Preview

Essay On Dystopia In 1984

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
998 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On Dystopia In 1984
A person living in a perfect utopia wakes up to a dystopia! “A utopia is a place of ideal perfection, especially in laws, government and social conditions.” (Merriam-Webster). On the other hand, “A dystopia is an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives.” (Merriam-Webster). A Utopia can become a dystopia by either the population becoming aware and rebelling or the society not being able to function (this may be caused by the leader and or corruption). An example of this transformation can be seen the book 1984. Utopias transform into dystopias constantly; another example of a utopia is the group of Dooms Day Preppers that spend their time preparing for future disasters.

In the novel 1984, written by George Orwell, the citizens of Oceania believe their society is a
…show more content…
In the society it is perceived that everyone is equal, but in reality it is very far from that, even thinking negatively about the government or their beliefs is highly illegal. “Winston kept his back turned to the telescreen. It was safer, though, as he well knew, even a back can be revealing” (Orwell 3). This quote describes Winston’s fear of letting the government know his true feelings. This quote also shows the strictness and constant surveillance throughout Oceania. The government of Oceania also tries to alter how the public thinks. “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” (Orwell 4). This quote shows us how the government mentally manipulates the society into believing their warped beliefs and keeping the public uneducated and naive. An example of this is the party lying to the public about who their country is at war with. They constantly change any detail, fact or event to create a utopian society. In this novel, it is easily seen how the perfect utopia can quickly be transformed into a dystopia. This leads us to the radical group of dooms day

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    1984 Chapter 1-6 Essay

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Because as the kids grow they are trained by the party to always watch out for though criminals and they often tend to turn on their own parents and report them to the though police.…

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "1984" Essay

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages

    After being beaten, starved and confronted with his greatest fear, Winston, the protagonist in the novel 1984, finally gives in to the Party’s needs. Winston and his lover, Julia are both taken into custody after they were caught for being in a relationship, something that was forbidden in the province of Oceania, the place that they live. O’Brien, an important member of the Party that is in charge of the torture of Winston, forces Winston to completely forget about his past thoughts. O’ Brien moves Winston into room 101, a room notorious for the site of horrific things. O’ Brien attaches a cage of hungry rats to Winston’s face. Because of this, Winston breaks down and becomes controlled by the Party once again. He doesn’t care about Julia and yells out to feed Julia to the rats instead. Winston lost all his love for Julia and O’ Brien lets Winston and Julia go. This is how the Party controls minds. After some time, the reader learns that Winston had been living a calm and peaceful life. He didn’t have a single thought of betraying the Party anymore and followed every rule there was. Winston saw Julia again and noticed that she changed a lot since the change. They talk for a brief period and they both apologized for betraying each other. Both of their minds have been completely shifted by O’ Brien and the rest of the Party. Winston and Julia had defied and broke many rules of Oceania just for their love for each other. They met, talked and kissed far away from the general population. They risked their own safety to be with one another. Winston and Julia thought they would never be separated, even if the Police came to arrest them. After O’ Brien made Winston go up against his greatest fear, Winston’s brian was in total control of O’ Brien. Because of O’ Brien’s actions, he didn’t even want to talk to the person that he loved, he had erased all his past thoughts about his life, and he praised Big Brother as a god, someone who he despised…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The totalitarian government of Oceania relates to a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial adm requires complete subservience to the state. George Orwell’s 1984 describes the life of Winston Smith who is ruled by the dictatorial government of Oceania. The government enforces an oppressive and unrestricted rule on the people by controlling their emotions, actions, and essentially their lives. Winston was pulled in conflicting directions between his strict allegiance to the Party and his own thoughts and desires. His internal conflict shows how the totalitarian government in Oceania controlled people’s lives.…

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian story set in Oceania (London). It depicts a society, with an oppressive controlling government, which manipulates past events and puts the people under constant surveillance. The citizens of Oceania are driven to fully submit to the authority of the omniscient, Big Brother. The Party puts the population under constant surveillance and brainwashes them by sending messages and propaganda blaring through the ubiquitous Telescreens. These Telescreens cause people to live in fear and use propaganda to manipulate their thoughts, so that they believe whatever they are told.…

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although the modern dystopian novel and dystopian works of the early 20th century may share many of the same principles and components, the overall purposes behind them are poles apart. The popular novel, The Hunger Games and its sequels can be considered prototypical of our contemporary dystopian themes that emphasize; the act of rebellion against a state of oppression, the power that comes with being motivated by love, the presence of hope and the triumph of the protagonist over a totalitarian regime. George Orwell and Alex Huxley—authors of 1984 and Brave New World respectively—did not write stories that inspired resistance. They used allegory to pinpoint the faults in society and prophesy the end of human intelligence and freedom. Orwell…

    • 162 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the United States, the safety and protection of the American people has always been a primary ideal of the United States government. In the past five years, new technology has emerged that has aided the government in ensuring this ideal. In the novel 1984, by George Orwell, Orwell uses a dystopian society to portray a government which utilizes technology and procedures to make it seem like they are protecting the citizens, but in reality is generating fear to control and have complete power over the people. In modern America, the government has been accused of similar actions and procedures. However, the United States government does not have the same intentions. Given the domestic and international threats present, heightened security like security cameras in schools as well as other public grounds and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are used solely for the protection and preservation of the liberty of the American people.…

