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Paradoxical Nature of the Novel 1984 by George Orwell Outline: Introduction Paradoxical nature of the novel War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength Conclusion Students Name Professor Class 21 July 2009 Paradoxical Nature of the Novel 1984 by George Orwell Introduction George Orwell was, probably, one of the most paradoxical English writers of his time. Despite his horror of politics, Orwell was a very talented political writer. Although he did not like intellectuals, he was an intellectual himself. In most his books George Orwell warned his readers to beware of his paradoxical nature of his works, but, at the same time, he was very good in writing pamphlets.
He did not support socialism, and considered that most socialists are not as good as they might seem, but at the same time, the writer sincerely believed that socialism was almost the only thing that could ever save England and the whole world. In his books George Orwell blamed the cruel nature and violence of the world around him (and his great novel 1984 is no exception to the rule), but at the same time, he was nearly killed when he was fighting during the Spanish Civil War. The writer often performed extraordinary physical labors and worked hard but at the same time he was in chronically poor health. He was a very sensitive person but never complained on his life.
The facts from his life are also rich in very sharp contrasts. For example, although George Orwell graduated from Eton, he worked as a dishwasher. He served in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma but at the same time there were days when he lived as a tramp. Orwell wrote his essays and novels for the thirteen years, however, they did not sell well enough to be reprinted and, suddenly, within the period of three years he published two of his best sellers.
No wonder that his novels are also rich in paradoxes, like his life was from the very beginning to the very end. Thesis: Similar to George Orwell's life, the novel 1984 is rich in paradoxes, because it mirrors the full complexity of George Orwell's alternating hopes and fears for the future. Paradoxical Nature of George Orwell's Novel 1984 It is quite difficult to write about George Orwell's 1984 as there are many literary works blaming and worshiping this novel. Orwell's 1984 presents the readers a paradoxical world that has been reduced to governmental control over basically all areas of human life (Bowker). Orwell writes that government has limited the freedom to read, to love, and to think freely. As the writer claims, the threat of warfare that was falsely propagated by the Party allowed the government to maintain complete control over the lives of the nation.
The slogan of the Party War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength (Orwell, p. 4) is a set of socio-political paradoxes that were brought into life in order to justify the actions of the government and, at the same time, were proclaimed and propagated to make the population to conform to the governments laws. The violence and corruption were justified by the so-called necessity to protect the nation and the government made people to believe that this is the best decision. War is Peace. (Orwell, p. 4) The Ministry of Peace undertakes all efforts to maintain the illusion of war that never stops. By doing this the Ministry wants to prevent the ordinary people from uniting against the system.
When the nation lives in poverty and remains divided by the fears, the system can rule them easily. War is Peace. This phrase is a paradox. In his novel, Orwell says that if one would judge the war according to standards of the previous wars, it would be merely an imposture. The writer compares war with the battles between the animals, whose horns are set at such an angle that they are incapable of hurting one another. (Orwell, p. 199) Although this war, according to Orwell, is unreal, it is still not meaningless. War, he claims, cleans the surplus of consumable commodities and helps the nation to keep special mental atmosphere that a hierarchical society needs. (Orwell, p. 199) By no means war is an external affair; in contrast it is a completely internal one.
Orwell claims that if one reverts to the history, he will see that the governments of all world countries understood the importance of cooperation and recognized their common interests but still lead wars against one another. The country that gained a victory over others, always plundered the vanquished. (Orwell, p. 199) Nowadays, Orwell continues the world countries are not fighting against one another, as they mostly fight against their own subjects and the object of the war is not to make or prevent conquests of territory, but to keep the structure of society intact. (Orwell, p. 199) In such a way, as Orwell concludes, the term war became misleading. As the writer considers, it should be better to say that by becoming continuous war has ceased to exist. (Orwell, p. 199) The pressure exerted by the war on people has finally disappeared and was replaced by sometimes completely different. Paradoxically, but the effect, as it is claimed by Orwell, will be almost the same if three superstates, instead of fighting one another, should agree to live in perpetual peace, each inviolate within its own boundaries, (Orwell, p. 199) each of these superstates could be compared with a self-contained universe and the peace that was permanent would be equal to a permanent war. Therefore, the author concludes that war is peace. "Freedom is Slavery" (Orwell, p. 4) means slavery for the masses = freedom for the elite. In 1984 The Ministry of Plenty uses a system of wage slavery, taxation and fiat money.
By doing this the nation remains fully occupied at a minimal level of existence and, at the same time, they still have an illusion of being able to succeed and live better by working harder. The people are too busy with their daily jobs to unite against the system exploiting them. When there is slavery for the masses, the elite enjoys freedom and wealth undisturbed. Finally, "Ignorance is Strength" (Orwell, p. 4) means ignorance for the masses = strength for the elite. In 1984 The Ministry of Truth controls communications media and education system in order to keep the nation in a state of ignorance.
By maintaining control over all sources of information, the elite is able to manipulate the masses and can be sure that people will never unite to combat the system. The elite who impose a picture of false reality laugh at confusion of the nation that tries to make sense of false facts. "All the beliefs, habits, tastes, emotions, mental attitudes that characterize our time are really designed to... prevent the true nature of present-day society from being perceived. If the 'High' are to keep their places permanently, then the prevailing mental condition must be controlled insanity. " (Orwell, p. 210) Conclusion In conclusion it should be said that George Orwell's 1984 is among the most famous representations of dystopia and is listed among the thousands best novels published since 1920 s.
This novel can hardly qualify for attempt to represent the world's full history to 1984, but instead, it concisely explained the perpetual war and reveals the truth behind the Party's paradoxical slogan, "War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength. " While reading the novel, it becomes obvious that George Orwell was one of the most paradoxical English writers of his time. Works Cited Bowker, Gordon. Inside George Orwell: A Biography. Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Orwell, George. 1984. Penguin Classic, 2003.
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Research essay sample on War Is Peace George Orwell 1984
