Do the versions of Utopia offered by 20th Century writers suggest its unattainability or merely wrong ways of going about it?
Twentieth Century Literature Literature and Politics Module: ELS 3501 5. Do the versions of Utopia offered by 20th Century Writers suggest its unattainability or merely wrong ways of going about it? ...Les utopies sont realisables. La vie marche Vers les utopies. Et peut-etre un siecle nouveau Commence-t-il, un siecle ou les intellectuels et La classe cultivee reveront aux moyens d'eviter Les utopies et de retourner a une societe non Utopique, moins 'parfaite' et plus libre. Nicolas Berdiaeff This epigraph by Nicolas Berdiaeff provides a thought-provoking introduction to Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel, Brave New World. Here Berdiaeff realises that utopias are achievable and yet they must be avoided, "...Et nous nous trouvons actuellement devant une question bien autrement angoisante: Comment eviter leur realisation definitive?" (Berdiaeff, N). In this essay I have chosen Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Animal Farm by George Orwell to illustrate the intentions of these two twentieth century writers when tackling the subject of Utopia/Dystopia. I will outline obvious parallels in the two works and attempt to conclude that, while Huxley seems to oppose the idea of a successful utopic society, Orwell, in his 1945 political fable 'Animal Farm' strives to inform the reader of key moments where it may have been achieved. This would rely on particular
Formative Exercise Two: George Orwell's '1984'.
Wold Politics: Formative Exercise Two: George Orwell's '1984'. George Orwell's '1984' is notably the most famous satirical criticism of both left and right wing totalitarianism. Orwell's firm adherence to socialism, his experiences of accused pro-fascism by Stalin-backed communists in Spain and World War II's introduction of totalitarianism to both fascist and communist states provoked a lifelong horrified fixation on totalitarianism, and a profound abhorrence for the Stalinist regime. All of which emerge in '1984.' The plot of the book is divided into three main movements corresponding to its division into sub-sections. Firstly, the introduction to the world of 1984 as a dystopian state whereby everything including thoughts, emotions and actions are dictated and controlled by the Party and the albeit fictitious leader 'Big brother'. He 'is watching you'. Winston Smith, an outer party citizen, develops unorthodox thoughts about the Party's regime with the inclination to rebel. The second part of the novel draws attention to his secret love affair with another party member, and also their betrayal by a supposed fellow-rebel who is in truth a chief inquisitor of the inner party. The third section describes Winston's punishment by the 'thought police' and his own betrayal to humanistic values, emotions and his love for Julia. The final submission of his individualism and
Consider the political implications of seeing and being seen in Nineteen Eight-Four and The Orchard, focussing on one passage or scene from each book, and one relevant image or written text you collect from print media.
Essay One: The Orchard and Nineteen Eighty-Four both describe cultures that "encourage us to see ourselves as others see us". Consider the political implications of seeing and being seen in Nineteen Eight-Four and The Orchard, focussing on one passage or scene from each book, and one relevant image or written text you collect from print media. The Orchard, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Doug's Story, all describe cultures that have both subservant characters as well as dominant ones; creating an unequal society. The political figures affect how the individuals see themselves; through many techniques including creating institutions, generating propaganda, having constant surveillance and interpellation of genders. I endeavour to examine each of these tools on their success to affect their victims and influence the society. Nineteen-Eighty Four is a dramatic novel which examines Orwell's speculation of a possible future under a communist-dominated regime. It eliminates freewill "there will be no thought, as we understand it now. Orthodoxy means not thinking-not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness."1 The political implications of seeing and being seen in 1984 is that due to constant surveillance and brainwashing, someone's perception of reality can be altered, so that they truly believe they are living in utopian society, which is actually dystopic. Through habit and
Orwell defended socialism in The Road to Wigan Pier.
