George orwell’s 1984

1. George orwell’s1984

2. About the Author • “George Orwell” was the pen name of Eric Blair. • Orwell was an Englishman born in India in 1903. He died at age 47. • Orwell was educated at Eton, a prestigious boarding school in England. • Orwell decided to skip college and work as a British Imperial Policeman in Burma • He hated working in Burma and returned to English on sick-leave • Once back in England he dedicated himself to writing full time. • 1984 was written in 1948

3. Orwell’s political views • He considered himself a democratic socialist and was critical of communism • He hated intellectuals, lying, cruelty, political authority, and totalitarianism • He strongly opposed Stalin and Hitler -- he was very outspoken during WWII

4. OCEANIA • 1984: Oceania’s Ranks • Oceania is a huge country ruled by The Party, which is led by a figure called “Big Brother” • The Inner Party (2% of pop.) control the country • The Outer Party (13% of pop.) are controlled by the Inner Party • The Proles (85% of pop.) are the labour power who live in poverty • The Brotherhood is an underground rebellion organization lead by Emmanuel Goldstein

5. CLASS SYSTEM

6. The World of 1984

7. NEWSPEAK • the official (fictional) language of Oceania • described as being "the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year" • Newspeak eliminates undesirable words and invents new words which greatly reduce and simplify vocabulary and grammar

8. What is the goal of Newspeak? • to replace Oldspeak (standard English) • to support the totalitarian regime • to make any alternative thinking ("thoughtcrime") or speech impossible by removing any words or possible constructs which describe the ideas of freedom, rebellion and so on.

9. Principles of Newspeak • Words with negative meanings are removed as redundant, so "bad" becomes "ungood“ • Words with comparative and superlative meanings are also simplified, so "better" becomes "gooder", and "best" becomes "goodest“ • Intensifiers can be added, so "great" became "plusgood", and "excellent" and "splendid" become "doubleplusgood" • Adjectives are formed by adding the suffix "-ful" to a root word (e.g., "goodthinkful", orthodox in thought) • Adverbs are formed by adding "-wise" ("goodthinkwise", in an orthodox manner)

10. DOUBLETHINK • Doublethink is the manipulation of the mind by making people accept contradictions • Doublethink makes people believe that the Party is the only institution that knows right from wrong • “The Ministry of Truth” (where Winston works) changes history, facts, and memories to promote Doublethink

11. TOTALITARIANISM • concept used to describe political systems whereby a state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private life. • totalitarian regimes or movements maintain themselves in political power by means of an official all-embracing ideology

12. Totalitarian states disseminate their ideology through propaganda via: • state-controlled mass media • a single party that controls the state • personality cults • control over the economy • regulation and restriction of free discussion and criticism • the use of mass surveillance • widespread use of terror tactics

13. Dystopia • the vision of a society that is the opposite of utopia (perfect society) • conditions of life are miserable, characterized by: • human misery • poverty • oppression • violence • disease • pollution

14. THEMES • Language and Communication • Philosophical Viewpoints • Power • Warfare • Violence • Technology and Modernization • Manipulation • Repression • Loyalty • Rebellion • Memory and the Past