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 |
---|---|
“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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1984 study guide.
In 1984 , George Orwell presents his vision of dystopia, a world consisting of three massive totalitarian states constantly at war with each other and using technological advancements to keep their respective Party members and masses under careful observation and control. Written in 1948 and published in 1949, this novel is often touted as one of the greatest novels written in the English language.
In writing the work, Orwell was influenced and inspired by totalitarian regimes of the time, including Hitler's Nazi Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union. Both regimes glorified their respective leaders as demi-gods and saviors, required the destruction of all individuality in order to promote the Party's needs over the individual's, demanded absolute loyalty from their citizens, and resorted to violence whenever disloyalty was suspected. Moreover, both regimes consistently demonized their enemies, just as the Party and Big Brother do in 1984 , through the Two Minutes Hate, Hate Week, and daily mass propaganda. Other parallels include the Thought Police as a reinvention of the Gestapo, NKVD (People's Comissariat for Internal Affairs), which orchestrated large scale purges and terror, and the Spies and Youth League as a reinvention of the Hitler Youth and the Little Octoberists, which indoctrinated young people to the Party and encouraged them to report disloyalty observed in their elders, even among family members.
The similarities between 1984 's Oceania and Stalin's regime are particularly striking. Like Stalin, the Oceanian government embraces characteristics of both fascist and communist authoritarianism: the former glorifies the wisdom of the leader, and the latter, the infallibility of the Party. We can see both trends in 1984 , where Big Brother (albeit apparently a fictitious entity) is worshipped as a wise and loving leader, and the Party is practically structured around its own supposed infallibility. In addition, many of the particulars of the Oceanian system, such as the Three-Year Plans and the forced labor camps, appear to be thinly veiled allusions to aspects of Stalin's rule. It is even often suggested that Oceania's Big Brother, with his dark hair and heavy mustache, is inspired by the larger-than-life images of Josef Stalin's visage so commonly seen in the Soviet Union.
Orwell's time working with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma introduced him to the shameful activities of the British in the Far East, and appears to have encouraged his exploration of the lives of the urban poor. After returning to Europe, Orwell continued to focus on this subject and began to develop a vague distrust of machine-age capitalist society that later blossomed into a firm adherence to Socialism, bolstered by his time working with the revolutionary Marxist POUM (Partido Obrero de Unificacion Marxista, or Worker's Party of Marxist Unification), the dissident faction of the Spanish Communist party. However, when the Stalin-backed Communists turned on their far-left anarchist allies and labeled POUM pro-fascist, Orwell fled to avoid prison, or worse, death. This experience taught Orwell the danger of abandoning true Socialist revolutionary ideals, and he developed both a fixation on totalitarianism and an abhorrence for Stalinist Communism, both of which are clearly expressed in 1984 . World War II's introduction of totalitarianism through fascist and communist regimes solidified Orwell's hatred of the ideology.
During the war, Orwell was equally unimpressed by his experience in Britain. From 1940-1943, Orwell was employed by the BBC, under the control of the British Ministry of Information, which served as inspiration for Winston's position at the Ministry of Truth, and perhaps for Newspeak. In this capacity, Orwell witnessed the propagation of stories glorifying Britain's triumphs while the British Empire was simultaneously steadily declining. This type of disconnect between reality and the information disseminated to the public clearly makes its way into the novel.
It is unclear to what extent Orwell believed 1984 to be an accurate prediction of the future, but many critics agree that he wrote the book as a warning to modern society of the damage that can come from embracing totalitarian regimes. The novel mourns the loss of personal identity while demonstrating how to effectively rid a person of their independence, particularly through extensive sexual repression and the prohibition of individual thought. Many of the concepts and themes presented in 1984 have steadily made their way into the common vernacular. For instance, the phrase "Big Brother" is often used to refer to the advancement and expansion of technology used to observe and record behavior, such as video cameras placed on city streets and government monitoring of phone and Internet communication. The adjective "Orwellian" is also commonly used to describe such real-world developments reminiscent of 1984 .
Orwell wrote 1984 while seriously ill with tuberculosis, and afterward commented that had he not been so ill, the book might not have been so bleak. To his consternation, after its publication, 1984 was used as propaganda itself, especially by Western forces in post-World War II Germany. Much later, there were many attempts to censor the novel, particularly on the grounds that it contains pro-Communist material and sexual references. The book has also been adapted to both television shows and movies, and has served as inspiration for a variety of other artistic endeavors, such as David Bowie's Diamond Dogs album, which includes a song titled 1984 .
