place in a dystopian world, centralizing in London of the nation Oceania. The novel begins by introducing us to Winston Smith.  Through him, we see the city is run by a totalitarian party “Big Brother” who instills terror in its citizens and watches their every move. “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU“(1).  They are at war with another nation who they were once in an alliance with. They spread  propaganda and depict their current enemy as the ultimate evil that must be destroyed.

One of “big Brothers” slogan is “WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”(4). This signifies the  manipulation and  altering  through language. They have given  words we associate as negative new meaning  to promote their ideas.   Big Brother controls everything, from erasing and rewriting history to inventing a new language the people are forced to use. Also,  24/7 surveillance through the televisions.  Free-thought is prohibited and they have thought police to patrol and punish anyone who partakes in this act. Citizens of all ages, especially children, are encourage to turn in anyone who commits such an act. The eradication of history and absolute control of the citizens, is for the purpose of  keeping  the people from revolting. “By 2050–earlier , probably all real knowledge of oldspeak will have disappeared . The  whole literature of the past will have been destroyed…the whole climate of thought will be different. In fact there will be no thought ,as we understand it now”(54).

Winston works for the Ministry of truth. He is an editor, responsible for revising all historical data to the liking of  the party’s version of history. Although, he’s good at his job. Winston is not content with his job. He has vices such as gin and cigarettes to keep at bay his feelings of dissatisfaction with Big Brother. He despises everything this society stands for and begins to show signs of rebellion. During a hate session where citizens spend 2 minutes expressing hatred directed to the enemy of the people Emmanuel Goldstein , his hatred shifts towards  the Party, Big Brother, and the Thought Police. “Thus, at one moment Winston hatred was not turned against Goldstein at all, but, on the contrary, against Big Brother, the Party, and the Thought Police;and at such moments his heart went out to the lonely, derided heretic on the screen, sole guardian of truth and sanity in a world of lies” (15).  Another sign of rebellion, is when Winston goes into a junk shop and purchases a journal. He begins writing down this thoughts and feelings. This is consider a huge crime an is punishable by death.  Executions are done  publicly to send a message to the rest.

Through Winston point of view we see the Party’s tyrannical ways.

Nineteen Eighty Four, Part 1

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Why, oh why, must every dystopian society have a creepy cult in it. This cult of hate that Orwell writes in “Nineteen Eighty Four”  is really insane, which has been shown likewise in the propaganda.”War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength”(page 4).This comes from the giant pyramid in the heart of London, and what it reflects in this society is a complete lack of empathy when bloodshed is happening, as a matter of fact its almost worshiped, both the lack of empathy, and the bloodshed. when Winston starts feverishly writing the scene where he and a group of people watch what is basically an orgy of blood, and how everyone around him treats it like a comedy or see a home team win a sports game. Though Winston in this second/ third person perspective disconnects himself from the scene.”then you saw a lifeboat full of children with a helicopter hovering over it.”(page 8). While Winston tries to disconnect from the situation, we can see as the reader that his personal flourishes in his writing can be seen. From improper use of punctuation to the complete and utter stream of consciousness the last run on sentience is, puts into perspective that this is a deeply personal thing to Winston, though he himself can not recall why. Though despite this stream of consciousness, the imagery Winston gives us is vivid but also lightly handed and not to be taken out place or break the immersion of the story. credits to Orwell on being a great writer. On some what of a tangent, Winston’s perspective through out the first part of the book seems to also draw parallel  with another Orwell piece, “Shooting An Elephant”, which is about Orwell’s service in India while in the army, and the sort of mania about people and violence. Orwell seems to draw from that experience to this book.

The society that Winston inhabits is a very insecure society, basing it off of, there is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt. It first really shows off this ideology with “Big Brother Is Watching You” ( page 2). Where it seems to the point that the state assumes that everyone is a criminal( despite Winston saying that there are no more laws ) or a danger at any point in time as everyone is watch by the prophetic “Big Brother”. What is odd is the name “Big Brother” itself, as of course an elder sibling’s job is to watch over and protect the young ones, ergo, the name has two meanings behind it from our perspective. One, that the elder siblings protection has turned into a paranoid perversion of what it is meant to be, instead of giving piece of mind, it gives the same paranoia from the constant “protection”. Two, the state believes that its citizens are children that have no idea how to take care of themselves, which is why the mantra on the pyramid is the way it is, as it hints that all “Big Brother” does, is for the sake of you at the cost to his mental faculties, binding people to a sort of Stockholm syndrome of repression.

