Analyzing Authors Message In 1984 And The Crucible English Literature Essay

The author’s message often reflects the time in which any literary work was written. George Orwell’s 1984 creates a world and governmental regime that is similar in many ways to totalitarian regimes, specifically communism. 1984 serves as a warning of dangers to the nation which are both relevant and important to the novel’s year of publication. The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, illustrates the Salem witch-hunt of 1692. Miller’s message mainly centers around corruption within a society and the dangers of hysteria such as McCarthyism; this message was certainly reflection of the 1950’s. Although the author’s message was reflective of the time of publication in both 1984 and The Crucible, it is slightly more insightful to the time of 1984.

George Orwell’s 1984 was a warning to people about the dangers of totalitarian regimes during the author’s time. It is evident that he felt compelled to write this novel in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War; to serve as a warning for future dangers. In places such as Germany and Russia, during the time of World War II, Orwell had witnessed the powers of absolute political authority in an age of advanced technology. Orwell saw that the modern government was capable of not only of influencing people’s actions, but of also controlling their thoughts, making resistance and rebellion almost impossible. He depicted the future of United Kingdom after it has been immensely damaged during World War II, leaving it vulnerable to socialism and fascism. In his novel, he visualized these dangers by creating a government ruled by a single entity known as Big Brother; a totalitarian regime. It can be clearly seen that Orwell personifies his political and social perceptions through, the protagonist, Winston Smith. Winston is a party member who does not fully accept the ideology that is fed to him by the government, and this eventually causes him to rebel in the beginning. Orwell addresses those fears in 1984 by borrowing images from Stalin’s USSR and Hitler’s Nazi Germany in order to caution his readers against such ideological extremists. 1984 remains one of the most powerful warnings ever issued about totalitarianism and socialism. As a result of Orwell’s consideration of the time frame and his incorporation of important historical events and images, the message he tried to convey was very reflective of the time of publication of his novel.

Although the author’s message, in both 1984 and The Crucible, was reflective of the time of publication of the two literary works to a certain extent, it is clearly more reflective of the time frame in George Orwell’s 1984. The two literary works were written as warnings of dangers and threats that were present at the time of publication. Whilst Orwell message is to warn people about totalitarian regimes, Miller’s message is a warning of corruption within a society and the extent to which, a phenomenon similar to McCarthyism, could reach. While Arthur Miller deals with the Salem witch trials of 1692, Orwell approached the matter in a completely different manner and set his novel in the future instead of the past. Orwell’s 1984 is a precautionary tale written as a warning against totalitarian regimes. Orwell deals with the entire society and how socialism or fascism could alter it. He was part of the Second World War and had first hand knowledge of the danger of absolute authority in an age of technological advancements. He illustrated both his knowledge and fears in his novel and as a result, 1984 became extremely reflective of the time frame of its publication. Arthur Miller, on the contrary, focuses on the key point of corruption within a society. He depicts that through drawing a parallel between the witch-hunts of Salem in the 1600’s and McCarthyism. Comparable to Orwell’s case, Miller witnessed the Red Scare and was one of those accused in the McCarthy trials. The author used the Salem witch trials as a symbol for McCarthyism, suggesting that the process of similar prosecutions can occur at any time or place. Arthur’s message is indeed reflective of the specific time of publication but can be viewed from a different angle since it can apply to any time frame or location. While the message Miller tried to convey was to an extent reflective of the time of publication, it was not as reflective of the time frame as the message conveyed in 1984.

An author’s message often reflects the time of publication of that specific literary work. The Crucible’s Arthur Miller and 1984’s George Orwell both attempted to use their literary works to serve as warnings of certain ideologies and regimes that were present during the time of publication of each of their works. The message Orwell conveys serves as a warning of socialism and fascism and is clearly reflective of the time of publication. Miller’s addresses corruption of the society in his play and hints to the mass hysteria caused by McCarthyism, which makes it reflective of the 1950’s, and the time of its publication. The messages of both literary works were reflective of the time of publication to a certain extent; however, the message conveyed in 1984 was slightly more reflective of the time of the publication and the dangers that faced the United Kingdom, as well as the rest of the world.