Synopsis
1984 is a warning to the western world of the threat of totalitarianism. Orwell a graduate from Eton and open socialist illustrates the ease of being indoctrinated by the regime. With many references to Soviet Russia, Orwell exposes the possibility of a society brainwashed by the revolution, in which Marxist ideology is manipulated into forming a totalitarian state. Winston a normal man within ' Oceania' takes the reader on a journey in which he breaks away from the regime and questions everything. From love to obsession, individualism to indoctrination - Orwell exposes the brutality of the future. Written in 1949, during the aftermath of world war two Orwell analyses the totalitarian governments of Russia, Japan, Germany, and Italy and uses them as a basis for his dystopian society. 1984 illustrates not only political theory but also the power of history and the raw brutality of human nature. Embedded with discomfort 1984, illustrates the biggest warning of the future to come.
'' Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard the revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the Dictatorship''
Analysis
The themes of 1984 include Subversion of Reality, propaganda, and stripping of individualism. Looking from a Marxist perspective 1984 is open to interpretations. In order to boost the underlining meaning of 1984, it is important to read the communist manifesto which illustrates how communism has been manipulated within the society of Oceania. What makes 1984 so disturbing is the fact it is based on reality.For example, 2 + 2 = 5 was a real political slogan from the Soviet Union, a promise to complete the industrialising Five-Year Plan in four years. Orwell uses the slogan here to demonstrate the authoritarian tendency to suspending reality. Orwell himself had fought against fascism in the Spanish civil war of 1936. This influenced his hatred for totiliatarnism. However the main thing which 1984 is revolved around is soviet Russia. In 1984, Goldstein is the stand-in for Leon Trotsky, Additionally,1984 was written three years after the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Orwell references nuclear-powered wars happening in different parts of the world. For Orwell and many of his age 1984 is not a ' what if' but a ' when'. With Orwell taking inspiration from world conflicts, different regimes of the 40's he creates a society in which in a matter of time is bound to happen. By 1984 being written when Orwell was in ' his end of life stage' the writing becomes even more disturbing. With rumours he worked for British intelligence and wrote what they told him in a form of fiction further increase the discomfort of the novel. In a world today rehabilitated by the horrors of the second world war, Orwell reminds us that the future is coming.
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