Nineteen Eighty-Four

GCSE English

Catherine Birkbeck 11s

What is the name of your book?

The name of the book is ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’

Who is the author of your book?

The author of ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ is George Orwell.

Can you give some information about ‘1984’?

Nineteen Eighty-Four is the terrifying prophecy for mankind through a scientifically proven servile state and the extermination of political freedom by thought crime and an ideologically basic language of Newspeak in which thoughtcrime is death. ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ is the year in which it happens. The world is divided into three great powers Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. Each of these powers is at war with the other. Oceania is principally the combination of the Americas and the British Empire. Throughout Oceania, ‘The Party’ rules by the agency of four ministries, whose power is absolute. The Ministry of Peace which deals with war, the Ministry of Love which deals with Law and Order, the Ministry of Plenty which deals with scarcities, and the Ministry of Truth which deals with propaganda. These authorities keep a check on every action, word, gesture or thought through the use of telescreens and microphones. These record every movement and sound, which is later scrutinised by the Ministry of Love. The indoctrination of Oceania’s citizens has been the result of fifty or more years of propaganda, which is very similar to propaganda against political ideals of a more threatening position to the dictatorship in which we live under today. The Party is divided into two parts; the Inner Party and Outer Party. The Inner Party is the most privileged and powerful. The Outer Party is less privileged and work in either one of the Four Ministries. At the very bottom of the hierarchy are the Proles. These live in poverty and can be compared with the working class today. In principle, membership into any tier is determined by an examination taken at the age of sixteen. Nor is there any racial discrimination or marked domination of one province over another.

Password

Confirm Password

I agree to the terms of service and privacy policy

“Jews, Negroes, South Americans of pure Indian blood are to be found in any rank, even the highest rank of the Party”

The official language of Oceania is Newspeak. Which is the shortened, more practical version of English. If any person even gestured towards dislike of ‘The Party’ they would be tortured and then killed. ‘The Party’s’ whole power is built on hatred of one another; even daughters despise their mothers and denounce them to the thought police to be killed.

What happens in ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’?

Nineteen Eighty-four is the story of Winston Smith’s revolt against ‘The Party’. The ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

“Jews, Negroes, South Americans of pure Indian blood are to be found in any rank, even the highest rank of the Party”

What happens in ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’?

Nineteen Eighty-four is the story of Winston Smith’s revolt against ‘The Party’. The story begins with a description of the startling slavish life of Oceania’s citizens. The surprise as we venture into the book is that Winston Smith lives a very similar life to ours. These oppressed people are brainwashed enough to not even question ‘The Party’ but Winston Smith slowly regains his memory, and he remembers how the capitalist world slowly changed into this robotic society. Winston Smith meets and falls in love with a young rebel, Julia, they meet whenever they feel that they are safe, unaware of their constant surveillance by the thoughtpolice. Eventually, they are captured and tortured. They are then taught, through pain to love Big Brother.

What has George Orwell provoked the reader to think about?

George Orwell, himself a socialist, has always written about pressing subjects concerning politics and the societies welfare. In ‘The Road to Wigan Pier’ we hear the plight of the impoverished of the 1930’s. And again in ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ we are told the story of a totalitarian government ruling a vast power, these startling prophecies are already in motion, only since last Tuesday’s tragedy in America, have I seen George Orwell’s power of persuasion in evidence. For example, Britain has joined with America in eradicating ‘terrorism’ against the ‘civilised world’, although the American and British armies have endlessly been bombing innocent civilians in Iraq since the Gulf War ten years ago. This story shows how the propaganda used to justify the war with Oceania and Eastasia is effectively used to brainwash a whole nation into hatred of another nation for no reason at all. From reading ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ I have started to question thoroughly the methods of how the western world operates. It is amazing how Orwell has seen into the future, and although he is a socialist, he has summarised the problems with a democracy socialism and capitalism at the same time.

Nineteen Eighty-Four

This is a preview of the whole essay

Document Details

Related Essays

Nineteen Eighty-Four

Nineteen Eighty Four

Explore Orwell's deployment of irony in Nineteen Eighty-Four

''Nineteen Eighty-Four' as an extent of the Dystopia fiction