A Literary Analysis of the Novel 1984 by George Orwell

In 1948, Gorge Orwell narrated The Nineteen Eighty-Four, a dystopian novel. It was first seen and later published in 1949. The novel portrays a totalitarian utopian society in which all people are constantly brainwashed and compelled to be fair. The characters in the novel are made to work for Big Brother without any freedom because their rights have been violated. In the book, the party suppresses the people’s thoughts by calling them equal, as well as instilling distrust in them by stringent rules and propaganda in order to prevent them from protesting (Orwell 102). Nineteen Eighty Four is a novel that is full of literary devices, and languages used to distort people’s minds and execute propaganda to stifle their thoughts.

The party uses the words Doublespeak and newspeak which are used to obscure the actual meaning of words, and to condense people’s thoughts respectively. By explaining how these linguistic devices were used to suppress people’s intelligence, Orwell can warn the society about the possible community with totalitarian control. Orwell uses the Protagonists life and experiences to warn about a future totalitarian government that will brainwash its citizens as Winston was brainwashed. Initially, he was against the Big Brother’s ideas, but after he was arrested, tortured and brainwashed, he likes Big Brothers ideas, and he sees nothing wrong with The Party. Orwell also warns us how a totalitarian government can influence its citizens through Winston’s experiences. In the book, Lies and false information controls the people in the 1984 world. The people are meant to believe lies, and since they are under surveillance, they are forced to conform to the strict laws set by the big brother. Orwell shows how The Party uses propaganda as a weapon of control. Through this Orwell warns us of how propaganda can be used in the future world to suppress people’s rights as it will make them believe in what the ruling party tells them.

George Orwell uses symbolism in his book to warn us of our possible future in his book 1984. There is a famous phrase in the novel “Big Brother is watching,” which symbolizes that; the ruler of the party is watching people’s movements (Orwell 112). Big Brother was the face of the party, and the people were made to believe that, he is watching them in every step they make. In this government, the people are only to follow the rules and laws that the Big Brother gives, or else they are imprisoned. George Orwell is trying to present a future government whereby, the people will continuously be watched by the Big brother.

The entire book is full of symbolism which the author uses to show how the government was totalitarian, and the people had no say. Also, Orwell uses the Symbol “Big Brother is watching” to instill fear in the people of the 1984 world. The symbol was everywhere, and it impressed a lot of fear in the people since they knew they are being watched and they feared for their lives. The words were first seen by Winston when he was taken to the Victory Mansion, the word was all over the place on posters, and it was used to make the people to fear the government and to do all the Party ordered them to do.

The poster was a propaganda the Party used to instill fear in the people by making them believe that, big brother was tracking all their movements. Therefore, the author used the symbolism of the posters on “Big Brother is watching” in order to warn the future society of how they will be suppressed by propaganda that they are being watched. However, this was just to repress their thoughts and actions against a possible totalitarian government.

He presents a society whereby the people are controlled and monitored even in their own houses. Through his characters, Orwell is able to show the dangers of such a society, and it is a clear warning to the society that they should be ready for such a government. George Orwell was able to accomplish his mission of warning the world of a future totalitarian government. He used excellent symbolism, events, the protagonist and the antagonist to make it possible. Through his imaginations, and the use of technology and the protagonist, Orwell was able to show the dangers of a totalitarian government to the future society (Orwell 205).

Conclusion

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a book that was intended to be a prediction of the future governments. It is a political novel that is to warn the society about the dangers of an authoritarian regime. The author wrote this book as an alarm to the community of a government with absolute power. Orwell uses symbolism, the protagonists, and the antagonists to view his opinion about the future possibilities of a new world order and a totalitarian government. Orwell wrote this book as a warning of a possible totalitarian next government. The book is a story about a man’s struggle against a tyrannical government which used technology to discover the thoughts of those against it and punishes them.

Work Cited

Orwell, George, and Dennis Glover. Nineteen eighty-Four. Black Inc., 2017.