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Eric Arthur Blair, better known under the pen name; George Orwell was an English novelist, essayist, journalis and critic.
He was born in 1903 and died in 1950 at the age of 46.
He wrote 1984 towards the end of his life, whilest traveling between London and Jura in Scotland. The novel was published in 1949, less than a year before Orwells death.

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This book depictures a future where everything and everyone is survailanced and controlled by the government.

1984 written by George Orwell was published in 1949. 1984 was written after the second World War and was heavily influenced by the events of this war. Particularly the rise of fascist regimes in Europe and the concept of totalitarianism inspired the novel, which is something you can clearly recognize throughout the story. Orwell has also taken inspiration from totalitarian leaders such as Stalin; the political leader of the Soviet Union, and Hitler; the Nazi dictator and politician that lead Germany through WWII.

Though people have thought otherwise, Orwell himself was a socialist and a huge supporter of socialist policies. He was therefore deeply concerned by the rise of authoritarian governments such as the totalitarian ones seen during the wars. Orwell also experienced this regime firsthand while fighting in the Spanish Civil War. He believed totalitarianism posed a real threat to freedom and democracy, as it leaves the public without of a voice and under total control.

In terms of the novel’s cultural context, we can tell that 1984 is a product of its time, as it reflects the fears and anxieties of post-war society. With memories of the war fresh in everyone’s mind, the novel's portrayal of a dystopian society where individual freedom is suppressed and the government exercises complete control over its citizens resonated with many of the fears and concerns of the time.​ The novel serves as a warning against the dangers that occur if a government is given total control.

This work gained a lot of attention for its important themes and messages at the time it was published and continues to be relevant to this day.

Orwell has been deemed one of the greatest British writers since the 1945’s, and his works have influenced both popular and political culture since their publishment. The adjective “Orwellian” is still a part of the English dictionary, used to describe totalitarian and authoritarian social practices, the ones that Orwell was known for writing about .

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The book is set in 1984, London, in the province of 'Airstrip one'

This world is described in a quite depressive way, there is constant bombing, everything is booring, gray and smells horriblt of cabbage.

The different minstries:
The Ministry of Love
The Ministry of Truth
The Ministry of

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Winston is the books protagonist. He is a frail, fatalistic and intellectual 39 year old, Outer Party funtionary, living in London in 1984. Winston strongly dislikes the parties tatolitarian rule and is privatly rebelling against it. He works in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth.

Winston is a very pensive and curious person, he is desperatly trying to understand how, and more importantly why the party exercises susch absolute power over Oseania. It is through these reflections that enabeled Orwell to explore many of the books importante themes (see boxes below).

Another of Winstons main characteristics is his rebelliousness. He expresses his hate for the Party by testing the limits of its power. Throughout the novel Winston commits multiple crimes; everything from writing "DOWN WITH  BIG BROTHER" in his diary, to engaging in a secret love affair with Julia, to getting involved in the anti-party Brotherhood. Despite all of his efforts and work for freedom and independence, the Partys devastating powers does eventually get uncovered.

Winston tries to fight back, but eventually he does break after enduring months of interrogation and torture. By doing this the Party effectively gets rid of him, and the threat he posed agains them. He might not be physacly dead, but the person he used to be is gone.

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In 1984 we know Julia as Winstons lover. She is a 26 year old woman working in the Fiction Department in the Minisrty of Truth. When we are first introduced to Julia she is a stranger, throughout the story Winston and Julia become lovers, but as the novel reaches its end, they are stranger again.

Julia is a both pragmatic and sensual woman, and whereas Winston is more concerned about the larger scale social issued, she is quite content with her life as it is, and just wishes to live in the moment. Like Winston Julia also wishes to rebell against the party, but unlike him, she's only rebelling for herself and the plesures it gains her.

She is also part of the anti-sex leage, which she effectively rebells against by having lots of sex with multiple different people within the party. In 1984 we see her relationship with Winston, together they silently rebel and later also join the anti-Party Brotherhood together. Inevitably their relationship dose end tragically in the end, both of them betraying the other.

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OBrian is an upper party member. Winston regards him with respect, admiration and curiosity. Just like the party itself, OBrian is a character with a lot of secrets and mystery. From the books beginning, Winston always believed that OBrian was a good person, and one of the only people that shared his beliefs. However, as we learn later on, Winston was mistaken. It’s O’Brian that tricks Winston into joining the anti-brotherhood group, which ultimately leads to his capture. O’Brian is also one of the people partaking in Winstons torture.

