1984 By George Orwell example essay topic

DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, the omnipresent leader of Ingsoc, or English socialism, and the force that has society in a vice of fear and ignorance. It is in George Orwells grim dystopia 1984 that these circumstances exist. It was written in 1949 as a warning to where society could be headed. George Orwell was an English writer that had just witnessed the horrors or World War II and the power of a strong central leader that nearly took over the whole of Europe, Hitler. All of these factors form Orwells' writing that is 1984. This book is a warning that if the world stayed on its current track, the world of Big Brother would not be as unlikely as it seemed.

The book is a satirical dystopia that warns of the dangers of totalitarian governments like those of Russia or China. The book is still relevant today because of how easily we could slip into the ways of Ingsoc, Newspeak for English Socialism, the system of government in 1984. George Orwell's main contentions are that this world portrayed in book was not only possible but quick to come about. Orwell's belief of such a drastic change in such a short time could be related to the times he would have just witnessed in real life. Hitler and the Nazi party rose to power in the short time between World War I and World War II.

The Party rose to power and instituted there government in a matter of one or two generations. George Orwell wrote this book in 1949 and we find Winston in April of 1984, Orwell believed that we were on such a wrong course that the likes of Ingsoc could rise in 35 years. Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World, had a different view of how to keep society in bondage. In his book, he uses drugs and sex to keep the masses in submission as opposed to the repression of sex to keep people in a frenziabl rage found in 1984.

The quality the two books share is the use of drugs to keep society in a stupor for easier control. In Huxley's book they use a perfectly manufactured drug that makes everything seem great and Orwell uses cheap, oily Victory Gin to keep the people numbed. The two books paint ugly pictures of a controlled society but Orwell's is more realistic due to its grimness. The only problem I had with the book is that the second half drags too much. Early on, Orwell makes it very clear that the Party cannot be taken down, so when Winston receives the book from O'Brien it is obvious that he is part of the thought police. The book should have not been gone into so deeply because it is not important to the story and is very uninteresting.

It could be that Orwell writes so well that it was hard not to know what was going to happen in the second half of the book. The story itself was very well written and served well as the warning it was meant to be. I only wish that Orwell would have given even a little bit of hope for mankind. Winston coming to love Big Brother left you disappointed that the human spirit didn't win out over conformity and oppression. I suppose that had Winston died with contempt would have given hope that we would be able to get out of such a situation if necessary and therefore chipping away at the validity of Orwell's warning. I am not to sure whether message is that the establishment is too strong and it's no use fighting or to fight the good fight no matter what the odds.

In Winston's case, he made no difference whatsoever and died loving Big Brother like everybody else. Julia, Winston, Parsons, Syme and the poet all died and made not a shred of difference because the party had absolute power so I can only assume that Orwell issued this warning so it would never get that bad but what if it did. This book confused me because it went against the belief that one man can make a difference. Winston had the conviction but was unable to even make a dent in the party's stronghold on society.

The book sent mixed messages about the power of one person and I am not sure if I like that. 1984 is a great book but the inability of good to overcome evil bothers me. I have always believed that the only constant thing is change and the strength of Ingsoc seems impossible to change. The power of the party almost makes seem unrealistic that it could really happen but with a closer look it really doesn't.

Power seems to snowball in that once it starts it is really had to stop so a society like that of this book is not unrealistic. The second half drags but it is effective with the surprise of the tele screen in Charrington's shop. The book is very good but doesn't sit right with me because it makes a single persons conviction insignificant against a larger power. 1984 by George Orwell is an unsettling book that raises a lot of questions and concerns about power. The flow of the book, although slow at times, is effective and makes an impression on the reader. The writing style is detailed but concise and covers a lot of ground relating to political power and society.

The quality that makes it relevant even though 1984 has come and gone is that we are always at the risk of letting a society like the one in 1984 sneak up on us.