What happens if we lose everything that defines us as us?
1984 truly delves into this scary concept as the Party removes everyone’s personal details so they are not able to establish their own identity. For example, even Winston does not know his own age, who his real parents are nor can he trust his own childhood memories as there are no photographs or evidences to help him differentiate between reality and imagination.
Aside from Winston, the rest of Oceania are also denied documents that could give them a sense of individuality and help them differentiate themselves from others . This causes their memories to grow fuzzy, thus making the people of Oceania vulnerable and dependent on the stories that the Party tells them.
In turn, by controlling the present, the Party can re-engineer the past. Simultaneously, by controlling the past, the Party can rationalise its shortcomings and project a perfect government that is far from the truth.
With no recollection of the past, the people of Oceania can no longer stay in touch with their real identities and instead, become identical as they wear the same uniform, drink the same brand of alcohol and more. Yet, Winston builds his own sense of identity through recording his thoughts, experiences and emotions in his diary. This act along with his relationship with Julia symbolises Winston’s declaration of his own independence and identity as a rebel who disagrees with the Party’s system.
Despite this, Winston’s own sense of individuality and identity dissolves after his torturous experience at the Ministry of Love, which transforms him into another member of the Outer Party who blends into the crowd. By asserting a dark vision of humanity’s individualism, Orwell urges audiences in the present to truly value their freedom to express and preserve their identity.
Here are some quotes that are related to this idea which you may find helpful:
Quote | Link to the Consequences of Totalitarianism |
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“Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present controls the past” | This slogan from the Party reveals that by rewriting history, the Party can justify their actions and systems in the present. Alternatively, by controlling the present, they can choose to manipulate history however they like. |
“What appealed to [Winston] about [the coral paperweight] was not so much its beauty as the air it seemed to possess of belonging to an age quite different to the present one” | This quote from Winston represents his act of rebellion which helps him to assert his own independence in determining what he likes or does not like that are outside of the Party’s influence. |
“And when memory failed and written records were falsified… the claim of the Party to have improved the conditions of human life had go to be accepted, because there did not exist, and never again could exist.” | This quote represents Winston’s realisation that the Party purposefully erodes people’s memories of the past to disable their sense of identity and gain full control of their sense of self. |
Of course, 1984 also includes other themes that you may be thinking about writing analysis for, such as:
Check out our recommended related text for 1984 .
Analysing your text is always the first step to writing an amazing essay! Lots of students make the mistake of jumping right into writing without really understanding what the text is about.
This leads to arguments that only skim the surface of the complex ideas, techniques and elements of the text. So, let’s build a comprehensive thesis through an in-depth analysis of the 1984.
Here are three easy steps that you can use to analyse 1984 and really impress your English teachers!
1984 is a world of its own with its totalitarian systems, use of foreign words and more. So, we totally understand if you’re feeling lost and don’t know where to begin.
Our piece of advice is to look for examples that come with a technique. Techniques offer you a chance to delve into the text’s underlying meaning, which would help you deepen your analysis and enrich your essay writing.
Find our extensive list of quotes from 1984 by George Orwell!
Here are two quotes that relate to consequences of totalitarian power, which we have picked to help you visualise which examples can provide a deeper meaning:
“Big Brother is Watching You.” “WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”
Getting a good grade in English is more than listing out every technique that you can find in the text. Instead, it’s about finding techniques that allow you to dive deeper into the themes you’re focussing on, while also supporting your argument.
Try to look for techniques that allow you to explain its effects and link to your argument such as symbols, metaphors, connotations, similes and historical allegories . In Orwell’s case, he uses a lot of language techniques such as neologism, where he makes up his own words such as “Doublethink” or “Newspeak”.
For the two quotes above, its three techniques include historical allusion, rhetoric and oxymoron.
If possible, you can look out for a quote that encompasses a few techniques to really pack a punch in your analysis.
Once you’re done collecting your examples and techniques, the next part is writing. You must remember to explain what the effect of the technique is and how it supports your argument. Otherwise, it’s not going to be a cohesive essay if you’re just listing out techniques.
An example of listing out techniques looks like this:
“The rhetoric “Big Brother is Watching You” is also a historical allusion while “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery and Ignorance is Strength” is oxymoronic.”
Instead, you must elaborate on how each of these techniques link to your argument.
“Big Brother is Watching You” is a rhetoric imposed by the Party to instil psychological fear and submission of the people of Oceania, whereby Orwell uses to warn the dangers of totalitarianism. “Big Brother” is also a historical allusion to Hitler to remind the audience that 1984 is not entirely fictional but a possible future of our reality, urging us to take action against totalitarian regimes with the autonomy we have now.
Meanwhile, the slogan ““WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” represents the oxymoronic mentalities that have been indoctrinated into the people of Oceania, highlighting how totalitarian regimes would force its people to think whatever they want their people to think, no matter how illogical it is.