When Winston asks O’Brian if he also has been captured by the Party his response is: “They got me a long time ago”. This suggests that maybe O’Brian was once like Winston; rebellious, but has since been ridded of these ´dangerous`beliefs, and now turned spy for the Party. At the end of the novel O’Brians character still remains a mystery. Winston learns very little about the other man, and in the end, most of what he learns turns out to be a lie.

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Winston's "friend"
works at ... restricting the language of newsspeak

Winstons thoughts of Syme:
intellegent and smart; though winston predicts its goning to get him vaporised in the end, and as we see further into the book, he is right in this assumption. One day Syme is gone, few notice it and within a few days he is forgotten and erased from existence.

Syme: "don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thought-crime literally impossible, bacause there will be no words in which to express it". (page 52)

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On the picture above you can see, a map of the world in 1984. It shows how the landmass is devided between Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia.

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- Stalin; as a dictator - secret police/totalitartanism/prison camps/battle against facism
- WWII; hitlers Nazi party
- Orwell was a supporter of socialism and anti-totalitarian (he was a supporter of democratic socialism). The novel is an anti-totalitarian not an anti-socialist one, as is a common misconseption about the book.

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Can be defined by having a socialist economy in which the means of production are socially and collectively owned or controlled alongside a liberal democratic political system of government.

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Orwells primary goal with his novel 1984 was to warn and demonstrate the terrefying consequences of totalitarianism and the importance of knowledge about our past. We can see these clearly portrayed through symbols and motifs:

The Telescreens
The always present telescreens is the novels most clear symbol of the Partys constant surveillance of its subjects. The telescreens ensures that the people of Oceania are never alone, they give orders, spy and update the people on the Party’s latest propaganda.
They also symbolize how a totalitarian government abuses the power of technology for its own benefits instead of the peoples.

Big Brother
Big Brother is the face of the Party. Everywhere around London you can see posters with the phrase “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”, a constant reminder that they are being watched. Big Brother is the leader of the Party and their nation, through Winston can’t seem to remember wether he actually exists or not. To most people he is seen as a reassurance, a protector, but to others, like Winston, he is seen as an open threat, one you can’t escape; “one cannot escape his gaze”.

Victory Gin and Cigarettes
They are a symbol of control. Suppression. When hearing about the “Victory” products (party made) the people in 1984 consume, you get the suspicion that these products contain substances as to make the citizen’s more pliable to control.  Winston describes that after drinking the gin, “The world began to look more cheerful”. They suppress the unhappy thoughts of the people, so they have no desire to rebel and act out against the them.

Doublethink
Doublethink is the act of believing in two contradictory, both individually exclusive, ideas at the same time. Which means you must either believe there is no contradiction, or use logic against logic. The party slogan: “War Is Peace; Freedom Is Slavery; Ignorance Is Strength”, is an obvious example of doublethink. Doublethink is a huge part of the Party’s mind-control technique, they take away the individuals ability of independent thought. This makes it possible for the Party to say whatever they want, and the people will believe them, even though they might’ve possessed information that contradicted this.

Urban Decay
The London we see in the novel, the one Winston calls home, is a rundown city that is crumbling before their eyes. Even though the them is never discussed openly, it is clear that the cause of this downfall and the peoples suffering, is due to the Partys totalitarian rule, and how miserably incompetent it is at serving its people.

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Language as a means to controll thought 2

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Language as a means to controll thought 2

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Newsspeak
A volcabulary - blunt words from daily functions
B volcabulary - compound words that blend a noun and verb
C volcabulary - scientific and technical jargon

Newsspeak is the new language that the Party is working on introducing as a replacement for English, and with each new version more and more words have been erased and new ones have been put in their place.

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Olfactory images: "the hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats"
Aduitory images: "The clocks were striking thirteen"
Tactile images: "his skin roughuened by coarse soap and blunt razor blades and the cold of the winter that had just ended"
Visual images: "A bright cold day"

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Orwell wrote 1984 to warn Western countries about the rise of communism, and show the dangers of totalitarianism, and it is therefore one of the most important themes explored in this novel.

