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Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian novel, written by George Orwell. It was first published in 1949. It is about a collective society, tightly controlled by "Big Brother." The main character, Winston, begins to rebel.
475 Questions
What was happening in the world in 1984?
Here are SOME of the events that took place in 1985- it's not comprehensive by any means, but it might be of help:
The Ethiopian Famine- although it started the previous year, by '85 it had become catastrophic. Hundreds of thousands died, and it threatened to kill millions more. British punk star Bob Geldof and entrepreneur Harvey Goldsmith (supported by other stars such as Bono, Midge Ure, Sting, British politician Tony Benn and others) organised the 'Live Aid' concerts on 13th June- they were held at the old Wembley Stadium in London and the John F. Kennedy Stadium in New York, and raised millions of pounds for Ethiopian aid.
Soviet leader Constantin Chernenko died in March, and was replaced by Mikhail Gorbachev- Cold War tensions began to ease soon afterwards. President Reagan and Gorbachev issued a joint statement later in the year that nuclear war cannot be won and must never occur- the two men liked and respected each other, and real sincerity began to develop towards ending the Cold War.
The CIA uncovered three top spies who had been sending secrets to the Soviet Union from within the American establishment- they were former submariner John A. Walker, cryptologist Ronald Pelton and communications expert Jerry Whitworth, who had been selling US navy secrets to the Russians. They were all given long jail sentences.
Soviet KGB Colonel Oleg Gordievsky defected to the West on 19th July, assisted by British MI6 officers- he was followed soon afterwards by KGB officer Vitaly Yurchenko.
Huge anti-nuclear demonstrations across Europe and the USA during the Summer.
NATO carried out 'Operation Braveheart' in West Germany to rehearse a response to a Soviet invasion; in Britain, 'Operation Brave Defender' took place, to rehearse the response of British special forces to a Soviet attack.
The USAF decommissioned it's ageing fleet of Phantom jet bombers.
The British miner's strike ended in March- after a heroic struggle to save their industry, jobs and communities in the face of ruthless cuts and police brutality on the part of Thatcher's government, the miners marched back to work with pride. The British National Coal Board was wound up, and new anti-strike laws were brought in.
1985 was a terrible year for disasters, both natural and man-made; here are the main ones that occurred that year:
Four major air disasters, and three hijackings-
a Japan Airlines Boeing 747 crashed into Mount Osutaka soon after take-off from Tokyo Airport; all on board were killed, this is the worst disater involving a single plane to date. An Air India 747 was blown up over the Atlantic Ocean on 23rd June by a Sikh extremist bomb, killing all 329 passengers & crew. In England during the Summer, a holiday jet bound for Corfu caught fire on the runway at Manchester airport after it's left engine exploded- 55 people died. Then on 12th December, a USAF DC-8 carrying American troops home for Christmas from West Germany, crashed soon after take-off from Gander in Newfoundland, killing all 256 aboard. The cause was believed to be ice on the wings, although some suspected a terrorist bomb. The hijackings were:
A TWA airliner bound for Athens, that was hijacked by Hezbollah militants during the Summer and flown to Beirut- one American passenger who was a member of the US Navy was shot dead, the other passengers were freed after over a fortnight following negociations. The hijackers subsequently blew up the empty aircraft, and managed to escape. Also, an Egyptian airliner was hijacked in Malta by Islamic militants before it took off- the aircraft was stormed by Egyptian shock troops, 60 died and 35 were injured when the hijackers set off grenades inside the 'plane. On 7th October, the Italian cruise liner 'Achille Lauro' was hijacked by militant supporters of the PLO- a Jewish American passenger called Leon Klinghoffer was thrown overboard and drowned. The hijackers later accepted an offer to be flown to safety aboard an Egyptian 'plane, although this was subsequently forced down over Sicily by US fighters, and the hijackers were arrested.
260 people died in Switzerland on 18th December, when a reservoir dam collapsed and inundated a holiday ski resort.
A massive cyclone in Bangladesh on 25th May killed 10,000 people.
The Mexico City earthquake took place on 27th April, killing over 25,000
The Columbian volcano Nevado Del Ruiz erupted on 13th November, killing over 25,000 people.
A terrible fire destroyed a wooden grandstand at the grounds of Bradford City Football Club in England on 11th May, during a match between the Bradford City & Lincoln City soccer teams- 56 people died as a result.
A riot at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium during an FA Cup soccer qualifying match between Liverpool and Juventus resulted in the death of 41 people on 29th May.
Other events included:
A state of emergency was declared in South Africa on 21st March following the slaughter by police of 19 demonstrators. The South African ban on mixed marriages also ended that year.
There were huge riots in England in July in protest at unemployment, police racism against black people, and general economic rot- they took place in the Handsworth area of Birmingham and the Brixton area of London in July, and in October there was a huge riot on the Broadwater Farm housing estate in London's Tottenham district sparked off by the police shooting of a black pensioner called Cherry Groce. At the height of the riot a policeman, Keith Blakelock, was shot dead- a man was later jailed for the killing, although he was later released when he was found to have been innocent after all (the real killer was never caught).
