Essay for English, Orwell

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Historical Analysis of Nineteen Eighty Four

George Orwell wrote 1984 in 1949. The book was meant to be his prediction of a totalitarianistic future. Orwell, being a Democratic Socialist, believed in equal rights, choice, freedom, and uniqueness. However, having lived through the horrors of World War II, and seeing the destruction brought on by totalitarian dictators, such as Tojo, Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin, Orwell felt that the world would eventually succumb to the evils of their regimes, and turn the entire planet into a totalitarianistic state, where the government could and did manipulate absolutely every aspect of life. This book is his prediction of the future, and says to us “If we continue in the way that we are going, this is what our society will look like in the near future. Therefore, we should always uphold the virtues of freedom, choice, and liberty”.

One interesting point is the representation of “Big Brother”. Throughout the course of the book, Big Brother is described as a cold figure with “a large black moustache”, a “Bald Forehead”, and “a seductive smile”. It is interesting to note that the physical appearance of Big Brother resembles that of Hitler and/or Stalin. It is quite obvious that Orwell is referring to the two best examples of totalitarianistic states from his time.

The organization of the three super-states is also an interesting one. Oceania comprises of all of the Western Superpowers, being USA, all the rest of North and South America, Britain, and Australia. Eurasia, supposedly the enemy, that they don’t even know that they’re fighting, comprises of the Eastern Soviet Bloc countries; Soviet Union, and central Europe. It is interesting to note that this book was written at approximately the start of the Cold War. The third super-state, known as Eastasia, comprises of China, parts of Mongolia, and Japan. The odd thing about this, is that the three main states were the same as in the time period. USA, Russia, and China were all emerging as the dominant superpowers, and the old colonization empires [such as the British and Japanese] beginning to fall apart. The disputed territory represents this. The disputed territory comprises Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. These are in fact the remnants of the empires that collapsed at the end of WWII. Britain had occupied the Middle East and Africa. The German Empire had contained Southern Europe and Northern Africa, and the Japanese Empire had contained Southeast Asia. These are the unclaimed territories, which were left behind by the dissolving of the three empires. New empires had formed around the US, Russia, and China, but the territories of the old empires had, for the most part, become independent countries. However, Goldstein’s Book, the all-knowledgeable book describing the history of the world, states that the three empires began to look for more land. As this happened, the territories/independent states of Africa, Middle East, and Southeast Asia seemed an ideal spot to expand to. That is the basis of the massive and destructive war that is constant throughout the entire book.
One other thing about the war is that the three superstates are constantly switching sides. One day Eurasia will be the enemy, and the next Eastasia will be.
One other major link is the thought police. The thought police were ordinary people recruited by Big Brother to be spies in the populace. These people were not known as to who they were, and they were thus able to infiltrate rebellion organizations, and gain information which they could report to Big Brother. This is based on Stalin’s KGB, who were the Soviet Secret Police. They too infiltrated the ordinary populace, and looked for signs of rebellion. Once they felt the time was right, they would turn them in to Stalin, who would promptly execute them for crimes against the State.

One thing that greatly influenced Orwell’s writing style was his position as a reporter during the war for BBC. He would have likely talked to a good deal of soldiers throughout the war, and he was also a correspondant / columnist with the local newspaper, meaning that he would have had a great deal of observance concerning war, politics, economics, and history. Many of Orwell’s works have a massive historical link to them. Orwell talks about the war going on within this novel, and others, with some sense of disgust. This leads to the conclusion that Orwell is a Pacifist, which he was.