 

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1984 are given to presenting the real characters and subjects of the novel. These chapters likewise familiarize the harsh with the cruel and severe world in which the protegonist, Winston Smith, lives. from Winston’s point of view that the harsh witnesses the severe physical and mental savageries created upon the general population by their administration.  the startling strategies government may use to control its subjects, and to delineate the degree of the control that legislature can apply. . Winston appears to comprehend that he may be more joyful if he were free. Orwell emphazises the way that the opportunity is a stunning and outsider thought: just writing in a journal—a demonstration of self-expression—is an unforgivable wrongdoing. He likewise highlights the degree of government control by depicting how the Party watches its individuals through the big telescreens in their homes.

Wisnton, He has been dreading the force of the Party for a considerable length of time. the blame he feels in the wake of hosting  a burden against the party overpowers him, rendering him sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that he will be gotten and be punish. Winston just incidentally permits himself to feel any desire for what’s to come. His general negativity not just mirrors the social molding against, additionally throws a general unhappiness on the novel’s environùment;
clarified in Chapter III as the capacity to accept and distrust at the same time in a similar thought, or to trust in two opposing thoughts at the same time—gives the mental key to the Party’s control of the past. Doublethink permits the nationals under Party control to acknowledge mottos like “Freedom is Slavery” and “Opportunity is subjugation,” and empowers the specialists at the Ministry of Truth to have confidence in the bogus adaptations of the records that they themselves have changed. With the conviction of the laborers, the records turn out to be practically valid. Winston battles under the heaviness of this abusive hardware, and longs to have the capacity to trust his own particular memory7

Reading Response Blog#6: Nineteen Eighty-Four Part I(1-65)

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In the science fiction text “Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell, it takes place in the year 1984 and it revolves around a character by the name of Winston. The setting of this story takes place in Oceania and the government of that area is divided into four ministries which are the Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Peace, Minister of Plenty and Minister of Love and each of these four ministries performs and are involved with different functions which plays a role in their societies.

In this story, there is a slogan that represents that society which would be “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength”. In this society, there are certain things that are not allowed like thinking bad thoughts about the government or leaderships. According to the book it says: “Your name was removed from the registers, every record of everything you had ever done was wiped out, your one-time existence was denied and then forgotten. You were abolished, annihilated: vaporized was the usual word.”(page 19). The society has something called the Thought Police and there duty is to get rid of the people who would have ill thoughts or did something that opposed what is called “Big Brother”. They would be able to catch a person that did that even though it might seem they did not commit whatever was done and they would be removed from the society as a way to preserve it. Also these types of acts are known to be thought crimes which is a form of treason and opposition.

In Oceania, the adults who have children are actually known to be more fearful of their kids. According to the book it says: ” What was worst of all was that by means of such organizations as the Spies they were systematically turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel against the discipline of the party.”(Page 25). This describes how the children are important in the society because they can be of use and also as they would grow older they would not have thoughts in terms of opposing the government but rather be an asset and make society better for them. Also regardless of the facts that they have parents they can still turn them in and make them get punished by the thought police which shows that many of the children are dangerous in a way.

The society seems to happen during dark times because of these various concepts and the norms that goes on around. There are also conflicts like wars with other nations as well but also the people living within seems to be facing hardships because of what can happen. According to the book it says: “Asleep or awake, working or eating, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or in bed- no escape. Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters inside your skull.”(Page 27). This shows that there is not actually freedom in this society since they are being monitored regardless of what actions they perform, they can still be seen in various ways. It could mean that they are actually trapped within and the only way they feel free is with just living even though the society does not really provide for that.

Overall this text is interesting because of the type of society and timeframe that it takes place in.

 

Ryan Yip Reading Response 6

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Nineteen Eighty-Four is a story taking place in April 4th, 1984. The story follows a man by the name of Winston. He works a government job in a country called Oceania. He works in the Ministry of Truth, where he destroys or changes records to benefit Oceania. This is a strange place, where children can arrest an adult and people believe anything the government tells them.