    • 1973 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In a totalitarian government, the people are not living in a reality, but rather the inverse, they are living in a reality made for them. 1984 by George Orwell is a story of Winston Smith's struggle against a totalitarian government that controls the ideas and thoughts of its citizens. In the mythical setting of Oceania, the Party is the ruling, and Big Brother is the fictitious leader that controls all the thoughts and actions of human life. The people's rebellious thoughts and actions are most likely suppressed, but that can only go so far for a totalitarian government. In the novel 1984, Oceania is controlled by a totalitarian government, which is similar to the government systems of Nazi Germany and North Korea because they used torture and food shortage.…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Imagine living in a world where politics are everything and all forms of individuality and personal identities are shattered. A world where everybody is stripped of their rights to talk, act, think, or even form their own opinions, simply because they do not agree with the government’s beliefs. These aspects are just a few of the examples of things dictators would have control over in a totalitarianism form of government. Aggressive leaders such as Hitler and Joseph Stalin are examples of such dictators. They used their power for terror and murder, and their motive is simply to maximize their own personal power. George Orwell had witnessed World War II, the fall of Hitler and Stalin’s dictatorships, and the fatal outcomes that have come from these governments. To warn future generations of the harsh effects of totalitarianism governments, he wrote the book Nineteen Eighty-Four. Published in 1946, Nineteen Eighty-Four describes life in a totalitarianism form of government, following the main character, Winston Smith, as he takes risks in discovering how he believes life should truly be. Literary critic Irving Howe states, “Were it possible, in the world of 1984, to show human character in anything resembling genuine freedom...it would not be the world of 1984” (62). In Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, the government uses its power to suppress individuality among the people.…

    • 1645 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Oceania when you step out of line, you will be punished accordingly. That is the message George Orwell tries to get across to his reader in 1984. Since that is the notion he is trying to get his reader to understand as the author in this book, he obeys that rule as well. Orwell uses many literary devices and techniques such as symbolism, metaphors, tone, allusions, and many more… to make the reader understand what kind of society Winston is living in.…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Essay on 1984

    • 1343 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In this novel Nineteen Eighty-Four many people go against the higher powers that control them. The following paragraphs will show how the main characters, Winston and Julia show rebellion towards The Party and Big Brother, from committing crimes of showing faith in themselfs, to even believing in a organization called The Brother Hood that holds no real proof of existing, to even making bold decisions that could carry the two to death.…

    • 1343 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A totalitarian government must be simultaneously admired and feared by its citizens in order to maintain absolute control. Oceania’s Inner Party in George Orwell’s 1984 takes extreme measures, such as putting its people through physical and mental torture, to ensure that they will always remain in power. Citizens are robbed of any personal rights and freedoms, bringing about their suffering and the Party’s success. Inequality between the social classes as well as unreasonable punishment for crime keeps the citizens in line and the Party in…

    • 86 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    1984 Dystopia Analysis

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Dystopia. The idea is explored in a now, quite saturated, genre of novels, many of which predict propaganda integrated into daily life, “controlling” the minds of the masses. 1984 is no longer the future, and neither is the twenty-first century. Many would believe that we still have yet to live in such conditions, but the truth contrasts this more than they may be aware. Propaganda is more prevalent than ever, with the advent of the internet, a powerful tool that when wielded can instantly connect one to vast amounts of knowledge. The internet, however, has become a powerful medium for propaganda. This isn’t even necessarily limited to blatant spreading of opinions, but also to news articles, and companies that exist today. This is not…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Across the decades, there have been countless examples of broken societies in literature . In these places, life has taken on a new meaning than what we know to be true today. These dystopian future novels are often dark, and there is almost always previous event in that timeline that would lead to reason why the system is set up in that particular way. Family is often a big theme in this type of book. Whether it be because that is what the government demands or reprimands, family is almost always an interesting aspect of futuristic/dystopian novels. However, when societies become too controlling or demanding, or when there is a major conflict that affects a large amount of people, the central theme of a whole, happy, and healthy family…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Dystopia

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Most of you have heard the word 'dystopia' before, but maybe you don't know the true meaning of it. It may be determined in a theoretical fiction and science fiction as well. Besides fiction this word includes horror, apocalyptic, unnatural, fantasy, and unknown ideas that didn’t or might not even happen yet. It reflects the opposite of Utopia, the perfect world where human nature haven’t faced any problems. Dystopia is different from ‘utopia’ by its prefix ‘dys’ that tells us all the negative side of the word; it is the same as words like ‘dysfunctional’ or ‘dyslexia’.…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Every daring attempt to make great change in existing conditions, every lofty vision of new possibilities for the human race, has been labeled Utopian,” In order to have a perfect society, change for the greater good need to be made.Unfortunately, instead of a Utopian society, it becomes a dystopian society. The reason that Utopian societies are bad is because everyone has to be equal for no one is better, and all autonomy is lost.…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics