George Orwell

1
1984

• George Orwells tale of a future world gone
  horribly wrong

2
About the Author George Orwell

• Born Eric Blair in 1903. George Orwell is his pen
  name.
• Because of the tyranny he saw in the world around
  him due to totalitarianism, he became a
  democratic socialist.
• Democratic Socialism ownership of land, capital,
  property, etc. belongs to the community as a
  whole--combined with a democratic govt (voting,
  people having a voice, etc.)

3
What Inspired Orwell?

• World War II just ended and the world witnessed
  horrible violence at the hands of authoritative
  rulers.
• Russia was ruled by a dictator named Joseph
  Stalin.
• Adolf Hitler used propaganda and racism to
  murder millions of Jews, Slavs, gypsies,
  homosexuals, mentally ill people, and political
  rebels.

4
What Inspired Orwell?

• Mao Tse-Tung in China was fighting for communism.
  When he won, he began a long oppressive
  totalitarian regime.
• There were other dictators Francisco Franco in
  Spain and Benito Mussolini in Italy.
• The world was going through economic reform
  caused by the Great Depression and WWII, so he
  witnessed inequality in that realm as well.

5
What Inspired Orwell?

• Orwell was a democratic socialist
• Believed that the govt (led by the people), not
  private enterprise, should control the production
  and distribution of goods
• Was greatly concerned about the lives of the poor
  and working class

6
Technology in Orwells Time A Time of Change

• Poison gas used as a weapon
• Lie detector invented
• Talking movies invented
• First liquid-fuel rocket
• First solo flight across the Atlantic/first
  flight around the world
• First computer built
• Microwave oven invented
• U.S. drops atomic bombs on Japan
• Polaroid cameras invented
• Antibiotics invented
• Television invented
• Radar invented

7
1984 Setting and Genre

• A futuristic, cautionary novel
• Setting City of London, in the mythical country
  of Oceania, 1984 (in the future)
• Was written in 1949, and is an imagining of what
  the future would hold if certain (negative)
  ideals and people
• were given power.
• Dont get caught up in the
• novels title, 1984. Just think of it as
• the future.

8
Whats it about?

• First of all, 1984 is a satire.
• Satire is a literary term used to ridicule or
  make fun of human vice or weakness, with the
  intent of correcting or changing the subject of
  the satiric attack.
• Satire has a target, which may be a person or
  group of people, an idea or attitude, and/or an
  institution or social practice. Often the target
  is examined by being held up for ridicule,
  typically in the hope of shaming it into
  change/reform.

9
Types of Satire

• Horatian Light hearted and intended for fun.
  The subject of the satire is mildly made fun of
  and this form of satire tends to ask the audience
  to laugh at themselves.
• Examples The Onion, Saturday Night Live
• Juvenalian Bitter and angry, often attacking
  the subject of the satire. This form of satire is
  more judgmental, asking the audience to respond
  with anger to the events it portrays.
• Examples Colbert Report Daily Show (at times)

10
Example of Satire (Horation)

• The New iHand
• Why is this video funny?
• Who is it making fun of? Why?
• What is the overall message?
• What kind of social commentary are they making?
  In other words, what are they trying to change in
  society?

11
Back to 1984

• Also, the novel is a dystopia.
• Utopia an ideal, perfect world.
• Dystopia a society filled with oppression,
  misery, sorrow.
• The main character, Winston Smith, tries to rebel
  against society.
• He begins his rebellion with the simple act of
  writing in his journal --- which is an action
  punishable by death.

12
1984 Oceanias Ranks

• Oceania is a huge country ruled by The Party,
  which is led by a figure called Big Brother.
• The Inner Party (1 of pop.) controls the entire
  country.
• The Outer Party (18 of pop.) controlled by the
  Inner Party. They are like the middle class.
• Winston is a part of this group.
• The Proles (81 of pop.) the labor power/lower
  class, who live in poverty.
• The Brotherhood an underground rebellion
  organization led by Emmanuel Goldstein.

13
Whats Oceania like?

• All citizens are monitored by telescreens, which
  are present in ALL homes and workplaces.
• The government is represented by Big Brother, a
  figure who sees everything.
• Newspeak is the official language of Oceania.
• The goal of the Party is to have Newspeak replace
  Oldspeak (our version of English).
• Newspeak eliminates/shortens undesirable
  (emotional) words and invents new words -- all
  to force Party conformity.

14
Questions to consider as you read

• This novel predicted one possible future. Are we
  closer to 1984 today than we were in 1949?
• How are our thoughts controlled today?
• Who could Big Brother represent in todays
  society?
• What are the key symbols in the novel?
• In what ways are we watched and monitored today?