Critical Appriciation of the Two Minuets Hate in 1984
Write a critical appreciation of pages 16-18 "in its second... uttering a prayer". How does the two minutes hate contribute to your understanding of the nightmare world in which Winston lives? The two minutes hate is almost a celebration of a cult, a sort of gathering of religious fanatics to honour their ruler, Big Brother. Orwell uses it to show the expressions of anarchy amongst the 'leaping and shouting' people and how this would be their only chance to express their human feelings in the nightmare society in which they are forced to live. Winston's dystopian world is displayed in Orwell's unsympathetic parody of the two minutes silence in commemoration of WWII and epitomises the 'frenzy' of emotions, the terror and violent culture that Winston has to tolerate. His elaborate view of religious or political fanatics scrutinises these kinds of obsessions and demonstrates how it can over-power a person's life. Control is one of the main components of the two minutes hate. The people are helpless, they are 'like that of a landed fish' in the robotic machine that is Big Brother. They cannot escape from 'the voice' that 'continued inexorably' and there is no escapism to be had in the 'frenzy' of voices yelling at the screen. This reflects a nightmare that is inescapable until we awake. Winston longs to awaken in a society capable of love, without suffering, but it seems he
"Do you begin to see, then, what kind of world we are creating? It is the exact opposite of the stupid hedonistic utopias that the old reformers imagined." Discuss the anti-utopia that Orwell is portraying with reference to totalitarian regimes.
"Do you begin to see, then, what kind of world we are creating? It is the exact opposite of the stupid hedonistic utopias that the old reformers imagined." Discuss the anti-utopia that Orwell is portraying with reference to totalitarian regimes. Hitler, Stalin and Big Brother, tyrants all. Throughout Nineteen-Eighty Four, there are clear similarities between Winston's world and the totalitarian regimes that now form part of our history. However, as O'Brien goes on to explain, there are just as many differences. The concept of a 'utopia' was defined, although not invented, in a sixteenth century essay by Thomas More describing a perfectly ordered world wit complete equality. AS O'Brien expresses, this was the initial aim of the 'old reformers'; indeed, the concept of communism in Russia and China, in its origins, seems closely linked to the principles of Utopia. While O'Brien may simply be referring to More in his dismissal of 'stupid hedonistic utopias,' totalitarian dictators such as Hitler, in principle at least, did have this aim in his quest for the augmentation of the German State. In this respect Big Brother has learnt both from literature and history. As O'Brien states, though the Twentieth Century trend of mass propaganda, dictators such as Hitler and Franco lied to themselves and indeed others with respect to their apparently selfless intentions. He observes
Who Controls the past, controls the future - Who Controls the present controls the past - What might George Orwell have meant to say when he said this?
Question: Who Controls the past, controls the future. Who Controls the present controls the past. What might George Orwell have meant to say when he said this? George Orwell, a large figure of literature, was an anti-communism, and against totalitarian tendencies. Therefore, in 1949, he published a book, 1984, warning about the future. A prediction of the future? Fear is a characteristic built within the human being, which at the time was the future and in whose hands it would be? In this novel, George Orwell's vision of the world is deeply shocking, as domination of a certain 'Party', controls everyone and everything. They control what we (the public) see, hear, touch, smell, and even think about. History is a vital part of human existence and as illustrated well in the book, the past is 'nature alterable', and if done so, will be true 'from everlasting to everlasting'. The re-creation of history by these white males conveys the world, as they want it to be, in order to attain control over the public i.e. the World. By rewriting books, as they wanted them, and confiscating any unwanted material, they had full control of the past, therefore they were control of the current time (present), and hence the future! The motto of the Party is 'Those who control the past, control the future; Those who control the future control the past. By manipulating all forms of
1984 fifty years on - in what respects has the fictitious future vision of George Orwell "come true"?
