GEORGE ORWELL

(1903-1950)
Historical By the end of the World Britain had been British colonies started
background War II Britain was no relegated to the third to demand
longer a world power. position after the Soviet independence
Union and the United
States
George real name was Born in India (a British But brought up in
Orwell ERIC ARTHUR BLAIR colony) England. He was a rebel
(he had a rebellious
temper)
P:S. when he went to
university he turned
against the values and
spirit of the English
public school system

1922 - 1927 Years spent in Indian in 1948 Burma got He started to dislike the
Imperial Police in Burma as independence from British policy and after 5
an officer to control the Britain years he resined his
local population position and returned to
Europe in 1927 (this
experience geve him the
awareness of class
division and a sense of
guilt about British
colonialism
1928 Started living on the To experience life as a He wrote:
streets among the poor, homeless person and see Down and Out in Paris
among the invisible in both how society would treat and London (about his
Paris and London him (defender of ordinary experience and
people) reflections on society)
His Sympathies for He wrote:
socialism encouraged him Homage to Catalonia
to join Marxist Party miltia (Showed his stance
in Spain (civil war against (viewpoint ) against
Francisco Franco) totalitarianism)
During Worked as a journalist for
World war II the BBC
Main Works - ANIMAL FARM About social injustice and Allegorical tale or fable
(remarkable his hatred for any form of warning about the
works) totalitarian system perversions of Socialism
caused by the Russian
Revolution
- NINETEEN EIGHTY- The aim was to give
FOUR (1984) readers a clear picture of
 what life would be like if a
free country like England
were under totalitarian
system/government
- many articles as
journalist
Style Clear, clarity
uncomplicated
language
Reasons for To try to change To make political writing He writes because there
writing the world for the into an art is some LIE, he wants to
better expose, some facts to
which he wants to draw
attention

A SCIENCE-FICTION NOVEL: 1984

Written in 1948, published in 1949 , the novel became an immediate success.
Its original title was THE LAST MAN IN EUROPE, later changed into NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR
chosen because it was the reversal of the last two digits of the year in which it was written,
because Orwell thought about a science-fiction story which could happen in a near future.(only 35
years)

The dystopian novel

The dystopian novel represents a complete negative world , the worst imaginable, based on
terror, injustice, pessimism, oppression, propaganda, totalitarianism.
The opposite of a utopian world, a perfect world based on peace, justice, equality

The plot
In this futuristic world there are three superpowers always in war: OCEANIA, EURASIA AND
EASTASIA.
Oceania is dominated by the Party and by the omniscent Big Brother.
The protagonist is WINSTON SMITH, a minor member of the Party who works for the Ministery
of Truth; here he modifies articles, corrects books and rewrites documents that are not in line
with the principles of the Party. In other words , he writes history and the past.

The protagonist
WINSTON SMITH is not a devoted member of the party: in fact he keeps a secret diary where he
records his memories and feelings and has a love affair with a young woman, Julia committing
“sexcrime” and “thoughtcrime”.
Betrayed by a man he believes to be a friend (O’Brien), he is arrested by the Thought Police, and
he is tortured and brainwashed. In the end Wiston is totally broken and he is realised because
now he has learned to love Big Brother

Newspeak and Doublethink

Two important themes in the novel are about language and thought.
Some members of the Party, including Winston Smith, are working on the language spoken in
Oceania in order to simplify it and eliminate all synonyms and antonyms. The aim is to limit every
citizen’s language by taking away their ability to think and express themselves in a personal way.
So Newspeak is the new language created by the Party.
Doublethink is anothr invention of the Party in order to believe in two ideas at the same time,
even if they are contradictory. The most relevant slogans used by the Party are:
- WAR IS PEACE
- FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
- IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
- 2+2=5

Double think is essential to the Party because by using it people can no longer recognise
contradictions and simply accept every idea presented by the Party even though it is not true.

The world of Nineteen Eighty- Four

The world described in the novel is the worst ever seen . Everything is under the Big Brother’s
control, who is potreyed in posters everywhere together with the Party’s slogans.
The individual is not allowed to behave or think independently (autonomously) because it is
forbidden.
Citizens have to control their thoughts as well as the expressions of their faces. There are cameras
and microphones everywhere and the Thought Police have a duty to eliminate those who oppose
to the Party.

Why did Orwell write 1984?

The world of 1984 is ruled by estreme “totalitarianism”. Why?? Because the World War II and
and the Nazi Germany ‘s dictatorship, the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are still
fresh in everyone’s minds.
Totalitarian regimes , like those in Russia and China, were a consistent reality.
Orwell who had once believed and supported the communist ideology , was now disillusioned by
the oppression and control of citizens’ lives he had witnessed himself in communist countries.
So Orwell’s aim was to warn people against the dangers those systems can bring to the lives of
human beings.
Winston Smith
Orwell chose this name for his protagonist for two reasons:
1. Winston was the name of the Prime Minister of England, Winston Churchill in order to
make the story real
2. Smith because it was a very common English surname, so anyone could be that man.

Wiston Smith does not correspond to the typical man subjected to the Party. He is curous,
pensitive and tries to understand why the Party is so powerful.
Winston hates the Party and tries to rebel against its power but he is defeated and eventually
turns into a faithful and passive member of the Party.
His protagonist’s defeat conveys the message that the struggle against all superpowers can never
be successful and it is a clear sign of the author’s pessimism