Orwell and 1984

1. Orwell and 1984 D. Maldonado

2. George Orwell (1903-1950) • Eric Blair • Educated at private schools • Resulted in hating the class system • disapproved of Communism • a socialist • Communism was not pure socialism because: • gulf in society • control of the peasants • Hypocritical • used his writings to communicate a political message

3. Orwell and Satire • Orwell was a socialist as well as a satirist • Orwell became a critic of capitalism and communism • Like Animal Farm,1984 is a Satire, and somewhat of an Allegory

4. 1984 • Nineteen Eighty-Four (sometimes 1984) is a darkly satirical political novel by George Orwell. The story takes place in a nightmarish dystopia, in which an ever-surveillant State enforces perfect conformity among citizens through indoctrination, fear, lies and ruthless punishment. • It was first published on June 8, 1949, is Orwell's most famous work, and is the inspiration of the word "Orwellian.“ • Orwell had originally chosen the year 1980 for his work. But as the writing dragged on due to the progression of his pulmonary Tuberculosis, Orwell changed it to 1982 and then to 1984.

5. 1984 • There are various ideas as to the meaning of the title. It is widely thought that Orwell simply switched the last two digits of the year in which he wrote it (1948). • The novel introduces the concepts of the ever-present, all-seeing Big Brother, the notorious Room 101, the thought police who use telescreens (televisions that contain a surveillance camera – found in almost every room of the apartments of the characters in the novel), and the fictional language Newspeak. • (The underlined words will be important!)

6. Satire • -The use of ridicule to attack ideas/failures/evil action • Brainstorm: Satirical cartoons?

7. Modern Examples

8. The World of 1984 • The world described in Nineteen Eighty-Four has striking and deliberate parallels (allegorical) to the Stalinist Soviet Union; notably, the themes of a betrayed revolution, which Orwell put so famously in Animal Farm, the subordination of individuals to "the Party," and the extensive and institutional use of propaganda, especially as it influenced the main character of the book, Winston Smith.

9. The Ministries of Oceania Oceania's four ministries are housed in huge pyramidal structures displaying the three slogans of the party on their sides. • The Ministry of Peace • Minipaxis the newspeak name for the Ministry of Peace, which concerns itself with making war • The Ministry of Plenty • Miniplentyin Newspeak, it isthe ministry involved in maintaining ubiquitous poverty in Oceania

10. The Ministries of Oceania • The Ministry of Truth • Minitrue is the propaganda arm of the Ingsoc State. They distribute the leaflets, porno, and of course the telescreens. Winston Smith spends his daytime hours “correcting” historical records in Minitrue. • The Ministry of Love • Miniluv is a gigantic windowless building devoted to torture and brutality. The home of the thought police, it is surrounded by a maze of barbed wire and machinegun towers.

11. Orwell’s Inspiration • To understand why Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four, one has only to look at his less famous writings: most significantly, Homage to Catalonia does a lot to explain his distrust of totalitarianism and the betrayal of revolutions; Coming Up For Air, at points, celebrates the individual freedom that is lost in Nineteen Eighty-Four; and his essay “Why I Write” explains clearly that all the "serious work" he had written since the Spanish Civil War in 1936 was "written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism.”

12. Inspiration • However, the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four also reflects various aspects of the social and political life of both the United Kingdom and the United States of America. • Orwell is also reported to have said that the book described what he saw as the actual situation in the United Kingdom, where he lived, in 1948, where rationing was still in place, and the British Empire was dissolving at the same time as newspapers were reporting its triumphs. • At the time Orwell had also been working for the overseas service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which may help to explain one of his interpretations of four key ministries that governed the world of Big Brother.

13. Parody of the Four Freedoms • The structure of the government resembled a parody in reverse of the famous 1941 USA State of the Union speech by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In that speech before the assembled Congress, the president outlined Four Freedoms:

14. Four Freedoms • "The first is freedom of speech and expression – everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way – everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants – everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor – anywhere in the world."

15. Four Freedoms • George Orwell appears to have taken this 1941 speech and used it, along with his own experiences at the BBC, to create by reversal, the four key ministries of government in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. • Each is focused on an object in exquisite irony, utterly antithetical to its name so that the Ministry of Truth is concerned with lies, an idea that Orwell seems to have gained by his work at the BBC.