984 fifty years on - in what respects has the fictitious future vision of George Orwell "come true"? George Orwell wrote his famous novel Nineteen Eighty-Four between the years 1945 and 1948. Although the title is 'Nineteen Eighty-Four', the novel wasn't meant to be a detailed description of the exact year of 1984 but a critical, futuristic novel. In Orwell's criticism of a perfect society, his novel became known as one of the greatest anti-utopian novels of all time. Although the novel starts out as a story of a neurotic man, it quickly turns into a protest against a totalitarian government. The novel seems to be a satire at the start, similar to novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, but quickly the reader will discover that it is not wholly satire. Nineteen Eighty-Four is not only criticism of what Orwell saw happening in his country with the coming of English Socialism, but a warning of the consequences of contemporary government actions and what they were threatening to cause. Perhaps the novel seems so bleak because it was written in the conditions and environment in which Orwell lived in 1948, straight after the Second World War. Perhaps people would be more comfortable with the novel if they could forget the thought of the possibility of the prediction becoming real. In year 1984 it seemed to be a huge trend to discuss which aspects of the novel had come true,
George Orwell, one of English literatures most important and famous writers, draws the picture of a dystopia in one of his best known novels 1984. Being considered as a warning against totalitarianism, it is also possible to say that the novel puts fo
Orwell's 1984 George Orwell, one of English literature's most important and famous writers, draws the picture of a dystopia in one of his best known novels 1984. Being considered as a warning against totalitarianism, it is also possible to say that the novel puts forth a road map on how totalitarian regimes work and how certain ideologies are imposed on nations. Creating a world in which the worst possible totalitarian regime is present, Orwell also takes a very close look at the psychological states of people. The writer doesn't only deeply analyze what a totalitarian regime stands for but also introduces the themes of the importance of language, how certain ideologies can be imposed on people and how physical pain can control the human mind. Putting stress on the dreadfulness and the destructive nature of totalitarianism, and also by pointing out that nations can in fact be forced to admire and support such a regime, the writer makes his reader face the cruelest and most realistic aspects of such a horrific repressive regime. Before taking a closer look at the novel, it would be helpful to give background information about the era in which Orwell was influenced to create such a hellish world. 1984 was written in 1949, when Fascism was on the rise, right after the Second World War, when Hitler was defeated and Stalin had performed his cruelest acts. Having worked in
George Orwell - "Shooting an Elephant" (1936).
George Orwell - "Shooting an Elephant" (1936) Non Fiction "Shooting an Elephant", by George Orwell, is a highly effective piece of non-fiction. Although written about an event many years ago, in a society that no longer exists as it did then, the essay still holds relevance in the ideas it contains. It is how Orwell puts across his views on colonialism and human nature that I intend to investigate. The essay revolves around Orwell recounting an incident which he experienced as a policeman in colonial Burma, in the 1920's. Orwell was called to act when a tame elephant went 'must' and started ravaging a bazaar, killing one of the indigenous Indians. However, by the time he had located the elephant, the attack seemed to have passed, so there was no need to destroy it. Yet such was the pressure from the local populace, and Orwell's fear of being mocked, that he shot the elephant. When he first introduces himself to the reader, Orwell seems to be a fairly level-headed person, with his self- depreciating tone showing that he doesn't take himself too seriously in the 'great scheme' of things; drawing the reader to sympathise with him. This sympathy is extended further when the reader is made privy to the ambivalence of Orwell's feelings towards his position in Burma. In direct contrast to the majority of Westerners in the East at that time, Orwell was very conscious of the
"Utopia is no place". How does the Utopian and dystopian fiction you have studied present the possibility of perfection.