Ugandan dictator President Milton Obote was ousted on 27th July following a bloodless coup.
The military dictatorship in Brazil came to an end on 15th January, when the military leader General Joao Figuereido agreed to democratic elections- democratically elected President Tancredo Neves was voted in, though he collapsed & died of a heart attack the night before his inauguration, leaving his Vice-President Jose Sarney to be sworn in as leader.
In England, The Ponting Affair took place- Clive Ponting was a British civil servant who released classified comments to a British newspaper made by the then Defence Secretary Michael Hestletine, concerning the sinking of the Argentine battle cruiser 'General Belgrano' during the Falklands War. This provided damning evidence that the Government had ordered the ship to be sunk when it was retreating- Ponting was tried under the Official Secrets Act, but aquitted.
Albanian President Enver Hoxher died on 11th April- he was succeeded by Ramiz Alia.
The Soviet space station 'Mir' became operational.
The first Western hostages were abducted in Beirut, including US journalist Terry Anderson and Italian buisnessman Alberto Molinari (Molinari was killed by his kidnappers soon afterwards).
Britain signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement with the Irish Government, enabling IRA suspects to be extradited from the Irish Republic to Britain to face trial. On 28th February, an IRA bomb in Northern Ireland's County Down killed 8 policemen and a civilian.
In West Germany, 17 RAF bandsman and 2 civilians were killed in a road crash on 11th February, when their bus collided with a petrol tanker.
The Greenpeace ship 'Rainbow Warrior' was sunk in New Zealand's Auckland harbour on 10th July by an explosion on board, that killed a Portugese photographer. The ship was getting ready to monitor French nuclear bomb testing on the Pacific island of Mururoa Atoll- in September, the French government of Francois Miterrand admitted that two of it's secret agents planted a bomb aboard the vessel.
The wreck of the 'Titanic' was located by American oceonographer Dr. Robert Ballard, leading an expedition from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute- she was found 2.5 miles down on the bed of the Atlantic, split in two and with her stern section devastated. Ballard took many photographs of the ship, and laid a memorial plaque to the dead at the wreck site.
Russian Gary Kasparov became the new world chess champion.
German tennis player Boris Becker became the youngest ever person to win a final at Wimbledon, aged just 17.
Paris's Pont Neuf Bridge was wrapped in crepe paper as a bizarre art experiment by the Bulgarian artist 'Christo'.
Two young American men, Raymond Belknapp and James Vance, shot themselves on 23rd December after listening to an album by the English heavy rock band Judas Priest- Belknapp died, Vance blew most of his face off and survived, horribly disfigured, for another 3 years. Both men had a history of drug abuse and domestic problems- their parents sued the band for damages, claiming that their album contained subliminal messages that encouraged suicide. Judas Priest themselves were shocked and devastated at the incident, and sent sincere Sympathies to the victim's families- they were aquitted of any sinister intent in their album, though remained deeply distressed.
Orson Welles died- other deaths in 1985 included actors Yul Brynner, Rock Hudson (who died of AIDS), comic actor Phil Silvers, English singer Matt Monro, journalist & author James Cameron, concert pianist Eugene List, conductor Eugene Ormandy, spy-writer Helen McInnes, primatologist Dian Fossey (murdered by poachers at her forest camp in Rwanda), German writer Heinrich Boll, Welsh fashion designer Laura Ashley (from injuries sustained after a stair-fall) , seismologist Charles Richter (who founded the Richter Scale), and cartoonist Chester Gould (creator of Dick Tracey).
The film 'Amadeus' won 8 Oscars- popular films in '85 included 'Out Of Africa', 'Top Gun', 'Back To The Future', 'Mad Max III- Beyond Thunderdome', and 'Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom'.
The British soap opera 'Eastenders' was launched- in the USA, 'Miami Vice' was hugely popular.
French car firm Renault discontinued it's famous '4' model, after a 20 year production run.
....I could go on, but I hope these are helpful. Because I'm British, a lot of the extra info. I can provide is centred around the British Isles, so if you are American, it might not be of so much interest. Let me know if it would be, though.
How does the party use doublethink from 1984?
The idea of Double think is that the people just take in informations as it is given to them without actually understanding it. Just like how the party announces the reduction of the ration one minute, and then announces the increase in ration again not long after, but the people just accepted these claims without actually thinking about the information. The people does not consciously process these information, but just accept them as it is.
What is an example of a motif in George Orwell's 1984?
The glass paperweight was a metaphor for Winston and Julia's relationship being old fashioned and isolated in the room above the shop....it shattering on the floor was a metaphor for their relationship abruptly coming to an end.
What do Julia and Winston disagree about in book 2 chapter 3 in the book 1984?
Julia , as an accomplice , provides a number of ways to rebel by providing him with a partner , herself , to act in contravention of the rules that members of the 'outer party' are expected to adhere to such as showing Winston the luxury items that the elite enjoy (sugar , tea and coffee ) engaging in intimate behaviour (Ironically , Julia herself is a member of the 'Anit-Sex League' and wears the red sash of membership .) , she encourages him to THINK about what is said and done by members of the 'Inner party' .
Who does Winston predict will be vaporized?