This government is seemingly absolute when it comes to oppression. Page 4 gives us their motto in bold text. “War is Peace,Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.” Page 35 has a passage in the first paragraph that details Oceania’s alliance and enemies. Winston who tampers with documents recalls that there were a number of alliances and enemies but because of Oceania’s information control Oceania was at war with Eurasia: therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia.” In page 19 paragraph 2 you can see Winston expressing his displeasure with Oceania, or rather Big Brother, and has committed a thoughtcrime. This society twists information to benefit itself and goes as far as to make thinking poorly of the government a crime. There is no seeming relationship between war and peace or freedom and slavery. The only connection that can be discerned is that war is peaceful and that freedom is a form of slavery, but these connections are made with twisted logic. Finally there is the connection between ignorance and strength. The ignorance of the citizens of this society is definitely granting strength. Oceania hold all its power by keeping its citizens ignorant. Page 60 shows us how ignorant the citizens are.”It appeared that there had been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grams a week. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grams a week. Was it possible that they could swallow that, after only twenty-four hours?” And swallowed it they did. These people didn’t even realize that there was a reduction in their rations. They were simply told that there was an increase and they believed it without checking the facts or even remembering an announcement 24 hours ago. The government lied to their faces and these people accepted it without a second thought.

Whatever this motto is, it isn’t accurate. However, it doesn’t need to be accurate since all its citizens believe everything they are told anyway. If everyone is ignorant than there’s no need for anyone to concern themselves in war, peace, freedom or slavery. All anyone has to do is remain ignorant and you won’t commit the crime of thinking. Because even that is a punishable offense in Oceania. There is even a project to develop a language called Newspeak where it is supposedly impossible to express feelings of rebellion. Oceania is a completely oppressive government that takes away free will and expressionism.

The Analysis of Society in Nineteen Eighty-Four

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The novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell depict a society that is constantly at war with another nation. It shows how society deals with a nation that is at war in the eyes of the main character Winston. It shows how society and government interact with each other.

The society featured in the novel shows the characteristic of a dystopian society. The government named “Big Brother” had several factions in them, one of them was “the Ministry of Love, which maintained law and order”(4). The ministry of love controlled society, it captures defects from society and executes them. The ministry of love uses the “Thought Police” who job was to “watch everybody all the time”(3). The thought police watch people through telescreen and if they were to show sign of rebellion to the government, “Big Brother” they were executed publicly. The telescreen made society more aware of their action, especially the main character Winston. Winston changes his expression as the narrator said: “He had set his features into the expression of quite optimism which it was advisable to wear when facing the telescreen”(5). The government has control over Winston to a point that even his facial expression need to be changed to eliminate any suspicions on him and the same can be said about the people that are living in this type of society. More so, a slogan from the ministry of truth said: “WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”(4). The statement proves that the ministry of truth can manipulate society into thinking the opposite of what everything is said. Winston job of altering and destroying documents has led him to secretly rebel against the big brother, by joining an underground society called the brotherhood. The Society also avoid calling each other names other than a comrade, to avoid being associated with them if they were to be capture by the thought police.

The setting of the novel is expected to be dark since it is a dystopian society. The story takes place in 1984, but it is not certain since the ministry of truth manipulates everything to benefit the government. The world in which Winston live in is said, “the world looked cold…there seem to be no color”(2). This imagery reminds of black and white films with no color and the society that Winston is living in is not lively at all. The ministry of truth has to alter and destroy many works of the past leading to society being lifeless in the novel.

Furthermore, society physical attributes are being diminished by the government. In the novel, an exercise is being done and shows the flexibility of Winston. The narrator said: “Winston, with a violent lunge, succeeded in touching his toes with knees unbent, for the first time in several years”(38). Winston and the rest of society movement are limited by the telescreen watching them all the time. The government does diminish their attributes to prevent any rebellion but at the same time, they want society to be able to perform their jobs.

The novel was interesting to read especially the interaction between Winston, society, and government. It is also fairly easy to understand but there is still some vocabulary here and there. There also with the over quoting in the second paragraph, although much is needed to explain the society in the novel.