21
edits
Changes
Nineteen Eighty-Four (view source)
Revision as of 18:40, December 12, 2011
, 18:40, December 12, 2011Info on Orwell's insights
Though Orwell was deeply critical of communism, 1984 is not meant to be taken as a condemnation of all left-of-center ideologies, as evidenced by a quote from one of his essays: "My recent novel [Nineteen Eighty-Four] is NOT intended as an attack on Socialism or on the [[British Labour Party]] (of which I am a supporter) but as a show-up of the perversions ... which have already been partly realized in Communism and Fascism. ...The scene of the book is laid in Britain in order to emphasize that the English-speaking races are not innately better than anyone else and that totalitarianism, if not fought against, could triumph anywhere."<ref>''The Collected Essays: Journalism and Letters of George Orwell Volume 4,'' p. 546 </ref>
Though Orwell was deeply critical of communism, 1984 is not meant to be taken as a condemnation of all left-of-center ideologies, as evidenced by a quote from one of his essays: "My recent novel [Nineteen Eighty-Four] is NOT intended as an attack on Socialism or on the [[British Labour Party]] (of which I am a supporter) but as a show-up of the perversions ... which have already been partly realized in Communism and Fascism. ...The scene of the book is laid in Britain in order to emphasize that the English-speaking races are not innately better than anyone else and that totalitarianism, if not fought against, could triumph anywhere."<ref>''The Collected Essays: Journalism and Letters of George Orwell Volume 4,'' p. 546 </ref>
The book is, at its heart, in fact a condemnation of the ultra-liberal menace that arose in Europe at his time. In keeping with the steady move to a more conservative worldview he began before writing 1984, he uses the book to attack the intrusiveness and arrogance of big government. The fictional Oceanic dictatorship is the logical extreme of the liberal attitude towards government Orwell saw creeping in around him, both at home and abroad. The breakdown and perversion of home and family ties, the eradication of religion to make room for secular cult worship, the manipulation of language and history to suit the agenda of the day, and the use of deliberate economic strangulation in order to ensure compliance in the population were all tactics that Orwell predicted would come into play should an ultra-liberal government. One need only examine the regimes of [[Stalin]] and [[Kim Jong Il]] to see examples of Orwell-type dictatorships; atheism and state-worship forcibly substituted for religion, the deliberate starvation of all but the most elite members of society, even Orwell's nightmarish vision of sons spying on their parents for the state came true in the Soviet Union, and still persists in North Korea.
== Plot Summary ==
== Plot Summary ==
The structure of government in Oceania is sharply pyramidal; the mythical, probably non-existent Big Brother rests forever at the top of the pyramid, followed by the tiny Inner Party made up of only 1 million people. Then follows the larger Outer Party, and lastly the "proles," or the Proletariat, who make up, according to the novel, 95 percent of the population. Since Big Brother is probably only a personification of government, it is really the Inner Party which rules Oceania, making it an oligarchy. Goldstein's book refers to the system as "Oligarchical Collectivism." [[Conservative]] commentators have noted that the system Orwell describes seems like a parody of the worst aspects of [[liberalism]].
The structure of government in Oceania is sharply pyramidal; the mythical, probably non-existent Big Brother rests forever at the top of the pyramid, followed by the tiny Inner Party made up of only 1 million people. Then follows the larger Outer Party, and lastly the "proles," or the Proletariat, who make up, according to the novel, 95 percent of the population. Since Big Brother is probably only a personification of government, it is really the Inner Party which rules Oceania, making it an oligarchy. Goldstein's book refers to the system as "Oligarchical Collectivism." [[Conservative]] commentators have noted that the system Orwell describes seems like a parody of the worst aspects of [[liberalism]].
The government is horribly inefficient in all things except constant and oppressive surveillance over Party members. The proles are considered mindless and unimportant, and so are allowed to go free, kept occupied by trashy entertainment known as ''prolefeed.''
The government is horribly inefficient in all things except constant and oppressive surveillance over Party members. The proles are considered mindless and unimportant, and so are allowed to go free, kept occupied by trashy entertainment known as ''prolefeed.'' This is one of Orwell's many swipes at the news and entertainment industry, which was a haven for liberals even in the 1940's. Orwell once remarked that "no event is ever correctly reported in a newspaper,"<ref>http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/george_orwell.html</ref> and he was a known critic of the arts and television, which he considered to be a tool of the elite to spread liberalism and take the world towards a Big Brother-type society.
There are four "ministries" or sections of government: the Ministry of Truth, which primarily rewrites history (and in which Winston, the story's protagonist, is employed); the Ministry of Plenty, which squanders resources; the Ministry of Peace, which fuels the perpetual war with Eastasia or Eurasia by using these resources for war purposes; and finally the Ministry of Love, where Party enemies, usually those guilty of ''thoughtcrime,'' are tortured and brainwashed into loving the Party before eventually being killed. The novel describes the Ministry of Love as the most terrifying, as it has no windows and is surrounded by barbed wire and gorilla-like guards with truncheons.
Note that all of these names are heavily [[irony|ironic]]:
* The Ministry of Truth is in fact a ministry of deceit, where the Party maintains control over newspapers, television and historical records in a never-ending race to edit the past to conform to the attitudes of the present. This campaign of historical revisionism, usually the provenance of academics trying to "uncover" new information, is performed here by an army of Party members who knowingly edit the truth and fabricate people, dates and events whole cloth. It is unlikely the Orwell envisioned such behavior occurring in his own country so soon, see [[Climategate]].
*The Ministry of Plenty rations almost all food and drink, with the notable exception of cheap "Victory Gin." Orwell was very insightful to note the connection between heavy alcohol use and compliance to the whims of a "nanny state," especially when the government is the only source of food and money for the population. All other food products are of poor quality, made in government-owned factories that are constantly behind on schedule because of the (intentional) inefficiency of the government-run industries in Oceania. Orwell was almost eerily prescient to have had this insight, as in the following years [[Stalin]] proved just how far an ultra-liberal would go to starve his people into compliance.
*The Ministry of Peace conducts perpetual war, but intentionally sabotages its own forces so that the government can keep the people of Oceania in a state of fear. This state of fear makes it easier for the Big Brother government to control the populace and cement their dependency on the "generosity" of the Party. In the book, Smith postulates that the rocket bombs dropped daily on Airstrip One are not enemy weapons, but a false flag operation by the liberal government of Oceania to justify their continued state of paranoia and economic stagnation.
*The Ministry of Love deals with those who don't love Big Brother. Another insight of Orwell's is the sinister redefinition of the word love, from traditional definitions to ones decided on by the Party. The Party's meddling in the bonds of family leads to a population almost completely ignorant of anything resembling real love. The Ministry is in charge of correcting the thoughts of citizens who fall outside of the political orthodoxy of the Party's Big Brother ideology. This comes in forms both small and large, from chastising a person through the television screen for not exercising enough, to murdering a man for speaking in his sleep. The concept of [[political correctness]] is today enforced by the media and political activists, but because the rule of law prevents these people from kidnapping those whose opinions fall outside of their narrow viewpoint, they are forced to resort to character assassination and blackmail.
==Online version==
==Online version==