Orwells Political Message to the World
Orwells Political Message to the World
Many authors bring in the theme of politics into their work in order to make their creations more appealing and as a form of expressing their personal views. George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-four” is a novel that contains many political messages to the world. Orwell felt that part of his role as a writer is to serve as a voice of conscience to our society by trying to express the truth as he saw it. The novel was written in a crucial time period in modern history after the Second World War and at the beginning of the Cold War. One can see that the book was influenced by current events of its time mixed with Orwell’s standpoint. He focuses on three major political issues that effect society, which are the dangers of war, class differences and dictatorship. Orwell was trying to show how certain political systems could affect our society by working for only selected few’s interests and suppressing individual freedom. “1984” was written in a realistic way of the “worst case scenario” in order to warn people of what may happen if certain dangerous political ideologies gain or re-gain power.
One of the most important political issues Orwell addresses in “1984” is the idea that war is bad. He does so by showing how the living conditions described in Oceania are a cause of the war. When it was reported that Oceania was winning, the citizens believed they would get benefits from it, which they did not. Orwell was pointing out the disadvantages of war that the poor life style was blamed on of the war effort. By emphasizing that he was showing that standard of living goes down during war for all people. The three powers Eurasia, Eastasia, and Oceania, are in a constant state of war with one another, yet all are self-contained and require no trade with one another, and therefore are not using war for economic needs. Because they have no economic reason, it can be suggested that Orwell was criticizing another popular reason to go into war (especially in WWII), nationality, and believed it should not be a justifiable reason for war. Goldstein’s book explained that the powers were in a constant state of war so the people will be too preoccupied with the war effort to worry about whether or not the present political system is working. The government distracts the people by constantly reminding them that when they win the war, Oceania will rule the world, and life will be better. So therefore, as long as the war effort is obtained (as it always will be for the war will never stop), peace within the states can prevail. Much like the reason for Goldstein’s existence, the war goes on. Orwell was showing the power of hate and manipulation; how a joint enemy can bring a nation closer together when in fact at the same time they are too blinded by their hatred to see around them. One of the party’s paradox slogans is “War is peace”. This again displays how once there is no outside war, people will start trying to correct their inside society and political leaders might use this strategy to keep the public’s eye off their actions. Orwell clearly opposed the idea of war and portrays it but demonstrating the reasons for it with its flaws and bad aspects.
An issue which Orwell addresses in his book “1984” that is and has been effecting society throughout history is class differences. In Oceania who ever belonged to the Inner Party was upper class. The Proles are people of the low class who are not regarded as significant to society by the party. All other such as Winston and Julia were considered the Outer Party, which were working middle class, and they were the ones who the Party wished to control. Neither the Outer Party nor the Proles had any influence what so ever on the direction their country was going or the rules that governed their lives. The Inner Party manipulated the media and gained access to citizens’ private lives in order to haven absolute control over every characteristic of human existence including their actions and their thoughts. In this scenario, Orwell describes how the Upper Class has all the say as for the future of the nation and the lives of all who are in it. He goes on by putting the scary thought in one’s head of all one’s freedoms taken away while the Upper Class, an exclusive number of people, control the people’s lives and thoughts. Orwell made the class difference in “1984”