16. Four Freedoms • The Ministry of Truth as a Ministry of Lies would also be a parody of the first of the four freedoms: "freedom of speech." • "The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war," wrote Orwell. A few years earlier, Roosevelt had described the fourth of his freedoms as being "freedom from fear." Reality said otherwise and so did Orwell in describing the "Ministry of Peace."

17. Four Freedoms • "... the Ministry of Love," wrote Orwell, was in reality concerned "with torture." The second of the four freedoms addressed the issue of religion. If "God is love" then the "Ministry of Love" could be interpreted as mocking that ideal as well. • Finally, Orwell described the "Ministry of Plenty" as dealing in reality "with starvation." The third of Roosevelt's four freedoms addressed the issue of freedom from want. Orwell seems to have heard these words with a sarcastic mindset.

18. The Party • In his novel Orwell creates a world in which citizens have no right to a personal life or personal thought. Leisure and other activities are controlled through strict mores. Sexual pleasure is discouraged, with females being taught not to enjoy it; sex is retained only for the purpose of reproduction. • The menacing figure of Big Brother has been variously interpreted to be that of Soviet leader Josef Stalin and BBC design department's Roy Oxley.

19. Big Brother • The mysterious head of government is the omniscient, omnipotent, beloved Big Brother, or "BB." Big Brother is described as "a man of about forty-five, with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features." • He is usually displayed on posters with the slogan "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU."

20. Emmanuel Goldstein • His nemesis is the hated Emmanuel Goldstein, a Party member who had been in league with Big Brother and The Party during the revolution. Goldstein is said to be a major part of the Brotherhood, a vast underground anti-Party fellowship.

21. Slogans • The three slogans of the Party, visible everywhere, are: • WAR IS PEACE • FREEDOM IS SLAVERY • IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

22. Slogans • While by definition these words are antonyms, in the world of 1984 the world is in a state of constant war, no one is free, and everyone is ignorant. • Through the universality of the extremes the terms become meaningless, and the slogans become axiomatic. • They echo the slogan "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work Makes Freedom") on the gates of Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps; the slogans are obvious non sequiturs being passed off as truth by a totalitarian power. • This type of semiconscious lie, and the deliberate self-deception with which the citizens are encouraged to accept it, is called doublethink.

23. Superstates • The world is controlled by three functionally similar authoritarian superstates engaged in perpetual war with each other: Oceania (ideology: Ingsoc – English Socialism), Eurasia (ideology: Neo-Bolshevism) and Eastasia (ideology: Death Worship or Obliteration of the Self). • In terms of the political map of the late 1940s when the book was written, Oceania covers the areas of the British Empire and Commonwealth, the United States of America and Latin America; Eastasia corresponds to China, Japan, Korea, and India, and Eurasia corresponds to the Soviet Union and Continental Europe. The United Kingdom's placement in Oceania rather than in Eurasia is commented upon in the book as an undisputed historic anomaly.

24. Political Geography

25. Setting • London, the novel's setting, is the capital of the Oceanian province of Airstrip One, the renamed Britain and Ireland. Goldstein's book explains that the three ideologies are basically the same, but it is imperative to keep the public uninformed about that. The population is led to believe that the other two ideologies are detestable.

26. Newspeak • Newspeak, the "official language" of Oceania, is extraordinary in that its vocabulary decreases every year; the state of Oceania sees no purpose in maintaining a complex language, and so Newspeak is a language dedicated to the "destruction of words.“ • The true goal of Newspeak is to take away the ability to adequately conceptualize revolution, or even dissent, by removing words that could be used to that end. Since the thought police had yet to develop a method of reading people's minds to catch dissent, Newspeak was created so that it wasn't even possible to think a dissenting thought. This concept has been examined (and widely discounted) in linguistics.

27. Technology • The world of Nineteen Eighty-Four is foremost a political, not a technological, dystopia. (Hence it can be quite inaccurate to refer to it whenever there are concerns about new technologies.) The technological level of the society in the novel is mostly crude and less advanced than in the real 1980s. Apart from the telescreens and speech-recognizing typewriters, it is no more advanced than in wartime Britain. Living standards are low and declining, with rationing and unpalatable ersatz products; in that regard, Orwell's vision is diametrically opposed to the technological hedonism of Brave New World.

