Neil Riemer Discusses the Differences that Characterize 1984 as a Myth

He tries to prove that dystopian masterpiece imbibes the features of historical tragedies that have a particular tendency to repeat (Riemer 225). A regime that is designed in “1984” is an image of typical totalitarian power that manages to consolidate impact on citizens and reach the maximum level of control. Reimer believes that Orwellian society is a theoretical instance of the environment that might be a result of extensive oppression.

The chance of dictators to usurp the leadership is illuminated in “1984”. Orwell writes about the possible scenarios and outcomes, which may provoke the uncontrolled cruelty and violence that, in turn, might become a nightmare for the population. Frederic Svoboda depicts the parallels between the Orwellian world and the reality of modern political administration that partially resembles the events in the dystopian novel. He underlines that characters of Orwell’s work are literally suppressed by the tension that is surrounding them and, thus, the shock is the main reaction that is depicted by Svoboda (Svoboda 17).

He points that his first impression as a reader was characterized by a strong disagreement with a fact that this type of reality might exist. The researcher mentioned that he analyzed the novel with students and concluded that the verisimilitude of Orwellian fiction is an equivocal matter (Svoboda 17). In contrast to the reality, Orwell’s world is dark and deprived of options Palmero 5 that are available to characters. Winston Smith is literally trapped in the dead loop of the authoritarian wheel of Big Brother that monitors every move and word of citizens that remind hopeless zombies. Orwell’s characters are poor and exhausted due to the perplexities that constantly occur in the “1984”.

On the one hand they are threatened, but on the other hand, Svoboda argues that threatening should not necessarily be explicit to be considered as a phenomenon that is described by Orwell (Svoboda 17). The writer uses irony and satire to imbue the chapters of “1984” with hidden sense. Thus, Svoboda emphasizes that Orwellian world is, to some extent, based on reality. William Baker provides a critical assessment of Orwell’s story about the almighty and ubiquitous Big brother. The explanation of Orwell’s reality is reflected in be Baker with a specific sarcasm that the author uses to address an issue of political ideology in the novel. He crystallizes the Orwellian assumption about the circumstances that motivate Winston Smith to change the worldview. In fact, Baker underscores that the oppression and newspeak become the actual conditions that induce the protagonist’s mental transformation (Baker 645). He summarizes the content of the novel and gives brief comments on the plot.

The control over cognitive apparatus of the population is described as an objective of authorities in the book. Baker highlights that the interested parties applied medical treatment to take over the financial pie (Baker 646). The similar scenario is provided by Orwell, who states that medicine might be used to take over the administration pie. This statement of the author is implicated with reality and Baker assumes that Orwell illustrates the breakthrough in the field of cognitive service that is initiated by the Ministry of Truth in the novel (Baker 646). Palmero 6 Orwell’s Newspeak is a backbone of totalitarian horror that becomes a setting for the dimension of the fictional life of the characters in “1984”.

Batra Mukta believes that newspeak is a persuasive form of device that is used by the author that shows terror in a new light. Orwell literally exaggerates the negative issues in the plot and makes the authorities completely evil due to the fact that they even manage to diminish the initial function and value of the basic tool of communication. In other words, Mukta stresses that the role of language is essential and a distortion of a primordial aspect of human realization is immoral and brutal. George Orwell’s incorporation of Newspeak in the structure of social affairs is a genius contextual choice, according to Batra Mukta, because the researcher states that deterioration of language is a sign of absolute despotism that takes over minds of individuals (Batra 2).

The control of abstract and intangible dimension of affairs is a signal of pervasive dictatorship and limitless political influence on people. Thus, they become explicitly enslaved by the reign of a system that is characterized as an opposite side of democracy. Liberty and fundamental freedoms become terms that are deprived of the actual importance and meaning. Batra Mukta delineates Newspeak as a language that is an apogee of Orwell’s fiction. This structural component of “1984” makes the author’s story special because it is not only a disruptive method of psychological manipulation but also a terrifying technique of surveillance (Batra 3). Newspeak is a weapon and is also a barrier that is artificially procreated by the government in the Orwellian world. The term cruelty is tactically and thoughtfully depicted as ungood.

Hence, this oversimplification brings sense to the general construction of the new world. Batra Mukta points that the purpose of authorities is to instill a new order and to erase the memory about cultural prosperity of mankind. A world of primitive relations and Palmero 7 obedience is presented by Orwell to inform a reader about a hazard of ignorance that could be a stimulus of intellectual collapse (Batra 3). The review of “1984” in literature discourse displays that the majority of researchers are the proponents of Orwell’s ideology. Moreover, they underscore Orwellian mastery as a perfection of dystopian style and determine the author’s efforts to create a political philosophy that epitomizes a message to the readers’ audience. The Orwellian reality becomes a particular symbol of phraseological articulation of the totalitarian despotism that is an absurdity of control over population. In addition, the synthesis of the above-mentioned sources serves as a theoretical background for Orwell’s ideas explanation.

It is noteworthy to state that the writer conceals a multitude of contextual meanings in “1984” that is a reflection of the historical circle. Newspeak is illustrated as a main instrument of manipulation that is the greatest horror in the Orwellian world because it controls the reasoning of individuals and the formation of their psychological identity. Finally, the study on Orwellian world reports the main principles of the author’s novel creation. The essence of Orwell’s dystopia is compared with a concealed realism that is tactically presented as political satire

. Definitions of brainwash and propaganda are synthesized and contextualized in this work. The paper answers crucial questions and illustrates the depth of Orwell’s vision of the totalitarian state as phenomenon that might occur in the real world. Furthermore, the ambiguity of historical events is implicated in the story that includes a portrayal of Stalin a prototype of an unprincipled tyrant that becomes Big Brother in “1984”. The novel promotes the concept of liberty that depends on freedom of reasoning. Hence, absolute authoritarian power might occur both in a communist society and in the pseudo-democratic state. Palmero 8 This condition is a pillar of “1984” because Orwell conceptualized his view on social regulation and wrote the fictional political manifestation to persuade readers that the ethics of administration should not contradict the principle of liberal articulation of one’s beliefs or thoughts.

Cite this page