This document provides an analysis of George Orwell's novel "1984" and its relevance today. It includes sections on the author George Orwell, a summary of the novel, concepts from the novel like totalitarianism, surveillance society, language and propaganda, manipulating history, and concludes that examining "1984" encourages questioning of society, politics, and the future. The document cites several other works and references to support the analysis.
George Orwell's '1984' and Its Relevance in Today. 107-The 20th Century Lit_WWII to the End of the Century.pptx
1. ● Name: Rajeshvariba H. Rana
● Roll No. : 16
● Enrollment No. : 4069206420220023
● Semester: 2nd
● Paper No.: 107
● Paper Code: 22400
● Paper Name: The 20th Century Lit.: From WWII to the End of the Century
● Topic: George Orwell’s ‘1984’ and Its Relevance in Today
● Submitted to: Smt. S.B.Gardi, Department of English, MKBU
● E-mail: rhrana148@gmail.com
2. Points to ponder :
● About Author
● ‘1984’
● Totalitarianism
● News
● Surveillance Society
● Language and Propaganda
● History
● Conclusion
3. About Author
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better
known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English
novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic.
His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism,
opposition to totalitarianism, and support of democratic
socialism.
George Orwell was a novelist, journalist, essayist and critic,
best known for his novels Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen
Eighty-Four (1949).
George Orwell's style is very direct and somewhat journalistic. He never employs
allusions or utilizes extended metaphors. However, he never includes unnecessary
imagery and fluffed up, flowery descriptions. He describes settings and characters
well, but with language that is as direct and concise as possible.
4. Orwell’s use of " 1984 " for the title of his book was neither an
accident nor entirely a matter of choice : he arrived at it we
know , by transposing the last numbers of " 1948 , " the year in
which he completed work on the book - and he did this only
after his publisher objected to his original title that pessimisti
cally referred to The Last Man in Europe.
The year 1984 itself , then , had no special significance for
Orwell . It was meant to stand for some date in the future - in
the not - too - distant future - when a combination of forces
familiar to him from developments in and around World War
II might come together to form the brutal , efficient , and
totalitarian society that Orwell depicts in his novel . (Lang)
‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’
5. Totalitarianism:
1: centralized control by an autocratic authority
2: the political concept that the citizen should be totally subject to an absolute
state authority [merriam webster dictionary]
Totalitarianism is a form of government or political system in which the state has
complete control over all aspects of society and individual lives. It is characterized
by a single-party dictatorship, the use of propaganda and censorship to control the
population, the suppression of individual freedoms and human rights, and the use
of violence or force to maintain power.
The concept of totalitarianism is often associated with authoritarian regimes, not
all authoritarian governments are necessarily totalitarian.
6. As Orwell put it , in words that apply to all totalitarian regimes : " When once you were
in the grip of the Party , what you felt or did not feel , what you did or refrained from
doing , made literally no difference. Whatever happened you vanished . You were lifted
clear out of the stream of history. "(FRODSHAM)
Thomas Mann once observed that " in our times the conscience of mankind expressed
itself in political terms , " a remark that can be applied directly to Orwell's writing.
"Political power is the power to oppress others."
-Lin Biao (FRODSHAM)
Politics in Nagaland is such that nobody wants to be in the Opposition
and all MLAs have now extended support to the NDPP-BJP government.
Far from being a sign of healthy political unity, the complete absence of
an Opposition in the Assembly has pushed the State to a new low in
terms of a lack of legislative accountability.
(“Free of opposition: The Hindu Editorial on politics in Nagaland after
the election”)
7. Surveillance Society :
This general description in Orwell's terms of the
prospect of political totalitarianism and its
relation to technology leads by a number of well -
defined steps directly to the death gauge.(Lang)
● Contemporary Surveillance
8. Language & Propaganda:
Language as Mind Control:
One of Orwell's most important messages in 1984 is that language is of central
importance to human thought because it structures and limits the ideas that
individuals are capable of formulating and expressing.
He[Arjun Appadurai] argues that,
"Praise is not a matter of direct communication between the 'inner' states of the
relevant persons, but involves the public negotiation of certain gestures and
responses." Creating a community of sentiment which involves all parties in the
praise discourse. Praise is thus situated squarely in interaction
structures.(BEEMAN)
A B C D
9. Ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage
an opposing cause.
also : a public action having such an effect.
[merriam webster dictionary]
In 1984 the Party's linguistic ideology is paradoxically linguistic : It uses language
to mask a hatred of language ; it rewrites history to destroy man's history and
heritage ; it prepares new dictionaries so man cannot express himself through
language.(Blakemore)
● Rule
● Media & Politics
● Power
● Control
● Erase Memory
11. History
Those country is in
Power they try to
Change History with
their Political Power &
Language.
World History
Political
Party/Person tries to
change history for
their benefits.
Time
-Written
-Digitally written
history of nearby
past(easy to remove)
Written History
Power tries to teach
history according to
their benefits.
Study of History
12. Orwell's allusions place the newspeak world in the context of oldspeak literary
values . As we are drawn into the 1984 world , the allusions suddenly revive the
words and values of the past , a past which comes flooding into our
consciousness like the memories. (Blakemore)
● ‘INGSOC’ Party- Socialist Party
● Democracy
The Party is Headed by a Figure as ‘Big Brother’, who is
depicted as a cult-like figure that is Worshiped by Party
Members.
● Praise-Love to BB (Inner Party-Common People)
● Mindset of People
13. To reflect on and discuss Orwell's 1984 is to do more than pay homage to a
literary masterpiece . It is to reconsider and question ourselves , our society ,
our world ; our past , our present and - above all - our future . For , whatever
the date , 1984 will always remain as a menacing possibility. (FRODSHAM)
Conclusion :
14. Works Cited
BEEMAN, WILLIAM O. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, vol. 1, no. 1, 1991, pp. 115–17. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/43102116. Accessed 11 Mar. 2023.
Blakemore, Steven. “Language and Ideology in Orwell’s 1984.” Social Theory and Practice, vol. 10,
no. 3, 1984, pp. 349–56. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23556571. Accessed 11 Mar. 2023.
FRODSHAM, JOHN DAVID. “The New Barbarians: Totalitarianism, Terror and the Left
Intelligentsia in Orwell’s 1984.” World Affairs, vol. 147, no. 3, 1984, pp. 139–60. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20672021. Accessed 12 Mar. 2023.
Lang, Berel. “1984: Newspeak, Technology, and The Death of Language.” Soundings: An
Interdisciplinary Journal, vol. 72, no. 1, 1989, pp. 165–77. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/41178472. Accessed 12 Mar. 2023.
“Free of opposition: The Hindu Editorial on politics in Nagaland after the election.” The Hindu, 9
March 2023, https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/free-of-opposition-the-hindu-
editorial-on-politics-in-nagaland-after-the-election/article66600319.ece. Accessed 12 March
2023.
