The image of the family is also very ironically described, the image of Big Brother especially. In real life the brother is the one man who protects you and looks after you. He is the one you can trust and is the closest person to you in the family. In the book, however, “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”.(3) He is a fictive character that is following every step of every individual. He is the one controlling people and is the main method the party uses for manipulation. This is definitely not the role of a brother and this is why Big Brother is ironical in the sense of the novel.(ChuckMill47) The children in the novel are also controversial to what we understand when the word is mentioned. In our society they respect their parents and learn from them. On the contrary, in the book, these people betray their closest relatives. In the society in which Winston lives “It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own children”, because they are already so brainwashed that they do not follow the norms of the society we think of as normal.(Orwell 27) In Orwell’s novel the family unit is altered to a point that seems ironic to an individual nowadays.
The use of language in the novel is ironical since the main purpose of it is ignored and altered to a point where it has a completely different meaning. (ChuckMill47) The purpose of words is clearly described by Winston: “Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date.” (Orwell 42) The language normally serves as a way for a person to put into words, and make the subject discussed clearer so it is easy to understand. In the novel, Orwell shows the reader that it is used for a purpose far less noble. The party uses vocabulary to change everything that is written in a way suitable for the government. It is also said that “Books, also, were recalled and re-written again and again, and were invariably re-issued without any admission that any alteration had been made.” (43) This is a proof of the irony in the use of language. In the land of Oceania it serves as just another way to manipulate people. Everything is changed as many times as needed so that the party is considered free of errors and people do not have any reason to doubt the truthfulness of the government’s ideas.
In terms of setting George Orwell is being as ironical, as with every other aspect of the novel. Winston’s idea of where a certain place is or what it is is very far from being the truth. In his dream Winston hears of “the place where there is no darkness” (27). For Winston this is a place where there is no party, where he is free to think and do whatever he wants without being afraid of the results of his actions.(ChuckMill47) In reality, however, this place is the Ministry of Love and the only reason why there is no darkness is the number of lamps that are constantly on. In the book, this place is not his freedom, but prison, it is not where he is who he wants to be, but where he is transformed to whom the party wants him to be.
Room 101 is this part if the setting that is most ironically presented of all, because the ultimate change in Winston’s thinking occurs there. What is in Room 101 is “the worst thing in the world” (Orwell 296), more specifically the thing that a person fears the most. What is ironical about the place and the situation is that in the moment one is exposed to their greatest fear, they are ready to do whatever it takes to escape this situation. This is Winston’s case. In the second he sees the rats he says “Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia!” (300) All the time prior to this, he protected the woman he loved but there he is ready to turn her over to the party, rather than be exposed to the rats. The irony in the setting of the novel is very important since it remains in the readers mind for a long time after reading the book.
There are some examples of irony in the novel that are presented in small details that do not make a big difference for the novel as a whole, but only contribute to the ironical sense of the book. The description of the ministries, for example, is one of those details that seem not important but are very ironical.(ChuckMill47) The purpose of the government sections are: “The Ministry of Truth, which concerned itself with news, entertainment, education and the fine arts. The Ministry of Peace, which concerned itself with war. The Ministry of Love, which maintained law and order. And the Ministry of Plenty, which was responsible for economic affairs.” (Orwell 6) What is ironical about it is that each ministry is dealing with issues opposite to what its name is – peace concerns itself with war, love – with order, plenty – with putting shortage on goods, and truth – with changing the past, thus lying. This is an example of irony that shows that even the smallest detail, as the names of the ministries are being presented ironically.
In the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell irony is used all the time. It is the basic technique that the author uses to make this book so powerful. He uses irony to describe almost everything in the book, thus showing to the reader the nonsense of this type of government and society.
Works Cited
. 1984 Message Board. 15 Aug. 2003. Spark Notes. 2 Nov. 2004 <http://mb.sparknotes.com/mb.epl?b=389&m=673030&h=irony>.
Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. London: Penguin Books, 1989.