Taylor Leonhardt
Ms. Decker
English 12 Composition, 3rd hour
Final Essay Paper
May 12th, 2015
Big Brother is Watching You:
Looking at Government Control in a Utopian World The 1949 novel 1984, has changed the way people have viewed the government controlling the people. George Orwell, the author of 1984, had a very tough childhood which had a distinct influence on writings. There are many things that went into the writings of George Orwell, he used most of his time growing up writing and making up stories and talking to his imaginary friends. While George Orwell found his father to be boring and conservative, Orwell was a man of many words and loved to express his opinions on such ideas as imperialism, fascism, and communism: these ideas …show more content…
The major theme in the hit novel is language, the way Orwell illustrates the evil ways of the government in Oceania. Language is the central importance to behavior control. If the government could control the language in a 1984 consolidated state, the chance for rebellion would be eradicated. Government’s control on language limits thought and independency of the people. “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words. Of course the great wastage is in the verbs and adjectives, but there are hundreds of nouns that can be got rid of as well. It isn’t only the synonyms; there are also antonyms. After all, what justification is there for a word, which is simply the opposite of some other word?” This quote was said from a character in 1984, Winston, which relates to the destruction of civilization in Oceania. Removing a nation’s original language to reduce the importance of a civilizations past. The party that was in control of Oceania had a slogan they liked to tell the people of the land, it was “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” The slogan means that because the country was at war they can get away with murder, that you’re supposed to act as though your rights are simply a privilege that you have to earn, and that you must believe what the government tells you and you are not to question what they say. Along with language Orwell uses …show more content…
George made sure the reader knew what the people of Oceania were going through. The country was in a constant state of war. This war caused the people to have to ration out the food amongst them. The government set up telescreens in every part of the country that monitors the people’s every move. The government wants to be able to control the people’s behavior and communication. Not only do these telescreens monitor their behavior but it records them live with audio and visuals. With these telescreens being in place in virtually every place in Oceania there is absolutely no privacy for the people. Just like the slogan says “Ignorance is strength” the less they know and do the better off they are in the long hall from the evil people of the government controlling them. The war has also caused poor living conditions for the people of Oceania. The environment is very dismal and barren. The speech of the people is so restricted that there is entirely no originality left in the country. The setting makes everyone feel awfully discontent. Orwell did an immaculate job of describing what the poor people of Oceania had to suffer through while the government sat back, laughed, and controlled them like
Ms. Decker
English 12 Composition, 3rd hour
Final Essay Paper
May 12th, 2015
Big Brother is Watching You:
Looking at Government Control in a Utopian World The 1949 novel 1984, has changed the way people have viewed the government controlling the people. George Orwell, the author of 1984, had a very tough childhood which had a distinct influence on writings. There are many things that went into the writings of George Orwell, he used most of his time growing up writing and making up stories and talking to his imaginary friends. While George Orwell found his father to be boring and conservative, Orwell was a man of many words and loved to express his opinions on such ideas as imperialism, fascism, and communism: these ideas …show more content…
The major theme in the hit novel is language, the way Orwell illustrates the evil ways of the government in Oceania. Language is the central importance to behavior control. If the government could control the language in a 1984 consolidated state, the chance for rebellion would be eradicated. Government’s control on language limits thought and independency of the people. “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words. Of course the great wastage is in the verbs and adjectives, but there are hundreds of nouns that can be got rid of as well. It isn’t only the synonyms; there are also antonyms. After all, what justification is there for a word, which is simply the opposite of some other word?” This quote was said from a character in 1984, Winston, which relates to the destruction of civilization in Oceania. Removing a nation’s original language to reduce the importance of a civilizations past. The party that was in control of Oceania had a slogan they liked to tell the people of the land, it was “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” The slogan means that because the country was at war they can get away with murder, that you’re supposed to act as though your rights are simply a privilege that you have to earn, and that you must believe what the government tells you and you are not to question what they say. Along with language Orwell uses …show more content…
George made sure the reader knew what the people of Oceania were going through. The country was in a constant state of war. This war caused the people to have to ration out the food amongst them. The government set up telescreens in every part of the country that monitors the people’s every move. The government wants to be able to control the people’s behavior and communication. Not only do these telescreens monitor their behavior but it records them live with audio and visuals. With these telescreens being in place in virtually every place in Oceania there is absolutely no privacy for the people. Just like the slogan says “Ignorance is strength” the less they know and do the better off they are in the long hall from the evil people of the government controlling them. The war has also caused poor living conditions for the people of Oceania. The environment is very dismal and barren. The speech of the people is so restricted that there is entirely no originality left in the country. The setting makes everyone feel awfully discontent. Orwell did an immaculate job of describing what the poor people of Oceania had to suffer through while the government sat back, laughed, and controlled them like