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

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Orwell & Marx Animalism vs. Marxism

Orwell & Marx Animalism vs. Marxism ³Every line I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism, quotes George Orwell in the preface to the 1956 Signet Classic edition of Animal Farm. The edition, which sold several millions copies, however, omitted the rest of the sentence: and for democratic Socialism, as I understand it.² It is in Animal Farm, written in 1944 but not published until after World War Two in 1945, which Orwell offers a political and social doctrine whose ideas and ideols can be seen in all of his proceeding works. In an essay published in the summer of 1946 entitled Why I Write,² Orwell claimed to have been motivated over the preceding ten years by a desire to make political writing into an art.² In the essay, he states that in Animal Farm he had for the first time in his writing career consciously tried to achieve this goal ‹ to harmonize political concerns with artistry² (Twayne, 17). Orwell, however, for reasons such as the omitted portion of his preface and misreadings of his novels, has been mislabeled a traitor of Socialism or a hero to the right wing by theorists and critics. His book, besides a parody of Stalinist Russia, intends to show that Russia was not a true democratic Socialist country. Looked at carefully, Animal Farm is a criticism of Karl Marx as well as a novel perpetuating his convictions

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Write on the corruption of language as a theme and fear in Dystopian fiction

Write on the corruption of language as a theme and fear in Dystopian fiction In the Dystopian fiction of Huxley and Orwell, language is a central function in their critique of utopias: societies formed in subservience to ideology. As ideas have been seen to usurp reality, then language is seen to overcome thought. Thus Dystopian fiction also articulates a very contemporary fear (which developed into Postmodernism) that language, although the very core structure of perception, is - in the last analysis - without absolute foundation. Once language is manipulated, then reality becomes fluid too: language, as the route to a dictatorship of consciousness, shows that he who controls the word, controls the world. Dystopian fiction takes this pairing of language and society in their controlled, Utopian forms, and uses it not only to question the consequences of ideological idealism, but to posit an even more worrying possibility about 'real' society. Crucial to the concept of the Dystopian novel is the anti-hero. Both Orwell and Huxley are careful to make their protagonists misfits. The physical weakness of Bernard is a direct analogue for the insipid, aging body of Winston. Both are given to solitary, socially marginalised (and hence secretive) pursuits. Bernard is treated with mistrust because he does not participate in the liberated sexual play. In the more sinister society of

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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1984 - George Orwell

"On each landing, opposite the lift shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran." (Orwell 4 "Nineteen"). George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four presents a negative utopian picture, a society ruled by rigid totalitarianism. The government which Orwell creates in his novel is ruled by an entity known as Big Brother and consists of three branches. The Ministry of Truth, overseeing the distribution of propaganda and other printed materials, the Ministry of War, the millitary unit, and the Ministry of Love, the law enforcement division, make up the government. The main character, Winston Smith, does not completely accept the ideology that is fed to him by the government, through the concept of Big Brother. When one examines George Orwell's life, it can be clearly seen that he personifies his political perceptions, social and aesthetic characteristics, and self-examination of his own writing, through Winston Smith, in Nineteen Eighty-Four. Orwell's political perceptions, especially his skepticism of mass media, are given life through Winston Smith. Spending time working for the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), Orwell experienced many distorted truths and propaganda (Woodcock 9). This led to an intense

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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A.J.P Taylor : A Controversial Historian.

ID Number: 200142100 HIST 101 Summative Essay Topic: A.J.P Taylor: A Controversial Historian 'As an historian, Taylor was constantly let down by his impulse to show off: it led him to sensationalise, and thereby to trivialise, his subject.' Discuss Alan Taylor was one of the leading and arguably one of the most famous if not the most famous historian of the twentieth century. His narrative style of writing won him much praise and criticism. He was once quoted as saying, when speaking of one of his most greatest works English History 1914 - 1945, 'The first function of an historian was to answer the child's question, "What happened next?"'1 In many peoples eyes he was seen as an historian of the people. Taylor was an enormously charismatic and authoritative figure, he was fiercely articulate, intelligent and authoritative. He was widely read, it has been estimated he read over 7,100 books between 1914 and 1985,2 he had a retentive and analytical mind. He was renowned for his quickness, he gained this reputation from the many debates he took part him. However this quickness, lead many to believe he was rather superficial, he did not probe deeply enough into his subjects, which leads us to the question of whether he did trivialise his subjects through his exhibitionist nature. In order to answer this question, one ought to look at three of Taylor's most famous works,

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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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

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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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

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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"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

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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George Orwell: Rebel to Patriot

Amber Boyd 5-10-02 George Orwell: Rebel to Patriot When the Spanish Civil war broke out, George Orwell was very much a political rebel. Orwell was a Democratic Socialist in England during a time when Socialism was not accepted. He joined the Spanish militia to help fight the fascist coup when the English government would do nothing to help the Spanish democratic government. Events that occurred while Orwell was in Spain, as described in Homage to Catalonia, and after he returned home caused Orwell to question his political views and the views he held toward his own country. These new, more patriotic, attitudes are expressed in the essay England, Your England. When Orwell arrived in Barcelona, a form of socialism had taken hold of the area. Orwell described it as such, "It was the first time that I had ever been in a town where the working class was in the saddle. In outward appearance it was a town in which the wealthy classes had practically ceased to exist." Orwell's immediate reaction to the situation was to find it odd, even dislike it, but at the same time, find it "worth fighting for." The Spanish militia was organized in a similar classless way. Everyone from private to general received the same pay, lived in the same conditions, and shared what little they had. Orwell gave part of the credit for success of socialism's early stages in Spain to the Spanish

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Analysis of "Animal Farm" By - George Orwell -

"Animal Farm" By - George Orwell - Sitting in front of my computer and reflecting about a historical representation, where I should bring in evidence it's political underlying, which of course is one and the same with its author's political views. I thought about this animated movie that I saw long time ago and later read the book from which originated, during my high school years," The Animal Farm" of George Orwell, a book that I should say I loved it . The story of the book is related to a true eveniment that happened in Russia and later would change not only the history of the country but of the entire world, where everyone had a different sentiment about what was happening and expressing it in also in many different ways. George Orwell decides to write a book where he will express his ideas and opinions by using one of the oldest weapons in the history of literature the language of Aesop; Symbology and Satire. George Orwell gives a very vivid and accurate account of what happened in Russia after Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate .Being a satire, most of the characters and events have a parallel in Stalinist Russia. Minor characters in the story also symbolize things that are very relevant to the history of Russia. Mr. Jones is the embodiment of the old government, of the monarchy where the autocrat takes all without giving anything; he is the last of the

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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