George Orwell (1903-1950)

Life Born Eric Blair in India in 1903, he was the son of a minor colonial official. He was educated at Eton, in England, where he began to develop an independent-minded personality, indifference to accepted values, and professed atheism and socialism. On leaving college, he started to work for the Indian Imperial Police in Burma (1922-1927) but he hated it and and returned to England Once back, he devoted himself to writing full time, publishing his works with the pseudonym of George Orwell.

Works Down and Out in Paris and London (1933)  a non-fiction narrative in which he described his experience among the poor. Burmese Days (1934)  based on his experiences in the colonial service. The Road to Wigan Pier (1937)  a report on the conditions of miners in the industrial North.

Homage to Catalonia (1938)  based on his experience during the Spanish Civil War. Animal Farm (1945)  made him internationally known and financially secure. Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)  his most original novel.

The artist’s development Rejection of his English background  he accepted new ideas and impressions. Conflict between middle-class education and emotional identification with the working class. The role of the artist  to inform, to reveal facts and draw conclusions from them  social function. George Orwell.

Social themes Influence of Dickens in the choice of: social themes realistic language misery caused by poverty depravation of society Criticism of totalitarianism, the violation of liberty and tyranny in all its forms. George Orwell while working for the BBC.

Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984 was published in 1949 and is a dystopian novel about a collectivist totalitarian oligarchy called Oceania London, in the mythical country of Oceania is  a desolated city governed by terror and the constant control of BIG BROTHER. He leads The Party, which is closely patterned after Soviet Bolsheviks 

Ranking order in Oceania Oceania is a huge country ruled by The Party which controls everything: Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Love slogan ‘freedom is slavery’ (Chapter 1) The Inner Party (1% of population) controls the country. The Outer Party (18% of population) is controlled by the Inner Party. The Proles (81% of population) are the labour power who live in poverty. They are not as rigidly observed as members of the party, and very few (if any) have telescreens in their home. They are permitted to indulge in pornography, prostitution, and other acts considered thoughtcrime. Plus, allowing them to indulge in these "little joys" helps to keep the masses content. The Brotherhood is an underground rebel organisation led by Emmanuel Goldstein.

PLOT The world of Nineteen Eighty-Four is based upon two totalitarian dictatorships, Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. The novel opens with the protagonist, Winston Smith, committing thoughtcrime by keeping an illegal diary which describes his nightmarish life and hatred of The Party.

He falls in love with a woman named Julia who also hates The Party. Eventually they both attempt to join an anti-Party group called The Brotherhood and this leads to some major problems for Winston and Julia. This eventually leads to his arrest and torture in the dreaded “Room 101.”

Winston is tortured in a number of ways : starvation, deprivation, betraying his secret love, being threatened to. After some time, Winston is transferred to a more comfortable room and the torture eases. He gains weight and is allowed to write on a small slate. He comes to the conclusion that he was foolish to oppose the Party alone, and tries to make himself believe in Party slogans. He writes on his slate “FREEDOM IS SLAVERY,” “TWO AND TWO MAKE FIVE,” and “GOD IS POWER. ” One day, in a sudden, passionate fit of misery, Winston screams out Julia’s name many times, terrifying himself. Though he knows that crying out in this way will lead O’Brien to torture him, he realizes his deep desire to continue hating the Party. He tries to bottle up his hatred so that even he will not recognize it. Therefore, when the Party kills him, he will die hating Big Brother—a personal victory. 

A frightening picture of the future A dystopian novel Like Stalin, Adolph Hitler denied his subjects access to the truth. His Third Reich “can be read as a war against memory – an Orwellian falsification of reality...” (Primo Levi) A frightening picture of the future The Party controls everything: Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Love slogan ‘freedom is slavery’ (Chapter 1)

No privacy: TELESCREEN ‘[…] an oblong metal plaque like a dulled mirror. The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound […] would be picked by it’ (Chapter 1)

A perpetual state of war: Two Minutes Hate The Party provides for everything: ‘..some necessary article which the Party shops were unable to supply’ (Chapter 5) Punishment against the rebels The British first edition cover. ‘I have it in my power to inflict pain on you at any moment and to whatever degree I choose’ (Chapter 2) Poster for the film ‘1984’.

Newspeak is the official language of Oceania. The goal of the Party is to have Newspeak replace Oldspeak (standard English). Newspeak eliminates undesirable words and invents new words – all to force Party conformity. Language is reduced, so that thoughts are also reduced Aim: to eliminate literature, thoughts and consciousness. “ we will make thoughtcrime virtually impossible, because there will be no words to express it.” The Party’s motto in Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Doublethink Doublethink is the manipulation of the mind by making people accept contradictions. Doublethink makes people believe that the Party is the only institution that knows right from wrong. The Ministry of Truth (where Winston works) changes history, facts and memories to promote Doublethink  historical reference to Stalin’s will to change history. One of Winston’s jobs is to change the past so that it “fits into” the present beliefs of those in power. Even personal history is worthless.

The protagonist: Winston Smith The name “Smith” is the commonest English surname so the hero is a sort of Everyman. “Winston” evokes Churchill’s patriotic appeals during the Second World War: “blood, sweat and tears”. His experience alienation from society rebellion against the Party search for spiritual and moral integrity In the first two parts of the novel, Winston expresses Orwell’s point of view.

Characters: Big Brother Big Brother is the perceived ruler of Oceania  he looks like a combination of Hitler and Stalin. Big Brother’s God-like image is stamped on coins and projected on telescreens  his gaze is unavoidable.

Characters: Julia Julia is Winston’s 25-year-old lover. She is a beautiful, dark-haired woman who enjoys sex and claims she has had affairs with many Party members. She is optimistic and her rebellion is small and personal.

Importance of memory and trust Themes Importance of memory and trust Abolition of privacy, individuality and reality Satire against hierarchical societies prohibition of sex. destruction of history. In the society Orwell imagines, people could not: – Love who they want – Work where they want – Walk where they want – Eat what they want – Write anything down – Weren't allowed to have memories Big Brother poster from ‘1984’, a 1956 film directed by Michael Anderson.

Style and tone Documentary realism: ‘his body was being wrenched out of shape, the joints were being slowly torn apart’ (Chapter 2) Parody and satire Pessimistic tone  No consolation, but cruel reality.  The author sympathises with persecuted people.

Author’s aim To inform. To reveal facts and draw conclusions from them. To give an interpretation of reality.

PROPAGANDA

Nineteen eightyfour

Comparing……………………

Performer - Culture&Literature George Orwell appears to have taken this 1941 speech and used it, along with his own experiences at the BBC, to create by reversal, the four key ministries of government in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Each is focused on an object in exquisite irony, utterly antithetical to its name so that: The Ministry of Truth is concerned with lies. The Ministry of Truth as a Ministry of Lies would also be a parody of the first of the four freedoms: "freedom of speech."  "The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war," wrote Orwell. A few years earlier, Roosevelt had described the fourth of his freedoms as being "freedom from fear." Reality said otherwise and so did Orwell in describing the "Ministry of Peace. " the Ministry of Love," wrote Orwell, was in reality concerned "with torture." The second of the four freedoms addressed the issue of religion. If "God is love" then the"Ministry of Love" could be interpreted as mocking that ideal as well. Finally, Orwell described the "Ministry of Plenty" as dealing in reality "with starvation." The third of Roosevelts four freedoms addressed the issue of freedom from want. Orwell seems to have heard these words with a sarcastic mindset. Performer - Culture&Literature