Matthew Miller Prof. White History 1123 Final Essay Assignment Question 4 After experiencing the plight of the English working class during the world-wide economic slow down produced by the depression of the 1930s, Orwell concluded that the only solution to the problems faced by these masses of unemployed was a social and political philosophy that stressed co-operation. This philosophy was socialism. Orwell's own brand of socialism was not Marxist, or Leninist, nor was it philosophical or even economic. Socialism, for Orwell, meant decency and social justice. The class system of social distinctions ought not to be destroyed -- rather, all men and women should become even more aware of their class and their relationships with other classes. "All that is needed," wrote Orwell, "is to hammer two facts home into the public consciousness. One, that the interests of all exploited people are the same and the other, that socialism is compatible with common decency." Orwell defended socialism in The Road to Wigan Pier because he believed that the problems of the working class were caused by the greed of capitalism and that if the discontent of the era could not be turned into co-operation England would be enslaved into the tyranny of fascism. If Socialism becomes something 'large numbers of Englishmen genuinely care about', he declares, then 'the class-difficulty may solve itself
"Human interaction takes place primarily through language." Discuss the use of dialogue in works of your choice to test the cogency of this statement.
Orwell to Atwood - Assessed Essay "Human interaction takes place primarily through language." Discuss the use of dialogue in works of your choice to test the cogency of this statement. Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four are widely considered to be two of the most influential and exceptional novels of the twentieth century, above all because of the authors' revolutionary and unique use of language. Anthony Burgess intended the novel A Clockwork Orange, published in 1962, to be a study on free will and behaviourism, but its extraordinary use of language and the formidable character of Alex have gained cult status. This is similar to the way Nineteen Eighty-Four, published in 1949 became notorious for the way George Orwell uses language politically and to deceive and manipulate the people in Oceania, leading to a society in which the people unquestionably obey their government and mindlessly accept all propaganda as reality. When discussing the statement that "Human interaction takes place primarily through language", it is essential to take into account the most revolutionary features of A Clockwork Orange, which is the language used by the four "droogs". Rather than speaking a formal English, they use a dialect known as Nadsat, which when translated is the Russian suffix for 'teen'. At first glance, the vocabulary of anti-hero and
"Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell.
In the essay, "Shooting an Elephant," George Orwell describes an incident he had while working as an Imperial Police officer in Burma. A domesticated elephant had gone out of control and was ravaging a town. He was forced to make a decision on whether to follow the will of the natives, or to save the elephant's life. One of the themes George Orwell discusses about is "pressure". Social pressure has a tremendous influence on people. This pressure comes from friends, family, teachers, and society itself. In the essay, the natives living in the town did not like Orwell because he was a British. One day a domesticated elephant escaped its cage. It had killed a black Dravidian Coolie and was ravaging the natives' town. As an imperial police officer, Orwell was unquestionably expected by the natives to stop the elephant in anyway possible. By the time Orwell had tracked down the elephant, a large crowd had formed behind him. Orwell knew it was wrong to kill the elephant. He had not wanted to from the beginning. He had procured an elephant gun just in case he might need it. When he finally came upon the elephant, peacefully eating outside of town, it no longer posed a threat. "As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him. It is a serious matter to shoot a working elephant - it is comparable to destroying a huge and costly piece of
Consider George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-four from a Marxist perspective.
Jon Kinsella Theoretical & Critical Perspectives 15/2/2012 Consider George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four from a Marxist perspective. In Nineteen Eighty-four, Orwell purposely challenges the set of pre-established notions about class consciousness held in Marxism to accentuate his own socio-political values. Marx and Engels assert in their Communist Manifesto1 that, “Its [the upper class/bourgeoisie’s] fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable” and that “[The] organisation of the proletarians into a class, and consequently into a political party, is continually being upset again by the competition between the workers themselves. But it ever rises up again, stronger, firmer, mightier.”2 Marx and Engels’ clearly believe, in any oppressive and despotic society, the working class will ultimately become conscious of how it is being exploited and spark a revolution. However, in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell presents us with a unique situation, which purposefully and distinctively contrasts to that perspective by representing the working class ‘Proles’ as no threat whatsoever to the upper class “Inner Party” and “Big Brother’s” continuous totalitarian regime. “It is an abiding characteristic of the low that they are too much crushed by drudgery to be more than intermittently conscious of anything outside their daily