Themes of 1984 by George Orwell

Introduction to the Author

• George Orwell is the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair. 
• Orwell was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic.
• His work depicts lucid prose, awareness of social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism, and direct support of democratic socialism.
• He is well-known for his allegorical novel Animal Farm (1945) and the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)

Major Work

1.  Animal Farm
2. Nineteen Eighty-Four
3. Homage to Catalonia
4. Down and Out in Paris and London

Achievements

·         He received the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award and Retro Hugo Award for Best Novella for his allegorical novella Animal Farm.

Introduction to 1984

• Nineteen Eighty-Four, often published as 1984, is a dystopian novel published in June 1949. 
• The novel is set in the year 1984 when most of the world population became victim of endless war, limitless government surveillance, and propaganda.
•  In 2003, the novel ranked 8^Th In the BBC's survey The Big Read.
• In 2005, Time magazine ranked this novel as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005.
• It was awarded a place on both lists of Modern Library 100Best Novels ranked 13^Th On the editor's list and 6^Th On the readers' list.

Title of the Novel

• The early title of the novel was The Last Man in Europe, but in a letter to his publisher Fredric Warburg, eight months before publication, Orwell wrote about his confusion between the early title and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Warburg suggested choosing the main title to be 1984 because it was a more commercial one.
•  The title of the novel, its themes, the Newspeak language, and the author’s surname are often against the control and the intrusion by the state. The adjective Orwellian describes a totalitarian (absolute) dystopia (huge suffering) that is characterized by government control and subjugation (the act of bringing someone or something under the domination or control.) of the people.
•  Orwell's invented language, Newspeak, satirizes the hypocrisy of the state: 

1. The Ministry of Love (Miniluv) inspects torture and brainwashing
2.  The Ministry of Plenty (Miniplenty) inspects shortage and rationing
3.  The Ministry of Peace (Minipax) inspects war and cruelty
4.  The Ministry of Truth (Minitrue) inspects propaganda and historical modifications

Themes

1.      Surveillance

     Surveillance is an important theme in 1984. The Outer Party Members in Oceania had no privacy at all. They lived in apartments with two-way telescreens where they were continuously watched or listened to. Workstations and public places also had similar telescreens along with hidden microphones. Written correspondence was regularly open and read by the government before it was delivered.

The Thought Police employed undercover agents, who were disguised as normal citizens and reported any suspicious persons. Children too were involved in this and it went to such an extent that they deceived their own parents. Something so small as a weird facial expression resulted in immediate arrest and severe punishment. Certain texts were constantly displayed on the telescreens to generate threat amongst the people. The most repeatedly displayed text was:

Big Brother is Watching You

2.      Censorship

    Censorship is another major theme of 1984, especially in the Ministry of Truth where all the public information and photographs were distorted and rewritten to control the people. Though the information was derived from the past, it was rewritten to suit the present condition. Winston Smith was terrified to know his crime of keeping a personal diary. People were becoming sure that they were members of a great government. He strongly believed:

“Freedom is the freedom to say
that two plus two make four
If that is granted, all else follows”

As an example, O’ Brien had great loyalty for the government because of the subversion of information and modified history. As a result,

3.      Absolute Totalitarianism

“He who controls the Past controls the Future;

He who controls the Present controls the Past”

- Nineteen Eighty Four-

Totalitarianism is one of the major and most important themes of 1984. Orwell published 1984, not as a prediction of the future events, but as a warning against the fate of humanity it totalitarianism overpowers everything. The term ‘totalitarianism’ presents the type of government where even the heat of the government is unknown to the public. It forces people to believe in the lies of the government.

In the entire novel, there is no evidence of the existence of Big Brother in Oceania but people were scared of him. The party had absolute control not only on the sexual lives of their people such as on Winston Smith and Julia but they also controlled their feelings and thoughts. O’Brien admitted,

“We are not interested in the Good of Others;

We are interested Solely in Power, pure power”

4.      Nasty Propaganda

     The novel clearly shows how propaganda is used to control people. Orwell has depicted this theme through the aspect of propaganda in the Ministry of Truth in Oceania. Winston Smith was involved in it. He worked to distort truths and facts by altering history and then propagate the new version throughout the country declaring them as the only truth. The Party wanted complete control over the actions and thoughts of the people. The ultimate aim of propaganda was to make people loyal to the Party and Country. There were slogans like:

5.      Depiction of Futurology

     The novel depicts the future or the fate of the people. It shows how badly the Party wanted the people to suffer. In the book, Inner Party Member O’Brien says,

“There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But do not forget Winston – always there will be the intoxication of power and at every moment there will be a thrill of victory. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever”

Part III, Chapter III

1984

6.      Abuse of Language

   Language is an important aspect for physical and mental control. The Party employed their own language to control the masses. They used words like Newspeak, Double-think, Ingsoc, Two-Minute Hate, etc. O’Brien and Winston were employed in the Ministry of Truth. They used and abused language to rewrite history and distorted facts in favor of the Party.

“But if thought corrupt Language,

Language can also corrupt Thought”

7.      Loss of Identity and Independence

    Various strategies were made in the novel 1984 to make people lose their personal identities and independence. People were not allowed to raise any doubts against the supremacy of the governing class. People’s personality was totally ripped off. There was uniformity in everything from food to clothes to what people heard to what they absorbed. The Party simply erased their individuality. O’Brien clearly asked Winston to erase his integrity. He explained to Winston that he is the last man on earth if he is developing rebellious thoughts. 

   The personalities are destroyed to such an extent that Winston, who believed in Freedom at the beginning of the novel dies writing 2+2=5 on the sand at the end of the novel.

8.      Lame Political Loyalty

   Political Loyalty is present from the beginning to the end of the novel. Though Winston Smith was a loyal employee, he questioned certain ideologies. In Oceania, Loyalty was not just a concept of being loyal at work, it was much more. It forced people to become loyal to the point of complete submissiveness with unconditional obedience. O’Brien, a secret ‘Thought Police’ is a perfect example of loyalty. He trapped Winston and Julia and then handed them to the police to brainwash them.

9.      Social Class

      In 1984, society is made up of 3 distinct social classes:

(1)  The upper-class Inner Party (the Elite) was the ruling minority who made up to 2% of the population.

(2)  The middle-class Outer Party made up to 13% of the population.

(3)  The lower-class Proles who made up to 85% of the population represented the illiterate working class.

The Inner Party had servants and luxurious facilities. The Outer Party worked for the Inner Party whereas the Proles lived in the No-Go area where they were fed with constant lies and propaganda that forced their minds to believe the lies as truths.

10. Subversion of Love and Feelings

     In 1984, Love was considered a crime. People were taught not to have any passion for love. According to the propaganda, Intimacy was just a ‘Duty of the Party’. This clearly meant everyone engage in an intimate relationship only to produce children for the Party. This was the main reason for the failed marriage of Winston Smith with Katherine. Loving Julia and engaging with her intimately was his only crime.

    On the other hand, Winston has the memory of his mother’s love from which the Party deprived him. His loveless life showed how the government and their propaganda destroyed love, family and individual’s life to make ruling class powerful.

“Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood”

Conclusion

George Orwell’s 1984 is a mirror: every reader in some or the other way connects to the novel – be it politics, challenges or distorted facts and figures in the individual lives. For critic Tom Moylan,

“The critical dystopia doesn’t just set out a negative vision: It uses the portrait of a nightmare future in order to launch a political critique of the present”