the 'point' of 1984? help?

[obsessical]

I know this is general and probably dumb...but my Lit teacher asked me to write an essay as to what the "point" of 1984 was. Well, the exact prompt says "What do you think is the main idea that Orwell is trying to get across in his book? Does he make his point effectively?"

I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING LOGICAL. I thought the point of the book was that the government will always crush you, and that one person cannot make a difference. However, it's kinda hard to write about that. I was thinking maybe adding something like "you have to try" but then like...why do you have to try?

I'm horribly stuck, and anyone that could help would be TOTALLY AWESOME.

[mofo erectus]

George Orwell was fiercely anti-fascist and anti-communist. He despised the ideological fundamentalism and urgency to control and indoctrinate that he saw in both wings of political thought in the mid-twentieth century. 1984 is a setting out of his fears of what a government fuelled by these impulses could become given enough space to grow.

In it he juxtaposes natural humanity with the artifice of the Party's dark, regimented world. The natural humanity is presented through his escaping to the countryside and his new found sex life with Julia; and through the natural, glowing goodness of the non-Party members, the everyday people, the 'Proles'. In the Party's world, reality and history can be manipulated, and everyone exists in a state of 'double think' where what they are told becomes their reality. Children watch their parents, and the telescreens watch EVERYONE.

As for one person making a different: 1984 expresses the idea that as long as you a free within yourself, you are free from any physical tyranny. It's like Sly says in the Family Stone record, 'Stand!' - "Stand! Don't you know that you are free? Well, at least in your MIND if you want to be." But the stark reality of life in Airstrip One here is that the Party can literally torture, manipulate and brainwash you into a state where you are NOT free. Where your mind is stolen, and replaced with the one the authorities would like you to have.

The book was written about 1948 - Orwell reversed the last two numbers of that year to set the book somewhere vaguely in the future.

Hope this helps.

[crisaor]

George Orwell was fiercely anti-fascist and anti-communist.

That is untrue. Orwell himself was trotskist. It wasn't the communist regime (or the thing that resembled it, i.e. the URSS itself) what he hated, but it was the Stalin period of it, which was a deviation of the "natural course" initiated by Lenin, and where Trotsky was the logical alternative to continue.

1984 isn't about communism, it's about totalitarism. The Stalin era in the URSS is a good example of it, but it's not the only one.

[SKATEJOSEPH]

I have just recently had to read this novel, 1984, as a school requirement, and although it wasn't my favorite, I did find it quite intriguing, and felt it gave me much of a new-found respect for the way the world is run today. Just thinking of a world where a person can not voice their opinions without paranoia is unethical. I also found another meaning to this novel, though, and on a deeper level. What if this novel is coincidentally a metaphor for life today? What if there really is a Big Brother out there, listening in on everything we say and watching every move we make? This novel may have many meanings within itself, or it may simply be a way for the author to awaken the world to a new possibility, and help you realize fearing life is no way to live. You never know who's watching, but if that's what you focus on, what's the use, you know? Just something to think about...

[Stickninja99]