Together, your analysis should look something like:
The Party perpetuates the rhetoric, “Big Brother is Watching You” to instil psychological fear and coercion of the the people of Oceania, which forewarns a lack of individual freedom and private reflection within authoritarian regimes. As “Big Brother” is a historical allusion to Hitler, Orwell reminds the audience that 1984 and its extremist politics is a reality, urging us to defend our independence before it’s forbidden. Furthermore, the slogan “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength” embodies the oxymoronic mentalities that the Party indoctrinates into its people, revealing the extreme extent of psychological control an authoritarian regime strives to ensure their power is never questioned, no matter how irrational it is.
Check out other texts we’ve created guides for below:
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PR6029 .R8 N5346 1971 | Available |
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COMMENTS
As Orwell was writing 1984 in 1948, television was just emerging from the developmental hiatus forced upon the broadcasting industry by World War II. Many people were worried, in the late 1940s ...
Winston knows that life is not meant to be lived as it is in Oceania, and he tries to construct his ideal society out of fragments of dreams, nursery rhymes, and his love for Julia. Their affair ...
The Setting of 1984 by George Orwell. 2 pages / 691 words. George Orwell's novel 1984 presents a dystopian society ruled by a totalitarian regime known as the Party. The novel is set in the year 1984 (hence the title) in the fictional city of Airstrip One, which is a part of the superstate Oceania.
As Orwell put it in his essay ... His talent lay not in original imaginative thinking but in clear-headed critical analysis of things as they are: his essays are a prime example of this. ... 1984 is a novel which is great in spite of itself and has been lionised for the wrong reasons. The title of the novel is a simple anagram of 1948, the date ...
Critical Evaluation. Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of the keenest pieces of satire to be written in the twentieth century. It was George Orwell's last novel, written between 1946 and 1949 and ...
1984 essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of 1984 by George Orwell. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes.
Essays for 1984. 1984 essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of 1984 by George Orwell. The Reflection of George Orwell; Totalitarian Collectivism in 1984, or, Big Brother Loves You; Sex as Rebellion; Class Ties: The Dealings of Human Nature Depicted through Social ...
1984's key literary devices explained and sortable by chapter. 1984: Theme Wheel. An interactive data visualization of 1984's plot and themes. ... Prior to writing Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell wrote and published essays on Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932), Jack London's The Iron Heel ...
In my 20s, I discovered Orwell's essays and nonfiction books and reread them so many times that my copies started to disintegrate, but I didn't go back to 1984. Since high school, I'd lived ...
Critical Overview. When 1984 was published, critics were impressed by the sheer power of George Orwell's grim and horrifying vision of the future. They praised Orwell's gripping prose, which ...
Essay Analysis of 1984 1984 by George Orwell Summary & Key Messages The Politics of Oceania. 1984 belongs in the dystopian, science fiction genre as it explores the dangers of corrupted power under a totalitarian regime. Totalitarianism is a government system that dictates how its citizens think, ...
1984 / V.S. Pritchett; Orwell on the Future / Lionel Trilling; 1984 : the mysticism of cruelty / Isaac Deutscher; 1984 : history as nightmare / Irving Howe ... A collection of reviews and critical essays about George Orwell's classic dystopian novel, "1984." Subjects. Subjects Orwell, George, 1903-1950. Nineteen eighty-four.
the Cold War struggle against communism, and Orwell has been celebrated by many as a critic of the Red Menace. Conservatives thus primarily read 1984 and Orwell's other popular fantasy Animal Farm (1946) as attacks on communism and use the texts to warn people against its evils. Orwell's reception and use by the Left, however, is more complicated.
Isaac Deutscher's 1955 essay, "1984—The Mysticism of Cruelty," may be derided by Orwell's defenders but as a summary of the reception and recycling of Nineteen Eighty-Four, it has no equal ...
1984. Critical Commentary. There are relatively few good essays concerning 1984 specifically, and to date there has, at least in the opinion of the author of the present study, been no definitive critical biography or critical study of George Orwell. The material on the relation of James Burnham's The Managerial Revolution to 1984 is of major ...
Critical essays on Orwell's 1984. An overview of 1984 Another overview of 1984 Guardian of the Human Spirit': The Moral Foundation of Nineteen Eighty-Four The Hell of Nineteen Eighty-Four Truth and Freedom in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four Utopia as Nightmare Discipline and its Discontents.
Nineteen Eighty-Four (also published as 1984) is a dystopian novel and cautionary tale by English writer George Orwell.It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final book completed in his lifetime. Thematically, it centres on the consequences of totalitarianism, mass surveillance, and repressive regimentation of people and behaviours within society.
Essays and criticism on George Orwell's 1984 - Critical Context. Select an area of the website to search. Search this site Go Start an essay Ask ... "1984 - Critical Context."
Dive deep into George Orwell's 1984 with extended analysis, commentary, and discussion. Select an area of the website to search ... Critical Essays Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult ...