1984+MMK

= 1984 by George Orwell (June 25, 1903- January 21, 1950) =

Biography
Eric Arthur Blair, more commonly known by his pseudonym George Orwell, was born on June 25th, 1903 in Motihari, India. One year later, his mother, Ida Mabel, took her son to England to live. When Blair was five, he enrolled at an Anglican parish school where he was educated for two years. He then attended the lauded St. Cyprian's School in Sussex. Corporal punishment was mundane in that time period, and people speculate that it was the beginning of Blair's resentment of authority. He wrote his first published work, a poem called "Awake! Young Men of England," while at St. Cyprian's. Then Blair earned a scholarship to Eton College, which he thought was "the most... snobbish of England Public Schools." He attended Eton from 1917 to 1921, where he learned French. In 1922, Blair went to Burma to work in the Indian Imperial Police. He stayed there until 1927, during which time he began to love the people of Burma and detest the oppression and imperialism. Blair decided to become a writer instead. He wrote "A Hanging" (1931), "Shooting an Elephant" (1936), and the novel //Burmese Days// based on his time there. In 1928, Blair moved to Paris to write short stories for periodicals, but he was largely unsuccessful. He worked odd jobs and was quite unhappy. After contracting pneumonia in 1929, he moved to East London and created his pesudonym, George Orwell. He did this to avoid shaming his family. He then wrote //Down and Out in Paris and London// to portray the miserable lower classes of those cities. As Blair began to favor socialism he purposefully lived as a vagrant in London and living with miners to the north. He learned of the gap between social classes and of a life of poverty. This would provide the theme for his works to come, including //The Road to Wigan Pier// (1937). In 1936 he married Eileen O'Shaughnessy. They adopted a son, Richard Horatio. Both Blair and Eileen became involved in the Spanish Civil War. As the communists gained control many of Blair's friends were killed or simply disappeared. In 1937, he and Eileen barely escaped and Blair wrote //Homage to Catalonia//. Blair and Eileen moved back to England, and Blair wrote several essays for periodicals and newspapers. He worked for newspapers and the press, becoming a war correspondent in 1945. Eileen died on March 29 of that year during surgery. In 1946, Blair worked on one of his more famous works, //Animal Farm,// depicting the Communist regime in the Soviet Union. He also wrote and published //1984// portraying a frightening totalitarian government. In 1949, he married Sonia Bronwell, but was placed in a sanitorium for tuberculosis later that year. He suddenly died on the 21st of January 1950, dying of tuberculosis which he had for three years. He was buried at All Saint's Church in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, England.

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Plot Synopsis
// 1984 // begins with the main character, Winston, writing in his newly purchased diary and reminiscing about recent events in his job at the Ministry of Truth. He explains the Party, the Thought Police, the telescreens, Big Brother, the never-ending war with unidentifiable enemies, and the two-minute hates, that are ever present in everyone's lives. He describes the dismal living and working conditions of London in 1984. But, he meets a woman named Julia who shares his contempt of the Party. They become great friends and lovers, and they desperately try to conceal their feelings for each other from the telescreens. If they were caught openly defying the Party's laws by having sex, they would both be sent to the Ministry of Love and surely put to death. Soon after, Julia and Winston find they have an ally in a high place who offers them a book outlining the Party's mentality and methods as to keeping society hovering between wealth and poverty. The Party’s motives and slogans, War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength, are also explained. It also introduces the concept of //doublethink//, a mentality that all good followers of the Party live in. This story portrays a frightening, totalitarian government system which seems to have a growing impact on its readers. The dystopia described repulses the free-thinker, but seems to entrance with the idea of absolute power.

= Literary Information = Genre: //1984// is science fiction. Conflict: Winston experiences conflict with himself, other people, technology, and his society. Point of View: //1984// is told from limited third person. Characterization: Winston is directly charactized by the narrator and indirectly charachterized by his actions. Diction: //1984// is written in neutral diction. Syntax: The syntax in the book varies between simple, compound, and complex syntax. Tone: There's a sense of unrest through the entire book with interludes of joy. Style: //1984// is written narratively.

= Literary Analysis =

Besides the telescreens, the "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU" posters are the most prevalent part of the 1984 London society. Big Brother is indeed a symbol, but it actually represents two things at once. It symbolizes the loving support of a big brother, the public face of the party. It also represents the party's true hostile intentions, constant surveillance.

The posters were put up by the Party to provide a face for the party. It created an object of focus for the common people, and the illusion that the Party was there to benefit and protect the people. O'Brien explains the bare minimum of this to Winston. "You must love Big Brother." (282). The concept very concisely diplays what the Party wants you to think; the Party is there to protect you, and you must love the Party. Big Brother is merely a facade for the Party.

On the other hand, the Big Brother posters betray the Party's intentions. The Party wished to control everything the people did, thought, bought, expressed, learned, and consumed. This great feat requires and enormous amount of surveillance. But it was not enough that they were watched; they needed to know //subliminally// that they were being watched. The posters were up everywhere, and they did in fact watch you. "On each landing...the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall, with eyes that followed you about the room." (1-2). Although no actual information was gathered by the posters, it provided a subtle threat towards the people. Which diguised the Party's more blatant intentions of controlling the people. This public face revealed all this in the simple motto "Big Brother is Watching You."

= Praise and Criticism = I felt that //1984// was portrayed very realistically. The details of the society all fit into place and nothing was irrelevant. Also, the Party seemed to be a very effective method of totalitarianism, into which George Orwell must have put a lot of thought. Lastly, //The Theory and Practice of Oligarchial Collectivism//, the book Winston recieved from O'Brien, contained a lot of well-developed ideas and concepts. It clearly explained the doctrines of the Party. All this resulted in a book that has a great narrative with a solid base of dystopian government logistics. Ironically, the thing that bothered me the most about the book was the whole topic. I didn't like the idea of the totalitarian government, most likely because as Americans we are taught to cherish our rights. The constant surveillance, Thought Police, and one-party control just creeped me out. The people had no freedoms except for the freedom to help the party. I was still intrigued by the book, but I was also repulsed by the entire concept of the all-controlling government.

= Bibliography = Merriman, C.D. "George Orwell - Biography and Works." //The Literature Network//. 2006. Web. 13 May 2010. .

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