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1984 Introduction and Background. Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past. Orwell on the novel.
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1984Introduction and Background Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.
Orwell on the novel • My recent novel is NOT intended as an attack on Socialism or on the British Labour Party (of which I am a supporter) but as a show-up of the perversions to which a centralized economy is liable and which have already been partly realized in Communism and Fascism. I do not believe that the kind of society I describe necessarily will arrive, but I do believe (allowing of course for the fact that the book is a satire) that something resembling it could arrive. I believe that totalitarian ideas have taken root in the minds of intellectuals everywhere, and I have tried to draw these ideas out to their logical consequences. The scene of the book is laid in Britain in order to emphasize that the English-speaking races are not innately better than anyone else and that totalitarianism, if not fought against, could triumph anywhere.
George Orwell • Born Eric Blair in 1903 in Motihari, Bengal • His mother, Ida, brought him to England at the age of one • At age five, he was sent to a small private school • Two years later, he was recommended to the headmaster of one of the most successful preparatory schools in England • After graduating, he received scholarships to both Wellington and Eton colleges
George Orwell • After finishing his studies at Eton, he joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma • He resigned and returned to England in 1928 because he had grown to hate imperialism • He lived for several years in poverty, sometimes homeless • Worked briefly as a school teacher until his health forced him to resign
George Orwell • Soon after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Orwell volunteered to fight against the uprising • He was shot in the neck in 1937 and returned to England • He began to support himself by working as a journalist • He died at the age of 46 of tuberculosis
Orwell’s pen name • Eric Blair adopted the pen name George Orwell to show his love of English tradition and the English countryside • George – the patron saint of England • Orwell – a river in Suffolk (one of Orwell’s favorite places)
Orwell’s Writing • During his life he was best known for his journalism • Also wrote 2 very famous books • Animal Farm – allegory of the corruption of socialist Stalinism • 1984 – prophetic vision of the results of totalitarianism
Orwell’s Beliefs • Orwell disliked communism and socialism because he feared that they would result in totalitarianism • 1984 is Orwell’s prediction of what could happen if the ideas of socialism spread and continued to develop • Socialism did not spread as Orwell feared; however, many of Orwell’s predictions have come true, especially in the United States
The Conditions Behind the Vision • In 1946 when George Orwell began to imagine a future world, he had just witnessed the defeat of two dictators – Adolf Hitler in Germany and Benito Mussolini in Italy • He had also witnessed the success of two other dictators – Francisco Franco in Spain and Josef Stalin in the former Soviet Union • He had also just lived through the most devastating war in history and seen its victors turn on each other in a tense cold war • Orwell’s vision of the future came from what he knew of the recent past
What is totalitarianism? • State regulation of almost every aspect of public and private behavior • True socialism or communism would never result in totalitarianism because there would be no government • Unfortunately, the leaders who called themselves communist at the time were not – Hitler, Stalin – their ideas were leading their countries toward totalitarianism
What is socialism? • Socialism as a political movement was a response to the consequences of industrialization • In socialism, property and the distribution of wealth are controlled by the community – either directly or through government control on behalf of the people
Socialism vs. Communism • Socialism is a step towards Communism • Socialism is when the proletariat (lower-class/working-class) takes over, and forms a government ruled by the people • Communism is what happens when the government is gone completely
Big Brother is Watching YOU The face of a man...with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features Pg 3, 1984
Background to Nineteen Eighty-Four • The world of Nineteen Eighty-Four is based upon two totalitarian dictatorships, Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. • The world of Ingsoc (English socialism) bears strong resemblances to the Soviet Union, but much of the detail of the life comes from Germany.
Nazi Germany EVER since I have been scrutinizing political events, I have taken a tremendous interest in propagandist activity. I saw that the Socialist-Marxist organizations mastered and applied this instrument with astounding skill. And I soon realized that the correct use of propaganda is a true art which has remained practically unknown to the bourgeois parties. Mein Kampf by Adolf HitlerVolume One - A Reckoning
Like Stalin, Adolph Hitler denied his subjects access to the truth. His Third Reich “can be read as a war against memory – an Orwellian falsification of reality...” (Primo Levi) Oceania conducts an unceasing war on memory-evidence that conflicts with the latest official line is systematically destroyed & a false trail is laid in its place.
We do not intend to use the radio only for our partisan purposes. We want room for entertainment, popular arts, games, jokes and music. But everything should have a relationship to our day. Everything should include the theme of our great reconstructive work, or at least not stand in its way. Above all it is necessary to clearly centralize all radio activities, to place spiritual tasks ahead of technical ones, to introduce the leadership principle, to provide a clear worldview, and to present this worldview in flexible ways. • - Goebbels
Children of the revolution In the Soviet Union,young people were encouraged to join the political group. They were called Young Pioneers (aged between 7-13) and later called Komsomols. If you were a Komsomol member you got into university automatically, so there was great pressure to join.
Hitler Youth • "My teaching is hard. Weakness has to be knocked out of them. In my Ordensburgen a youth will grow up before which the world will shrink back. A violently active dominating, intrepid, brutal youth - that is what I am after". Youth must be all those things. It must be indifferent to pain. There must be no weakness or tenderness in it. I want to see once more in its eyes the gleam of pride and independence of the beast of prey. "I will have no intellectual training. Knowledge is ruin to my young men.
1984 Things to think about – Discussion
Things to think about – discussion • Individuality can be destroyed by a political system. • Do you believe this could be true? Explain? • Who might believe this statement more readily than others?
Things to think about – discussion • Language is a powerful tool for controlling how people view the world. • How does language shape your view of reality? • Do you think that a broader vocabulary would increase or decrease your ability to understand the world you live in?
Things to think about – discussion • A knowledge of the past is essential for evaluating the present. • What connections can exist between past and present events? • In what way does a knowledge of history help you understand current events?
Things to think about – discussion • People can be forced to give up their beliefs and even alter their feelings if their survival is threatened. • What kind of beliefs or feelings might be the easiest to give up? Most difficult? • Do you have beliefs that you would not give up under any circumstances? Explain.