The novel portrays the perfect totalitarian society, an extreme prediction of what modern day society might look like. In 1949 the books title was supposed to suggest a possible future that might only be a few years away. “1984” was a warning that, this could very well happen to you.
Totalitarianism (see vocab box) executes a complete level of control, this translates easily into fear and paronaya amongst the people.

Winston sets out to challenge the Party’s power only to figure out that it’s power is more or less absolute. As we come to figure out through Winston’s eyes, his feeble attempts at rebellion seem laughable compared to the power of the Party.

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Political and psychological manipulation is something we see happen throughout the novel. 1984 explorers the dangers of these types of manipulation and how it affects people.

The Party is able to control peoples minds and replace their memories with their own version of the truth by filling their mind with propaganda, weakening their existing memories and restricting their language and thereby thought. This is a way for the Party to ensure their rule, by twisting and/or erasing any and all truths, the Party has made it impossible to question their power. They control the past, present and future of Oceania.

The citizens behavior is constantly being monitored by the Telescreens present in every house building and room. Any step out of line, is a step towards punishment or death. Creates a sort of paranoia amongst the people.

The family structure is weakened as children are manipulated and introduced to the youth organization the Junior Spies where kids are encouraged to speak on their parents and report them to the Party if they show any sign of disloyalty.

Sex and sexual desires are also suppressed in the Party’s regime. In 1984 sex is only seen as a procreative duty, not an act of pleasure. The party then takes advantage of all this pent up energy and frustration and directs it towards their political enemies as strong heated. We see this clearly portrayed during the 2-minute hate.

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The society in the novel is constantly being watched, not only by the people around them, but by cameras and these "telescreens" that monitor everything they say and do. They even have meeans to find out what you are thinking. If you ever do anything out of line, anything that might suggest that you are, or could become an enemy to the party, they will erase you.

"It was terribly dangerous to let you thoughts wander when you were in any public place or in range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away".

The effects of this level of survailance and controll:
Govenment surveilance can be a good thing as long as it's in the right hands and properly regulated. There have been many examples of survailance beeing benefitial. Vidoes from survailance such as CCTV can be really helpfull in catching crimenals, and can be used s proof in quart cases.

However, it people always feel like they’re being watched, never get any time alone, it could drive you insane. Always having to be watchful of what you say, what your expression wear and what you think, makes it hard to feel safe. You never know who to trust, because anyone could betray you.

The ultimate message
Shows how important privacy and freedom actually is, and how much a lack of it affects us.

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Language as a means to controll thought 1

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Language as a means to controll thought 1

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Language as a means to co troll is one of the most important themes in 1984. Language holds more power than we think, it isn’t merely something we use to speak, it also controls the way we think. Language has the power to both structure and limit the ideas we come up with.

So if you limit language, you also limit thought. This is what the Party in 1984 wishes to achieve, yet another way to control the people. How can they ever rebel against the regime if they have no means to express these thoughts, or come up with these ideas in the first place?

In 1984 thought crime is the act of thinking politically unorthodox thoughts, one’s such as negative beliefs, feelings and doubts against the Party. Syme: "How can people commit thought crime, if they cant think?" Thought crime is punishable by death.

One can also argue that a larger volcabuary gives you more knowledge, and knowledge is power. So by limiting language, the party is also limiting the people’s power.

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
"language controls reality"
language effects the way you perceive reality, events and feelings.

As a result, the people are left, manipulated, powerless, unable to protest and with no idea that they are under these conditions in the first place.

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Totalitarianism: Total Control, Pure Power
A type of goverment that is highly and totaly controlling in all and every aspect of life. This is the government seen in the novel.

"He who controls the past controls the future. He who controlls the pesent controls the past."

Censorship
Controlling what can be said, read, written and seen. This could mean suppressing or concealing of any or all parts of books, films or news that is considered politically unacceptable, a treat to security or overall indecent.

“the past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth.”

Dystopian
A word often used to describe an imaginary place where there is great suffering and people are treated with injustice.
Some words often used as synonyms to “dystopian” would be nightmarish, gloomy or Orwellian.

Communism
A socialistic ideology that places itself in opposition to capitalism and liberal democracy. They advocate for a classless society, where everything is shared. All property is owned by the community and everyone receives and contributes according to their own personal abilities and needs.

Dystopia
Dystopia is the opposite of utopia, a happy and wonderful place. Thus we can describe dystopia as a terrible place or state where people experience great injustice and suffering, often one that is totalitarian and/or post-apocalyptic.