Welcome to my journey through George Orwell's novel 1984. Although published in 1949, Orwell paints an astonishing vision of what he believes society in London in 1984 could look like, which is introduced in my first reading of the novel.
Within the first six chapters, something that stood out to me was the usage of irony throughout the section, particularly in both the functions and organizations in the society. The major player in this society, referred to as "the Party", is centered around this slogan:
"WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" (7).
These phrases are constantly reiterated to the people within this society, and essentially sum of the morals and viewpoints of the Party and it's leader, Big Brother. This is ironic because the words that are equated in the slogan are antonyms of each other: war and peace, freedom and slavery. This goes to show how the Party has come to be in power by changing the associations in people's minds so that they are more submissive to being controlled. It also highlights a key aspect of the Party and Big Brother's tactics for controlling the society, which is by retaining knowledge and intentionally fabricating the little information that is given to the public to make them believe that London truly is thriving.
Irony is also present in the names of the government Ministries. There is "the Ministry of Truth, which [concerns] itself with news, entertainment, education, and the fine arts, the Ministry of Peace, which [concerns] itself with war, the Ministry of Love, which [concerns] itself with law and order, and the Ministry of Plenty, which [is] responsible for economic affairs" (8). As we learn throughout the section, these names are all facades to cover for the actual state of London. The Ministry of Truth is responsible for printing and distributing lies that are manufactured by people with jobs like Winston, the main character, who is responsible for changing past news for present gain. The Ministry of Peace is quite blatantly ironic because it deals with war, which is, as mentioned previously, the opposite of peace. The Ministry of Love also does not fit its usage, because people are "vaporized", or made to seem as though they never existed, for very trivial things. People are vaporized for being caught having treasonous thoughts by the Thought Police, or by simply noticing that the news that is being presented is false. There is quite clearly no love in that process! Finally, the Ministry of Plenty gives the illusion that the economy is booming, when London is in fact war-torn and forced to ration food. These Ministries are designed to give the impression that they all stand for positive things, when they are really just disguises for the chaos and complete control in the government.
Overall, I think that the usage of irony is less to convey what Orwell truly believes society will be like, but more to highlight the different issues that society could face in the future. His prediction of things such as the Ministries and the Party's slogan primarily serve to warn the reader of things such as corruption in the government and the retention of information by those in power. In this way, 1984 provides a more symbolic outlook when describing the basic functions of the futuristic society. These first six chapters were important to set the scene of the complicated ins-and-outs of London in 1984, and I can only assume that they will make this novel much easier to understand later.
Until next time!
Katie
Hi Katie!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you noticed a lot of the same things as me from this reading! I especially agree with your last sentence about the setting of London because I really felt like the majority of this section just established the setting of the book before actually going into plot.
I think you did a really good job discussing the ironies of the Party's slogan and of the Ministries. I personally wonder whether or not Winston picks up on the irony or if it is only the reader. Winston seems to be aware and critical of society, but he also isn't strong enough to be able to fight the "brainwashing" of Big Brother, so I honestly have no idea how much of these things Winston is aware of and how much of it is the narrator.
Hi Georgia,
DeleteI wondered the same thing! My prediction is that he will gradually begin to see the irony as the book progresses, because he is already beginning to rebel against some of the ideas of the society, such as their worship of Big Brother. I think that this served as a starting point for Winston's development throughout the novel.
Katie
Ideas about the beginning of the book provide a good overview. Good discussion of irony. Do you see any similarities to other books we've read?
ReplyDeleteHi Ms. LaClair,
DeleteYes! As I was reading, I was shocked by how similar the society was to both Brave New World and The Handmaids Tale. One detail that stood out to me was the excitement shared among children about watching a hanging. This reminded me of how public hangings were seen as entertainment in the society of Gilead, and how it provides a subtle threat to keep people in the society in line. I definitely plan on making a blog post regarding all the similarities between 1984 and some of the other books that we have read as more similarities arise.
Katie
Katie I really enjoyed reading your post! Personally when I was reading 1984 I was getting some Brave New World vibes, especially when their slogan was brought up. I think it would've been cool to see you compare the slogans from both books just to see the similarities between the two societies. However your post was a great little summary of the beginning of the book and I look forward to seeing your future posts!
ReplyDeleteI think your analysis of the irony of the names of the different ministries was really good! I loved this book and I hope you enjoy it too!!
ReplyDelete