"Utopia is no place". How does the Utopian and dystopian fiction you have studied present the possibility of perfection. "It is the dream of a just society, which seems to haunt the human imagination ineradicably and in all ages"1. But "absolute purity, absolute justice, absolute logic and perfection are beyond human achievement"2. Composers such as More, Orwell, Huxley and Atwood use different avenues and techniques to explore this idea of perfection and its feasibility on earth with the human race. Utopian and dystopian fiction comprises a broad selection of texts; but in the narrowest definition any text in which the composer proposes an ideal or nightmarish world or society. The literary cannons of Utopian and Dystopian fiction include: Plato's Republic, Thomas More and his Utopia - responsible for both the generic name and genre creation; Aldous Huxley's Brave New World; George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm; And Marget Atwoods's Hand Maid's Tale. Within each text composers use different presentations of the 'ideal' society to highlight the achievability and desirability of perfection. Utopia is a story, to be discovered only by trespassing onto an unknown voyage of exploration by Raphael Hythloday, More's fictional protagonist. Utopia is a "prototypical sociological and anthropological study"3 into humanity. In book II, More 'records' Raphael's account of
Why George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London is an effective piece of social commentary
Examine with close textual reference the literary factors which make Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London an effective piece of social commentary. Down and Out in Paris and London is George Orwell's personal account of living in poverty in both cities. It begins in Paris, where Orwell lived for two years surviving by giving English lessons and contributing reviews and articles to various periodicals. Two years later, Orwell moved to London, where, along with writing and tutoring, he worked as a bookshop assistant, an experience which was to inform his later novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying. It was first published in 1933. He offered it as a record of experience, organised rather than fictionalised, and as a demonstration of how to destroy prejudice. This was all of a specifically social purpose that he saw in the book, it arose naturally from the facts he described. There is no gulf between fact, observation and message. No secondary or irrelevant interest interferes with the lucid presentation of detail, and the sustained tone of combined intellectual concern, emotional sympathy and unbiased detachment drives his words clearly. This essay will examine what literary factors George Orwell employed to make Down and Out in Paris and London a social commentary on Paris and London in the 1930's. The first part of Down and Out is clearly about Orwell's poverty, his jobs, and
Gullibility and Naivet in Animal Farm
Gullibility and Naiveté in Animal Farm George Orwell's Animal Farm clearly illustrates the ignorant gullibility of the general population in any given nation. This aspect of the novel is clearly portrayed by the sheep, the dogs, and Boxer, who represent the general public, the secret police, and the workforce, respectively. The Sheep are quite possibly the most offending character to society because their naïveté relates to everyone in the public, and anyone reading the book. Firstly, they show ignorance when Napoleon and Snowball teach them quite easily their "four legs good, two legs bad" phrase, even though they do not quite understand what they're saying. They come to love their newly adapted slogan, and tend to break out into it in the middle of tumult. Although they like it so much, they are willing to change it to "four legs good, two legs better." without much resistance. And finally, they show gullibility in that they too become terrified of Napoleon after the executions just like all the other animals. This trusting characteristic is especially taken advantage of by Napoleon and shows great weakness from the sheep. Boxer is easily convinced to work and easily motivated, even if it's sometimes for the wrong reasons. He adapted the maxim "Napoleon is always right" without knowing why; he didn't even have to comprehend the situation to use his phrase. The
Abuse Of Language In Order To Gain Authority In "Animal Farm" by George Orwell
Abuse Of Language In Order To Gain Authority In "Animal Farm" by Gearge Orwell In the novella ,there are many factors which support pigs' totalitarian regime but the most significant one is language. lt's clear that used as the main tool of communication, language not only establishes relationships with others but also it has power to establish regimes and governments. ln the very beginning of the book,reader comes across with the uniting side of language. Old Major, who is a respected animal on the farm, has given a speech to stir the animals' emotion into rebellion. "Man is the only real enemy we have", is the main idea of Old Major's speech and is containing the first sign of propaganda on Animal Farm. His oration inspires and energizes the listeners. He also remembers and sings the song "Beasts of England" and listeners learns it by heart. lt would be sang frequently after the revolution, especially after meetings. The song serves as a propaganda, too. By making the working-class animals speak the same words at the same time, the pigs evoke an atmosphere of grandeur and nobility associated with the recited text's subject matter. The song also erodes the animals'sense of individuality and keeps them focused on the tasks by wich they will purportedly achieve freedom. Seven Commandments are "written on the tarred wall in great white letters that could be read thirty yards