Dystopian Tradition in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four

Dystopian tradition in George Orwell’s
Nineteen Eighty-Four

Course paper























CONTENTS
Introduction 3
  1. The protagonist versus the world of dystopia 6
    1. The last freethinker in the world 7
    2. Struggle against oppression 9
  2. Political aspect of Nineteen Eighty-Four 11
    1. Government 11
    2. Allusions to reality 12
Conclusions 13
References 14
























Introduction

The object of this course paper is to discuss and analyse the main aspects and elements of Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four which retain the traditional construction and ideas of dystopian fiction novel, but at the same time distinguishes Nineteen Eighty-Four from other dystopian novels. Also, some new, groundbreaking concepts, at the time that the novel is written, will be looked at; namely, Big Brother, thoughtcrime, and newspeak.

Motivation basis of the research: Through seventy odd years with only two political novels ever written; Orwell has remained one of the most influential and most quoted novelist of the 21st century. Since the introduction of CCTV cameras in the United Kingdom and the never-ending Iraq war, Orwell’s vision of dystopian world has gained even more attention. As Becnel righty puts it into terms: “[Nineteen Eighty-Four] has become so well known as to have provided a sort of shorthand for critiques of overly intrusive and heavy-handed government.”(Becnel 2010, p. 73). Director Michael Moore even quoted him in his controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. Due to such increased popularity of Orwell’s works it is interesting and indeed useful to analyse and discuss this great, complex, and influential work.

The purpose of this course paper is to determine the aspects of George Orwell’s book that encompasses the elements of traditional dystopian novel and single out what distinguishes Orwell’s...