Posted by Steven Seinor on July 23, 2001 at 08:31:25:
In Reply to: Re: 1984 posted by alana hindmarsh on July 21, 2001 at 05:26:05:
Hi Alana, my names Steven Im also from Australia and live in Queensland on the Sunshine Coast.
I'd be happy to give you a brief analysis of what Orwell was trying to achieve by writing 1984.
Orwell was on the left wing of politics yet was considered one of the firmest critics of the
left in Europe most notably against the Stalinist dictatorship in Russia in which the book is based.
The book is a critique of totalitarianism and the various manifestations and institutions the State
creates in which to consolidate its power. Although Orwell had never been to Russia he made some
fascinating insights and accounts of the events that took place under Stalin these later being
confirmed by victims of the regime and historical documentation. Under Stalin those thought to be
'Trotskyists' were executed or forced into exile just as followers of Goldstein in 1984 were
tortured and murdered. anything that was a threat to the power of the party in 1984 was eliminated.
the anti-sex league was established as sex was seen as a threat to the parties power and took the
focus away from big brother and onto another person. Newspeak and double think were also established
to control peoples thoughts and thus limit the deviation from the official line of the party. This was
was also established in Stalinist Russia, Stalin was written into History books and became the central
theme in history classes, literature etc. Newspeak is used to take the original meaning of a term and
water it down so that it looses emotional force example excellent in newspeak would mean double plus
good fantastic= triple plus good and so on. For the Party to maintain its total dominance it had to
control the past thus the saying "he who controls the past controls the future he who controls the present
controls the past. Since the ministry of truth where Winston Smith works eliminates the past to conform
with party doctrine no one knows what things used to be like thus nobody was able to compare the party
to other times to decide wether it is doing a good or bad job. These are just a few ideas. When
writing your essay just think of Orwells 1984 as a deconstruction of systems of power and how power reinforces
itself and continually seeks to consolidate itself. Orwell always considered himself a libertarian to some
extent and adopted many ideas that are inherent in the political ideology of Anarchism. Perhaps if you read
some anarchist theory you may undertsand the foundation of Orwells scepticism towards State power.
Im a huge Orwell fan and should be able to Answer any other questions you might have about 1984 or Orwells
inspirations for writing the book. good luck, from Steven
Orwells inspirations for writing it just email me if you need anything. good luck, from Steven