Prompt 2: Historical Parallels in 1984

Historical Parallels in 1984

1. The first example that was very obvious to me as to drawing up an actual historical parallel based on what I read in the novel 1984 by George Orwell was the whole concept of what the story revolves around. The place Oceania, which is where all the characters live in, is set up where the government (Big Brother) is always watching over all of the citizens so that it can control just about every single aspect of the people’s lives. The saying “Big Brother Is Watching You” is repeated every so often throughout the novel for the purposes of dramatic effect and emphasis. The parallel is that the Soviet Union established a totalitarian state of government under Joseph Stalin in the 1940’s. I was largely reminded very much of that while reading through the novel.
   
2. My research also told me that George Orwell had written an essay that was entitled Why I Write, in which he explains that all the “serious work” that he had written ever since the Spanish Civil War was “written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism.” What this means is that we can look at the novel clearly opposing totalitarianism. Also, although I have not read the book Animal Farm by George Orwell, I looked it up and realized that Orwell mentions his heavy dislike and criticism of totalitarian systems within it as well.
   
3. Another specific event that is in the text which reflects an actual historical event is the often mentioned Two Minutes Hate. This event is described as a small but important event in which the citizens of Oceania are instructed to face the telescreen and are pretty much forced to have feelings of hate towards Eurasia. In a much broader sense, it can be described as a form of nationalism for Oceania. What George Orwell had done was based this concept off of when Stalin had held events where he would scrutinize his enemies.
   
4. Also, I found out that Orwell had worked for BBC at one time in his life. During this time when he was employed for this company, BBC was headed and leaded by the Ministry of Information. George Orwell had admitted to a man named Malcolm Muggeridge that this was the basis of what lead to his creation of the Ministry of Truth in his book 1984.
   
5. Supposedly, the world of which the novel takes place in appears to reflect and present various aspects of the social and political life of the United Kingdom as well as the U.S.A. According to certain reports, George Orwell was said to have based the book so that it resembled the poor economy and weak conditions of the British Empire. Although specific details as to how this is exactly so, are lacking, one can conclude that his novel has quite a lot to do with his personal life.

6. Perhaps another great point in drawing conclusions about insightful historical connections is the topic of the newspaper within the story. The party called Ingsoc has a newspaper that is called the Times whereas Orwell also seemed to be quite interested in reading a newspaper with this very same title during his younger days. This newspaper was and is regarded as the voice of the ruling class of the British. Also, major emphasis is placed upon the language of newspeak throughout the novel.
   
7. The concept of the thought police in this story is mentioned quite frequently within the story as yet another measure that is taken by Big Brother in order to limit the freedom of the citizens and maintain strict order. After doing some research, I had concluded that the thought police is very much so similar to the Gestapo or NKVD which were secret police for Nazi Germany (Gestapo) and for Stalin’s Russia (NKVD). Every single time the thought police is brought up, it is made out to be very fearful if the rules of the government are broken.
   
8. One of the more obvious historical parallels that I was able to pick up on was all the use of propaganda in the novel. Thoughts of a totalitarian- run state had entered my mind right away, allowing me to receive a vivid picture of what the society of Oceania looked like. The author Orwell is consistently making references to some propaganda such as the big photos of the middle-aged man with the caption saying “Big Brother Is Watching You.” Orwell uses very effective techniques to instill a clear description of a strong authoritarian style of government through his mentions of propaganda.
   
9. “Doublethink” is another concept that is a part of the Oceanic society that is pretty complex and involves a lot of thought, but it can easily be committed by a person if they were not careful. Basically, what I got out of it was that it is when a person manipulates their own mind to lie or use logic against the beliefs and principles of Big Brother, or similar activities. The government took this very seriously and did not want it being used in the wrong way. While reading about doublethink, I was reminded of how governments such as the one in the story would take strong measures to make their citizens think alike and in a certain way.
   
10. The last very obvious thing that I had noticed in this exciting and interesting book of 1984 by George Orwell that I could parallel to actual historical events or involvements was just the general way that things are constructed there in Oceania especially being the exact and very particular way in which the innocent people were required to pay so much mandatory respect and honor towards the worshiping of Big Brother and the government accepted no less. If these proper actions were not taken, then much violent action was to be done and the citizens knew it as well. They had to live their lives in constant fear of being vanished and the fact that they even once existed would be wiped away as well. There have been countless amounts of governments throughout the subject of world history that have set up very strict governments in which violence or just about any matter was used in order to achieve society to be the way the government wanted it to be, i.e. Nazi Germany, totalitarian USSR, etc. I was reminded of this all to a very large extent while reading 1984.