1984 Flashcards
what is the context of George Orwell in writing 1984?
Orwell writes in the context where totalitarianism was established in the post-war period. ruling dictators such as Hitler and Stalin ruled during world war II in Russia and Germany. The rising influence of television/ technology on western culture worried Orwell of technology as a form of propaganda and potential loss of privacy.
what are the main themes in Orwell?
- the cause of rebellion
- the effect of total control
- the implications of submission.
what is Orwell’s authorial intent/ purpose of 1984?
takes consideration of the totalitarian structure and develops into an exaggerated satire, cautionary tale, and social commentary for audiences to challenge assumptions of totalitarianism, governmental control on the population, and what makes them subject to control
what is the form of 1984?
1984 blends with both realism and speculative taking concerns of reality from his own context and making contextual allusions hyperbolized to express concerns in the future.
why does rebellion exist in 1984?
rebellion signified the notion of desire for interpersonal connections. Orwell presents a world where control exists to eradicate the sex instinct thus triggering rebellion.
what are the two quotes you are going to use for the concept of rebellion?
- the sexual act successfully performed was rebellion. desire was thoughtcrime
- Winstons admiration for the gesture with which Julia had thrown her clothes aside.. seemingly to annihilate a whole new culture, as though big brother and the party could all be swept into nothingness by a single splendid movement of the arm”
- the sexual act successfully performed was rebellion. desire was thoughtcrime
ANALYSIS
the metaphor of sexual act. that within such repressive framework, sex becomes a metaphor of defiance.
Winstons admiration for the gesture with which Julia had thrown her clothes aside.. seemingly to annihilate a whole new culture, as though big brother and the party could all be swept into nothingness by a single splendid movement of the arm”
ANALYSIS.
the imagery and high modality in the significance of a body & embrace of lust reinforce how freedom and autonomy are key to dismantling the perverse hierarchical structure dominating Winston’s world.
Ultimately it is the human experience for desire and connection are key in the removal of the compromises of the integrity of the individual experience.
what are the quotes you are going to use about control in 1984?
- “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”
- “The helicopters skimmed down between the rocks, hovered for an instant like a bluebottle, and darted away again with a curving flight”
“BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”
ANALYSIS
the motif used throughout the text represents totalitarian modes of control Winston is subject to. it emphasizes the notion of control, surveillance, lack of autonomy in the individual which was framed in Orwell’s time and transcends to contemporary audiences.
“The helicopters skimmed down between the rocks, hovered for an instant like a bluebottle, and darted away again with a curving flight”
ANALYSIS.
the simile of the helicopters highlights the mechanisms of the totalitarian regime as poisonous and omnipresent, showing a dystopian world of the implications of surrounding and dominating technology.
what are the quotes you are going to use for the implications of submission in 1984?
- “he was back in the ministry of love with everything forgiven, his soul as white as snow, feelings of walking in sunlight, and an armed gun on his back. the long hoped for the bullet was entering his brain”
- “he seemed to lose the power of intellectual effort, the stimulus of pain was removed. he wasn’t bored. he had no desire for conversation or distractions”
“he was back in the ministry of love with everything forgiven. his soul as white as snow, feelings of walking in sunlight, and an armed gun on his back”
ANALYSIS
there is a symbolic paradox to the simile “as white as snow” with Winston’s soul being infected by the corrupting totalitarian force of the party. the continued image of walking in the sun connotates freedom but is yet contradicted with the armed gun.
“he seemed to have lost the power of intellectual effort, the stimulus of pain was removed. he wasn’t bored. he had no desire for conversation or distractions”
ANALYSIS
the subdued tone of the accumulations of words to describe the aftermath of Winston shows his slow descent into the mind-numbing effects of the party that contrasts to Winston’s original, will rebel and to question. this shows the end of one’s human experience and autonomy, the crushing of individual desire, and the unsatisfactory ending emphasizes the cautionary motive of Orwell.
when was 1984 written?
1948 :)