Parsons, because he is not too clever and blindly believes anything the party tell him.
Who is the main character of George Orwell's book 1984?
Winston Smith is the main character in 1984 .
Winston Smith.
Why is newspeak so important in 1984?
As described by Winston's friend Syme, a society that operates around the language Newspeak would have no capacity for rebellious thought. Limiting the language limits the words one can use in thought, which, in turn, narrows the consciousness.
Why is the book 1984 controversial?
A dystopia is a vision of society, which is the direct opposite of a utopia. In a dystopia, life is chararacterized by human misery, poverty, oppression, violence, etc. The 21st Century is actually an example of such a dystopia. Think of how unhappy, rage-filled, sickening, weak, poor, hungry and insane the modern world is. Generally a dystopian world comes about by war, revolution, disease, or some other social, political or economic upheaval.. This results in a shift of control from the standard "free world" governments to ones of a totalitarian nature or even the creation of the cyber punkish super corporations. Dystopian literature usually depicts futuristic technology, used by the ruling political power to subjegate the people. Good examples in 1984 would be the Speakwrite and Telescreens. At the time the novel was written, 1949 or so, these technologies were considered science fiction. In order to emphasize the degeneration of society, the standard of living among the lower and middle classes is generally poorer than in contemporary society (at least in United States or Europe). In 1984, the Inner Party, the upper class of society, also has a standard of living lower than the upper classes of today. This among many reasons puts 1984 into the dystopian category. A dystopia is a vision of society, which is the direct opposite of a utopia. In a dystopia, life is chararacterized by human misery, poverty, oppression, violence, etc. The 21st Century is actually an example of such a dystopia. Think of how unhappy, rage-filled, sickening, weak, poor, hungry and insane the modern world is. Generally a dystopian world comes about by war, revolution, disease, or some other social, political or economic upheaval.. This results in a shift of control from the standard "free world" governments to ones of a totalitarian nature or even the creation of the cyber punkish super corporations. Dystopian literature usually depicts futuristic technology, used by the ruling political power to subjegate the people. Good examples in 1984 would be the Speakwrite and Telescreens. At the time the novel was written, 1949 or so, these technologies were considered science fiction. In order to emphasize the degeneration of society, the standard of living among the lower and middle classes is generally poorer than in contemporary society (at least in United States or Europe). In 1984, the Inner Party, the upper class of society, also has a standard of living lower than the upper classes of today. This among many reasons puts 1984 into the dystopian category.
What book did George Orwell write in 1949?
Orwell wrote dystopian fiction, for example; Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty Four
Who was the president in the nineteen eighties?
After defeating Jimmy Carter in the 1980 US Presidential election, Ronald Wilson Reagan was president until 1989, when his Vice President George H. W. Bush was elected President after defeating Michael Dukakis in the 1988 US Presidential election.
What are the three party slogans in George Orwell 1984?
A part member would likely explain that each slogan contains an element of doublethink, and that the meaning of one part of each paradoxical slogan would not exist without the presence of the other.
Does Big Brother exist in 1984?
Nearly everything Big Brother says is most likely written purely by the English Socialist Party. However, there may or may not be a real Big Brother, mostly because he never goes out in public. The pictures of him probably won't age even if he does, because he is the embodiment of the entire Party's ideals. He may have already died, if he has, the Times probably won't mention it. If you reread the description of him, you'll notice George Orwell is describing himself!
Why does Winston feel Syme will vanish?
Winston Believes that Syme is too smart to stay in the party's good side (he is too much of a free thinker).
When does the novel 1984 begin?
It is generally accepted as the year 1984 A.D. , however, there are subtle implications later on in the novel that suggest that the party simply claims that the year is 1984, when it could in fact be earlier or later. However, these implications are minor.
The George Orwell novel, Nineteen Eighty Four, was written between 1944 and 1948. The final manuscript was sent to the publishers in December 1948, and the book was released in July 1949.
How did George Orwell's used education in the book 1984?
George Orwell hardly used education in 1984 as a way to teach children/people about academic subjects. He mainly uses it when O'Brien says to Winston that they have to re-educate him in the Ministry of Love. This re-education is not based on academics but on loyalty to the Party and the love of Big Brother
What is the protagonist's greatest fear in 1984?
For Winston, his greatest fear should be to lose his identity and self-consciousness. His reason for rebelling against the party is to find his true identity, which explains the reason he's so keen in discovering history (for eg. the nursery rhyme and the photograph in the newspaper). It is through history and memory that he is able to find his true identity and self.
For Julia, her greatest fear should be to lose enjoyment (both materially and sexually). That is also the reason she rebelled against the party.
How does Winston secure a hiding place himself and Julia?
Winston secures a hiding place for himself and Julia by taking her to a rented room above Mr. Charrington's shop in a prole area of London. This room is relatively safe from the watchful eyes of the Party, as it is located in a less monitored part of the city and provides them with a temporary escape from the oppressive surveillance. The room is filled with items from the past, creating a sense of privacy and intimacy for their secret meetings.
What reason does O'Brien give for Winston being brought to the ministry of love?
He is there to be brainwashed and tortured by O'Brien into loving Big Brother .
