1984

1. 1984 Background Information

2. George Orwell • Born Eric Blair in 1903 in Bengal, India • Returned to England to study at Eton • Studied at Eton under Aldous Huxley, who later wrote the anti-utopian classic Brave New World • Worked as a member of the Indian Imperial police in Burma and hated how the job coarsened his attitude and behavior towards people

3. George Orwell Part 2 • Felt the need to escape “every form of man’s dominion over man” • Became a socialist because he hated the social injustice inherent in class-based societies • Fought in the Spanish Civil War with socialist and communist workers in Madrid, but became disillusioned when bitter internal dissension occurred • Died in 1950 at age forty-six of a tubercular hemorrhage

4. Historical and Literary Context • First half of twentieth century was a time of great tension and uncertainty: • WWI • WWII • Revolutions in Russia and China • Spanish Civil War • Rise of totalitarian governments in Germany, USSR, and Italy • Worldwide economic depression

5. Historical and Literary ContextPart 2 • Communism: • Based on the writings of Karl Marx (Communist Manifesto) • theory about government and economics that supports the elimination of private property; system in which all goods are owned commonly and are available to all as needed

6. Historical and Literary ContextPart 3 • Socialism: • category of economic and political theories advocating collective governmental ownership and administration of the production and distribution of goods • Stage of society in Marxist theory between capitalism (economic system characterized by private or cooperate ownership) and communism

7. Historical and Literary ContextPart 4 • Totalitarianism: • Form of government with a strong central rule where citizens are subject to absolute state authority • Theoretically no individual freedoms are allowed and people who are disloyal are arrested, tried, sent to labor camps, deported, and/or executed • Fascist Italy under Mussolini, Nazi Germany under Hitler, and Soviet Union under Stalin

8. 1984 • First published in 1949 to critical acclaim in the United Kingdom and United States • Reflects Orwell’s past as well as his vision of the future where the horrors of totalitarianism are totally realized • Influenced by the turmoil of the first half of the twentieth century

9. 1984Part 2 • Satire that exaggerates problems in society to suggest reform • Influenced by Swift’s famous satire Gulliver’s Travels (1726), but lacks the same level of comedy found in Swift • Portrays a dystopia: a negative utopia; a place where individuals live dehumanized and frightening lives

10. 1984Part 3 • Big Brother’s appearance is influenced by Stalin: “heavy black mustached and ruggedly handsome features”

11. 1984Part 4 • The Party’s Three-Year Plans allude to Stalin’s Five-Year Plans • Stalin also conducted purge trials to exile or execute potential enemies • Anyone with a higher education was suspected • The novel critiques power-worship: “The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power.” (Part Three of 1984)

12. 1984Part 5 • Themes: • Individual vs. State • Nature of Truth and History • Dangers of Totalitarianism • Machiavellian power for power’s sake • Mind Control: psychological manipulation and the power of language • (and the role of technology in all of the above)

13. 1984Part 6 • “Orwellian” • Subordination of an individual’s interests to those of the state • Setting: 1984 in London, chief city of Airstrip One, one of the largest provinces of Oceania • POV: 3rd Person Limited (Winston)

14. 1984Totalitarian Mechanisms: • “2 minutes hate • minispeak • telescreens • Big Brother (the persona) • Youth League • Emmanuel Goldstein In groups develop an explanation for each mechanism’s effectiveness and come up with one contemporary analogue.