28. Why an Allegory? • Provides for a greater audience • Easy way to spread a complex idea to the masses • Less “in your face” type of persuasion; provides a way to talk about something without REALLY talking about it • To understand how 1984 acts an allegory, you must have knowledge of the Russian Revolution and Stalin.

29. RussianRevolution – How is Started • Czar Nicolas Romanov II • absolute power • huge social gulf between the peasants and the land owner and the elite • peasants and workers begin rebelling against the Czar in 1905

30. TheRussianRevolution 1917-1945 • Czar Nicholas II (Monarch of Russia) -surrendered power after a complicated civil war • His family was in rule for three centuries • Very small portion of people owned everything • Alexander Kerensky became Premier and was soon ousted

31. BolshevikPower • Vladimir Lenin was leader • gained control in 1917 • had the Romanov family murdered in 1918 • wanted Communism

32. RussianRevolutionLeaders • Vladimir Lenin based his theories on Karl Marx • German philosopher and the writer of “The Communist Manifesto” • Lenin became sick • Four People bode for power • Joseph Stalin • Gregory Zinoviev • Leon Trotsky • Lev Kamenev

33. Communism • Comes from the root word of “community” • Equal distribution of wealth and possessions among Russia’s citizens • Karl Marx is “The father of communism”

34. AboutLenin: • Led Bolsheviks • Used the Red Guard to stop others from taking over Russia, then used it to take over Russia himself

35. Lenin • New Economic Policy- allowed for limited private ownership of land and business • Renamed his party the Communist party in 1917 • Named Russia to Soviet Union in 1922

36. MoreaboutLenin… • Named Joseph Stalin Secretary General • 1922- Lenin suffers paralyzing strokes • 1924- Lenin dies • Stalin and Trotsky struggle for power

37. RussianRevolutionPower • Joseph Stalin built his power behind the lines • Leon Trotsky: Was popular/charismatic, and famous for his speeches • Stalin leads an alliance against Trotsky and becomes Dictator of Russia

38. StalinWins! • Stalin out-maneuvers Trotsky and gains control • Stalin starts to isolate Trotsky within the party because he is a threat

39. LeonTrotsky • Gifted speaker and writer • Political genius • Tried to end Russian involvement in WWI • Great thoughts and plans but had trouble actually installing them • Not liked by Lenin

40. Life under Stalin • Terrorized country with widespread arrests and executions • Anyone thought to be opposed to Stalin and Communism was executed on the spot

41. “Reign of Terror” • 1934 “great purges” and “show trials” • Sent millions to Soviet labor camps • 2-7 million innocent citizens are murdered • Employed KGB to repress any opposition • Used publications to report statistics inaccurately in his favor

42. SecretPolice • Created secret police force KGB and later known as the NKVD. Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria

43. Stalin’s Plan • First “Five Year Plan” • attempt to make Russia a modern industrial state • “comrades” need to work harder so Soviet Russia can be a beacon of hope to workers everywhere Poster: encourages Soviet people to work together and promote industrialization.

44. Stalinin Power • 1933 Second “Five Year Plan”- emphasized rapid growth of Soviet Industry • this worked fairly well, by the end Soviet Russia was a formidable world power

45. CultOfPersonality • A cult of personality or personality cult arises when a country's leader uses mass media to create a larger-than-life public image through unquestioning flattery and praise. • Think: Kim Jong-il

46. SecretAgreement • “German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact”: secret agreement between Stalin and Hitler • Neither country would attack each other

47. Liar! • Hitler lied! • 1941- Germany fully attacks Russia!

48. Stalin’sRuleAgainstTrotsky • After Stalin came to power, he wanted Trotsky out • Trotsky was banished three times from three places • 1st : Expelled from Moscow • 2nd: Expelled from the Communist Party • 3rd: Expelled from Russia in 1936 • Trotsky fled to Mexico in 1936 • He was assassinated by Stalin’s orders in 1940

49. Blame Trotsky • During Stalin’s rule: • Russia’s economic system failed • Violence, fear, and starvation occurred throughout the country • Trotsky was blamed for it all • Those who were associated with Trotsky were executed • In all, over 20 million citizens were purged (killed, imprisoned, or severely made to change)

50. StalinDies • Stalin ruled as absolute dictator throughout WWII and until his death on March 5th, 1953. • Theory on how he died: • 1.Poisoned with warfarin (rat poison) • 2. Stroke or brain hemorrhage