The Question and Answer section for 1984 is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.
Describe O’Briens apartment and lifestyle. How do they differ from Winston’s?
From the text:
It was only on very rare occasions that one saw inside the dwelling-places of the Inner Party, or even penetrated into the quarter of the town where they lived. The whole atmosphere of the huge block of flats, the richness and...
What was the result of Washington exam
Sorry, I'm not sure what you are asking here.
how is one put into the inner or outer party in the book 1984
The Outer Party is a huge government bureaucracy. They hold positions of trust but are largely responsible for keeping the totalitarian structure of Big Brother functional. The Outer Party numbers around 18 to 19 percent of the population and the...
1984 study guide contains a biography of George Orwell, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
1984 essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of 1984 by George Orwell.
Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on George Orwell's 1984 . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
1984: plot summary, 1984: detailed summary & analysis, 1984: themes, 1984: quotes, 1984: characters, 1984: symbols, 1984: literary devices, 1984: theme wheel, brief biography of george orwell.
Other books related to 1984.
Outspoken Anti-Communist. Orwell didn't just write literature that condemned the Communist state of the USSR. He did everything he could, from writing editorials to compiling lists of men he knew were Soviet spies, to combat the willful blindness of many intellectuals in the West to USSR atrocities.
Working Title. Orwell's working title for the novel was The Last Man in Europe .
94 pages • 3 hours read
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Introduction
Before Reading
Reading Context
During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
After Reading
Discussion/Analysis Prompt
Exam Questions
Exam Answer Key
Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.
Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.
Scaffolded Essay Questions
Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the play over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.
1. A text’s atmosphere is a feeling created through the details and language used to describe setting.
2. Winston believes that there is something essentially different about the impact the Party has on proles versus the impact it has on Party members.
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Short-Answer Quizzes Part 1, Chapter 1 Questions and Answers Part 1, Chapter 2 Questions and Answers ... "1984 - Suggested Essay Topics." MAXnotes to 1984, edited by Dr. M. Fogiel, ...
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.
The Three Important Aspects of the Fictional World in "1984" by George Orwell. The Verbal and Situation Irony in George Orwell's "1984". Understanding Dystopia in "1984" by George Orwell and "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood. The Government's Suppression of Freedom in "1984" by George Orwell.
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 ...
5. Cutting down the choice of words diminishes the range of thought. 6. The "A" vocabulary consists of words needed for everyday life, words already in existence. 7. The "A" vocabulary ...
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "1984" by George Orwell. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
We can help you master your essay analysis of 1984 by taking you through the summary, context, key characters and themes. We'll also help you ace your upcoming English assessments with personalised lessons conducted one-on-one in your home or online! We've supported over 8,000 students over the last 11 years, and on average our students ...
1984 Study Guide. In 1984, George Orwell presents his vision of dystopia, a world consisting of three massive totalitarian states constantly at war with each other and using technological advancements to keep their respective Party members and masses under careful observation and control. Written in 1948 and published in 1949, this novel is ...
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 ...
The best study guide to 1984 on the planet, from the creators of SparkNotes. Get the summaries, analysis, and quotes you need. ... but Orwell insisted that they were critiques of totalitarian ideas in general, and warned that the nightmarish conditions he depicted could take place anywhere. ... Prior to writing Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell ...
Background. George Orwell's classic 1984 is one of the best known dystopian books, at once an exploration of human nature as well as a warning about the dangers of centralized power. As such, it ...
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 ...
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "1984" by George Orwell. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essays and criticism on George Orwell's 1984 - Critical Essays. ... Suggested Essay Topics Topics for Further Study ... Short-Answer Quizzes
Explore 1984 by George Orwell. Read the 1984 summary and analysis, review the book's characters, themes and symbols, and learn where the story...
Complete summary of George Orwell's 1984. eNotes plot summaries cover all the significant action of 1984. ... Suggested Essay Topics ... Short-Answer Quizzes
What is 1984 by George Orwell about? In a word, totalitarianism. Orwell's insightful novel was published in 1948 and set in 1984--short of the mark--and was frighteningly prophetic for the late ...