1984 Historical Critique – In his book 1984 George Orwell makes numerous references to the turbulent times in which he grew up and lived. The book gives almost every aspect of his dark and fearful life. The conditions of Europe and the world in which Orwell grew up certainly influenced his thoughts on the world he saw in the future. When the world was living in darkness and it was sad it was just predicted that it would happen, this message in 1984 means that it has not been brought to an end.
George Orwell was born on June 35, 1903 in British India; he grew up there but moved to Shiplake England before the start of World War 1. 1. Orwell lived through World War 1 England and survived the global depression following WW1 and the effects of World War II in Europe. After the horrific events of World War 2, perhaps the greatest threat to humanity has arisen from communism. By the time he wrote 1984 in 1948 Orwell witnessed the beginning of the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union and had seen the effects of communism in the country. His experience during the wars gave him a vision of a future world torn apart by war.
This horrific and turbulent upbringing was the main reason George Orwell wrote 1984. The way he saw the world around him moved him to write a book about the way he saw the world in the future. Most of the events of the book can be explained by events before and after World War 2 and the rise of communism. Orwell’s experiences told him that there would be a much more powerful and formidable form of communism in the world.
The act of citizens of the Soviet Union was a major influence on Orwell’s writing of 1984. In the Soviet states, citizens were given only small amounts of food and were prevented from trying to leave the country. All outside Western and Democratic influences were blocked and anyone who tried to bring Democracy into the area was severely punished. The iron curtain that came down in Europe was similar to how the world was divided in 1984. Citizens within the Iron Curtain of the Soviet Union were not allowed to trade with the outside world, just as citizens of the Ocean were not allowed to trade with other warring countries. Orwell based his interpretation of the future on the way citizens of the Soviet world were treated.
Captain Ocean, Big Brother was founded in 1984. the real life leaders of Hitler and Stalin. By mixing notes from both the Soviet Union and the Federal Republic of Germany, Orwell makes it clear that he is against any form of government. totalitarianism, either rightist or leftist. Big Brother like Stalin and Hitler, even in appearance; all three have black mustaches and charismatic styles, Orwell is able to ensure that the reader does not mistake the similar intentions between the three (Hermanson, NP). This comparison system means that readers can more easily relate to the book.
Orwell also draws ideas from Communism to the creation of the Big Brother system. In 1984 Big Brother the character is mysterious and dark and no one knows if he is a real person or a creation of the party. This was similar to the way the Midwesterners thought of communism. They didn’t know exactly why communism was so bad and had just been told by their government that communists should be avoided. This is what the reds are afraid of in America. Orwell’s experiences with Communism told him to refer to Communism as Big Brother, as he wrote at the time that Communism was the world’s greatest enemy.
In 1984 the people are brought this same way how people living in Communist countries receive their message. This would have been another of Orwell’s influences for The Parties. In 1984 the citizens of Oceana receive their news directly from the government, who can change whatever they want in the news. If something happens, and the people do not want to find out about it, they can immediately change whatever happened, which will be done well by the citizens. In the Soviet and other communist countries, the government often controls the press and can feed whatever information they want to their people. Since there is little to no Freedom of Speech or Press, the people are told exactly what the government wants to know and are afraid to repeat the rumors for fear of prosecution.
In the Soviet Union, people living in the Soviet Union were told by their government that Democracy had failed, but they did not give any reason for this. This is very similar to the way the people of Ocean were told by the Party that the other nations that were at war were wrong but they never gave the people a reason.
Global attitudes at the time of writing are reflected in the way the average Oceana citizen thinks about the Party. Many citizens are just on autopilot, officially doing whatever is necessary to fit in with the rest of the citizens and conform to party policies, but they have no sense of party. They couldn’t care less about many party principles. Although most people are afraid to show their true feelings secretly against the Party, they just don’t share their feelings with others. A similar thing happened in the Soviet States; the citizens had no real love for Communism but did not openly show their hatred. Publicly they were in favor, but they knew that their minds were unjustly hated.
The novel 1984 heavily influenced the author, George Orwell grew up. Many of the events and happenings that happened while I was still alive made news in some shape or form. The book just takes World War 2 and Cold War era emotions and government behavior and takes them to the extreme. step into the future. This is the way George Orwell envisioned the world to be and this book helped show what would happen if action was not taken against the growing communist political parties around the world.
