shocking literary techniques - George Orwell's 1984

George Orwell – 1984

George Orwell’s book 1984, is his nightmarish vision of the future in England. He has used many ways to grip the reader and make a vision in the reader’s mind of what is happening in the novel.

In the novel ‘1984’, the author, George Orwell employs a range of different techniques such as similes and metaphors to unnerve and keep the reader in anticipation, forcing them to read on. Orwell opens the rest of the chapter by introducing the society to the reader, “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” , this gives an idea that whinston is totally evicted from freedom. From the opening pages of 1984, it is enevitible that whinston is going to see death sometime in the book. Orwell has introduced ‘thought crime’ to the reader, “Thought crime does not entail death, thought crime is death”. Whinston has done this by writing I his diary in the opening pages. These opening pages, display a picture in the readers mind of the society that whinston is stuck in.

The opening chapter of Orwells novel, introduces the bleak and depressing setting to the reader. He displays the setting as very dark and frightening and he constantly raises the matter throughout the chapter. Orwell displays this decayed setting, like a dystopia. He also portrays the landscape as grimey and a distate, “ his work place, towered vast and white above the grimey landscape.” This is the constant effect Orwell uses to make the setting come across as bleak as possible.

In the opening chapter of Orwells novel, The main theme is the party of Big Brother and the ...

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In the opening chapter of Orwells novel, The main theme is the party of Big Brother and the absoloute power. This theme comes across as very controlling on all party members, as they are totallly evicted from freedom. Orwell uses 3 phrases that gives an impression of the shear power and authority of Big Brother, “WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”, this is irony that is used to show power and it gives the main messages and theme of the party.

Immediately in the opening pages, the reader knows that whinston is gong to die due to thought crime. They also know his weaknesses as he resents the authoritarian regime and tries to disobey Big Brother. Orwell has used a slight form of tense, where Whinston uses the words “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER”, By this time in the novel the reader knows that consequences of this is certain death.But whinston escapes lucky, which is a relief to the reader. This gives the idea that whinston is already beginning to neglect the party and the control of Big Brother.

Orwells novel is written in a depressing tone which merges well with the setting and atmosphere. Orwell is often reflective and see’s the viewpoint of whinston and also the party, but while he does this he displays the shocking power. Orwell writes very punctual and uses a large amount of drama to unsettle the reader, and they do not know whats coming next. In this novel Orwell writes in third person so that the reader knows exactly what is happening, he also has used a lot of dramatic and brutal language to portray the hellish dystopia.

Overall, Orwells 1984 is a bold and shocking vision of the future, and he displays some of the most pollitical extremism in is novel than any other. His first chapter has an effective start to his novel as it unsettles the reader, but gives them a vast idea of what Big Brother and whinston are going to stir up later in the book.

Matt Taylor

Peer Reviews

Here's what a star student thought of this essay

sydneyhopcroft

27th of Feb 2012

Quality of writing

The Quality of Written Communication is very low. In fact, it's not representative of a GCSE candidate at all. There is very little control over the English language with frequent spelling errors, misuse of grammar and poor punctuation. This candidate must re-read their answer an make sure it says exactly what they want it to say, because in the current it is very ambiguous. Also, candidates will not score highly at all if they do not refer to the protagonist by the correct name - Winston, not "whinston". Capital letters and the beginning of places and people's names is something taught in primary school and this should not be an issue for GCSE candidates.

Level of analysis

The Level of Analysis here touches on all the right areas, but on no instance does the candidate appear to carry through their analysis until there is little left to say. Reading it, you get the impression the candidate was rushing to jot down as many ideas as possible in each paragraph without fully exploring what, indeed, is shocking about them. The candidate does well to comment on how Orwell uses The Party's slogans to create a sense of dystopia - "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU" and "IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" being two examples. But to improve upon this, the candidate could take into account HOW these techniques are shocking, as they have completely neglected these comments and it is these that gain the marks. It is one thing for candidates to simply identify features that pertain to the question but to get the real marks and to give the examiner what they really want to see would be to comment on A) the effect of the feature and B) how that feature is created. For instance, the phrase "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU" is simple; it is blunt. Very much like the society of the time where thoughts are limited by the control over language (words are being destroyed to prevent original thoughts) there is a very straight-forward message here. It directly engages the audiences attention and the presentation (block capitals) suggest authority, importance and paranoia. This is the kind of analysis required of the candidates wishing to impress examiners with this question.

Response to question

This questions asks candidates to focus their efforts on how George Orwell creates a dystopia through shocking literary techniques. To answer this question, a basic understanding of Orwell's style of writing is required, as well as his socio-political views about the world he lived in at the time. Also required, is an extensive knowledge of literary techniques - not just metaphors and similes as these are too narrow a judgement of the text and concentrate only on language. This question needs a focus on the entirety of the novel including themes and symbolism. Where this candidate exceeds is their ability to identify with the reader and comment on the effect on them, but regrettably, there is very little effective analysis of any literary techniques. This could be because the question is not completely adhered to, or these is not a confident comprehension of what the question is asking and frequently the candidate repeats points (how Orwell draws the reader in; Winston being marked a dead man from the very beginning (which I would dispute - at moments we are manipulated into thinking he has escaped Big Brother). In order to prevent this in future exams, this candidate must make sure they understand what literary techniques are - foreshadowing, personification, dialogue, emotive language, etc.

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