I also read this book for school, and worked out alot of the meaning of the book (I also did background research). I think it focused less on people than you think. In the book, there are only 3 major "countries" in the world, (don't remember all the names) and they are at constant war.
***Most of the following is only to further understand what the last few paragraphs say. If you don't feel like reading this, go to the last 4 paragraphs****
Now, if you think about war, it's usually started for some cause, right? Now, think about all dynasties and that (like Rome) They always had one leader, a higher class, a middle class, and a lower class. In all votes, the upper and middle would go against the lower class. (they did this in all matters) so the lower class was never allowed to ascend. Then, over time, the lower and middle classes would revolt against the higher, and there would be a time of peace and equality, but over time a new lower middle and higher class would be formed.
In this case, governments were always overthrown, being replaced by new ones. Over time (in 1984), The governments became aware of this, and worked at ways of making this impossible. I could go on for hours about the details, but heres the main idea:
In this new government, people still strived for peace, but it never really happened. Soon, however, they found a way to keep ONE government in power indefinately. The only way to do this was 1. To keep the lower class from realising that they COULD have more, and 2. To keep the middle class from WANTING more. The answer: War.
During war, most production is spent on weapons and the like, meaning less for everything else. When all production is towards war, there is little development in other fields. So, the Party, and the other 2 world powers, all decided on the same thing. Bye putting the world in never ending war, all other development would cease. With all the war, people basically stopped learning do to the halt in technology, and pretty much everything else.
It also solved a long thought of problem. Peace... by pitting the world in permanant war, they in effect destroyed war altogether. In all the years of this new war, the total death toll was equal to, or even lower than, pretty much any given day during WWI or II. There was little to no fighting on the front lines, but instead countries spent time sending rockets at eachother, often destroying little more than property. This, of course, meant that that country had to rebuild what they lost. This circle of building, destroying, and rebuilding, is what kept production of anything else at zero.
***This is the most important part of this***
Now, it may seem I was off topic there, but I'm not. The entire purpose of all this was to keep the people occupied with war. They worried about little else (as seen in the book, when they announced newly wan battles and the like). All this helped to un-educate the public, keeping them in control, so that they would not revolt and create a new government. Now, the Party could last forever, because ultimately, no-one knew that government COULD be overthrown, or even cared to do so.
This whole background is ultimately based on society today, and the point of Orwell writing this story is that this is where he believed we are heading, and in all honesty, It's true. This new war in Iraq, for example. What is the true point of this war? I've heard many different stories, but who knows what's true.
Then take into account the news and media. If you see a story on T.V. about a cure for cancer, will you believe it? Probably, because that is where we learn our information. In 1984, it worked the same way, but for the party. They could feet the people any amount of crap they wanted, and the people would soak it all in. Here, in reality, this is happening already, but much more subtly. People believe in aliens because the T.V. said they exist. Has anyone seen an alien? who knows, but the T.V. says they're real, so what else do we have to go by?.
That is how it is in 1984. People believe the Party is right, because they don't know anything else. This book was a prediction of our future, and since the time of it's writing, we have already moved closer to that dark world.

[Foxtrotx2]

I just read this book for an honors english class

THeme:1984 deals with the idea that totalitarian society’s cannot work because there will always be some human aspect left behind no matter how much oppression there may be.

[ozebaseball]

Foxtrot. Where are you doing your Honours, what University? My teacher did an Honours course and also had to 1984.

Everyone note that one essential part of the exploration of this texts themes is the appendix. It is written, presumably by an academic in PAST TENSE, meaning that when it was written Oceania and indeed Newspeak had fallen apart, this adds further validity to the theme, stated by Foxtrot regarding the impernancy of totalitarian regimes.

[XXdarkclarityXX]

I've read 1984, and I'm reading it again. I love it. But I must say, I'm not sure its such a good idea for a teacher to narrow the book down to one point. This book doesn't just have one point, because it's not dealing with just one issued. There's morality, politics, government, sociology, economics, and even a little bit of psychology all intertwined. So dont put all your air into one balloon.....cuz its sure as hell gonna blow up in your face.

[1967_ImpalaSS]

I know this is general and probably dumb...but my Lit teacher asked me to write an essay as to what the "point" of 1984 was. Well, the exact prompt says "What do you think is the main idea that Orwell is trying to get across in his book? Does he make his point effectively?"

I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING LOGICAL. I thought the point of the book was that the government will always crush you, and that one person cannot make a difference. However, it's kinda hard to write about that. I was thinking maybe adding something like "you have to try" but then like...why do you have to try?

I'm horribly stuck, and anyone that could help would be TOTALLY AWESOME.

hey obsessical , to answer your question i think the main point of Orwell's novel, 1984 , is to warn us about the control that the government might have if the public does not do anything. Because in the novel (within the first 100 pages) Winston goes to the proles section and you are able to see that the proles are all drunk and ignorant and oblivious to what is going on around them and they are all too feebleminded to do anything about B.B.. If the proles came to their senses they could easily overthrow the gov't. Yes i know the novel was based on communism but still if we (United States and all other Democracies) haden't kept democracy then we could have ended up like Orwell predicted. I mean we are still surveyed(watched) almost wherever we go in public and sometimes even in places that we would rather not be watched. i think if we( the public) don't make sure that the gov't doesn't take too much control or power that we could easily slide into an Orwellian society.


i hope that this has helped you with your paper


wolverine