Essay/Term paper: George orwell

Essay, term paper, research paper:  College Papers

George Orwell^s vision of the world in the year 1984 is horrific and
chilling. Written in 1949, this piece of literature is an everlasting
classic that reminds us that history is a vital part of human
existence, although we often forget it. The past, present, and future
are as changeable as human opinions and beliefs. In this book, Orwell
highlighted on some of the fears that many people have for the world
that we are creating. The control of the Party that he speaks of is
like that of the Nazis of World War II. The only difference between
the Nazis and Orwell^s imagined Party, is the emotion. The Nazis fell
from power because of the emotions of its leader, Adolph Hitler. The
Party held up because their leader, Big Brother, was merely an image
and had no emotion at all. Within my reading, I encountered many
interesting points, both scenes and lines, that I remember vividly.
All of these points reflect the type of power that we humans have to
control our existence as we know it. From the points that I
concentrated on came my own thoughts and fears about what future the
human race was able to create. The point that I remember most vividly
is the motto of the Party. The motto is: ^Those who control the past,
control the future; Those who control the future, control the
present; Those who control the present, control the past.^ This
slogan played a main part in the plot. George Orwell incorporated this
theme into the story to show the kind of power that the Party actually
had. The Party did control the present, so they were able to do with
it what they wished. The members of the Party rewrote history at every
current change, whether the changes be as simple as a human dying or a
change of enemy in the ongoing war. The Party had every piece of
literature rewritten and every photo reproduced to fit their fictional
stories of war success and economic advance. By having this power, to
control the past, they controlled the future. With the power to
control the future of the human race, the Party manipulated the human
body and its functions. It also controlled the hum! an mind through
physical experiments and the enforcement of complete orthodoxy to fit
their needs. This absolute power is everlasting and definite. This
idea of total power made the line memorable. A second prominent
concept that I came across in my reading was the idea of doublethink.
This meant that a person was to know and believe in one idea while
subconsciously knowing that it was wrong. Everyone knew the ideas of
the Party, forgot them when they didn't serve a specific purpose, and
then they remembered them again when they were needed. This could all
happen to a person with in a single moment. After the moment passed,
the idea was forgotten again. One of the concepts of the party was that
two plus two equals five. Everyone was to believe this if and when the
Party said so. If it was convenient at any one time to think it, they
did, if it was not, they did not. This is an example of doublethink.
The Party manipulated people into thinking what they wanted. In this
way, it controlled the human mind, body, and spirit. The third most
memorable point in this book was not a concept of the Party, but it is
about human instincts. Humans naturally need the love, affection, and
acceptation of another human. To feel any of these primitive emotions,
one had to secretly brake all of the rules and regulations of the
Party. Two of the main characters in this book shared human feelings
for each other that the Party didn't encourage. They secretly read
forbidden books, sang age old nursery rhymes, and made love to each
other, all of which the Party banned because they encouraged free
thought and human emotion. After reviewing all of these points, I find
that my fear of what the human race is capable of is more realistic
than I originally thought. The thought that human existence was
regulated with such rigidity is disturbing and unnerving. George
Orwell^s writing may, in some way, keep us from forgetting that we can
learn from the past and what we did then will determine what we do in
the future. As long as we always remember that free thought and
expression are uncontrollable, no one person or organization can stop
us from experiencing them. As long as we understand this concept there

is no way to go but forward.