1984: A Dystopian Analysis

Scholarly Article:

In the article “Bloom on Nineteen Eighty-Four” the author Harold Bloom criticizes the novel and shows admiration to it due to its bold nature. He compares it to different aspects in society in which he shows how everything that happened in the novel and a totalitarian government is very much possible in now a day time. He provides examples and shows different parts of society in which their main motto is “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength”. He shows ways in which present time could very much be this motto or belief without necessarily being of a totalitarian society. This gives way to his explanation in which he describes Orwell as a “dark” genius, showing why it applies to the present government, and an unofficial warning to where the government could be heading even though it’s not obvious. I very much agree with Mr. Bloom because thinking about how society runs, it gets carried away and it itself makes it vulnerable to changes in which individual thought is overpowered. “To keep peace there has to be war”, this applies to every aspect of the military. In order to defend oneself and the country some may have to be knocked out of the way which would mean a war in order to try to maintain peace among others. “Freedom is slavery” applies to the working class like Bloom explained also; in order for the working class to be able to have money and what is required for basic necessities financially, one has to work and therefore become tied up and give up time, and effort that otherwise wouldn’t have to be given up. “Ignorance is Strength” is one that would mostly be understood by the youth age group. We all go through break ups in which we wish we hadn’t found out what was happening behind our backs. When we do it’s like a stab straight to the heart therefore making one weak, that otherwise wouldn’t have to happen if they would’ve been kept in ignorance.

Authors Style:

In the novel, George Orwell uses repetition in various instances to emphasize a point, in which case this was the Phrase that was the main basis of the society. He uses the phrase “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength” in numerous instances again in the purpose to emphasize what the society had to base on. It was showing the reader that they had to drill it into their head and follow it because there was no other way, that’s all there was to it. It was simple as it’s written yet it was to be taken seriously; he used phrases that were short and to the point, but carried a strong message across. He also repeatedly mentioned the thought police through the novel which helped show how seriously it was. He had to demonstrate and really emphasize how important it was for the thoughts to maintain loyal as well as the actions. Orwell also used change of font to demonstrate change of scene and purpose of passage. When Winston starts entering passages to his diary, Orwell changes from regular font to italics to show the reader that that is an excerpt from his mind and is not to be shared. He also does this to mark the difference between what he is allowed to say and think and what is individualism that would eventually lead to his increase desire of rebellion to the society and government. He also uses diction that would allow the reader to understand his emotions such as “lust” and his desire to have the sensation and have sex not be just mechanical. He in addition to stating or introducing a problem, also later provides a solution, His obsession with the black haired girl and them having intercourse solved the problem of having a robotic feeling, and therefore gave him satisfaction that he sought for before.

Theme:

George Orwell in his last years, wrote the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four in which he spoke about a dystopian society and how it would be. He showed family values were gone and unity didn’t exist anymore in a society in which they had a totalitarian government. He also made the main quote in the purpose of showing real life society that it is actually a very realistic quote to believe in, The author used a dark genre novel that is more powerful than it seems to be, and provides a dark side that makes the mood mysterious yet suspenseful. Orwell uses a quote saying “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past”. This quote was used to talk about the changing of the past and history in order to erase their past that may make them rebellious to the government. This is one of the most important quotes that contribute to the theme because as explained in the book, the past was changed and therefore they had nothing to look back on to, and so had to be satisfied with what they were told because there was that emptiness and “need to know” type of feeling; it had to be replaced by something else, and in which case they forced upon them hate to refill it up. Because they were already being manipulated with thought, they were already weakened allowing the leaders to manipulate thought and actions in the present. Manipulation of the mind would also allow them to give up individualism due to it. Another quote that stood out was “A few agents of the thought Police moved always among them, spreading false rumors and marking down and eliminating the few individuals who were judged capable of becoming dangerous…” in chapter 7. In this novel, the message that is trying to be conveyed would be that Individualism is required to have a society running and functioning to its fullest, and expression of one’s soul is required for personal satisfaction and self fulfillment. If one isn’t allowed to have privacy to think whatever they want, even if they did otherwise, then there would be no point in having any type of government because no one would go against it.

Conclusion:

Last but not least the book Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of the most famous of dystopian novels due to its hidden message that although isn’t straight forward, has a great impact among society. It gives an alternative view to the world and society in 1948 during the world wars and how the government could be in which case they would become a totalitarian government. Orwell uses devices such as repetition to emphasize important aspects to the society in which it it’s obligatory to comply with these. It gives another view to what was actually happening behind the eyes of everyday people and how they would react to it. In general Nineteen Eighty-Four is a great novel in which it shows the true face of American society and what is normally accepted and controlled.

Poem:

Fresh static all my own

By: Matt Ford

My skin tingles

With the after-image of your hands and kisses,

As if you had passed the static in your veins

Over to me

And I was lathered with the scent.

You lie next to the hollow of the mattress

Where I slept,

As if you were sleeping too.

Your hair flows over the pillow like

Dark waters

Shining, while the damaged cells

Repair themselves, to go on shining.

I carefully feel

For the cut the surgeon left on my wrist

That morning, but the gel has already healed it,

Only a bruise now –

I savour it, as the nerves in my hand

Draw from the implant, their pathways

Steadily calcified,

Then refashioned as conducting filaments.

My palms bristle with the fever of strange currents:

The biocontroller

Seated deep in my motor cortex

Singing the new machine code of movement.

Between surgery,

We will indulge ourselves in ecstatic threesomes –

My old self, edging towards death, embracing

It’s replacement,

And your already perfect androgeny: your soft layers

Pretending to be flesh, your mechanisms for loving,

Your soothing voice

Reciting the simulation of a poem.

Until the night comes that I ask you to sever

The oxygen tube

Keeping the last of my brain alive –

My body tingling with fresh static all my own.

One Orchid was preserved, one Bee,

One Hummingbird,

But fewer people go to see them.

I pressed my ear to the ground, but I all could hear

Was the Earth growl impotently back,

Like a stomach whose last meal had been creation.—-

In this poem, the author uses different aspects of the dystopian society to show how a person is struggling to stay human between the turmoil of changing to a mechanical self. They in a way are asking of someone to keep them alive and being themselves. They want to feel any sensation, no matter what it is, just a sensation to remind them that they are human and how they used to be; they want to get back in touch with their inner self, but know that it is almost impossible to do so. This brings me back to the part of Nineteen Eighty-Four where Winston wants to feel the lust with the dark haired girl, and wants to know what it feels like to have sex and not have it be just a duty, but have it be done for pleasure. He falls in love with this girl because she is what reminded him what he used to be, and what it was like to be human.

Work Cited:

Bloom, Harold, ed. “Bloom on Nineteen Eighty-Four.” 1984, Bloom’s Guides. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2003. Bloom’s Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. (accessed November 23, 2010).

http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BGNEF01&SingleRecord=True

Ford, Matt “Fresh Static All my Own” 1999

http://www.lizardlogic.co.uk/~mattf/web_freshstatic.html

Orwell, George, 1984. New York: Signet Classic, 1949. Print