The original intent of communism was meant to have a classless society. However, the soviet…
The novel that elevated George Orwell to literary fame was Animal Farm; a satirical ‘fairy tale for adults’ based on the themes of totalitarianism and Stalinism. In accordance with the theme, the book heavily satirizes the Russian Revolution; both directly and indirectly, and therefore gives rise to a host of examples to substantiate the statement: ‘Totalitarianism thrives on the exploitation of the weak by the strong’; the topic of discussion in this essay.…
Imagine living in a world where politics are everything and all forms of individuality and personal identities are shattered. A world where everybody is stripped of their rights to talk, act, think, or even form their own opinions, simply because they do not agree with the government’s beliefs. These aspects are just a few of the examples of things dictators would have control over in a totalitarianism form of government. Aggressive leaders such as Hitler and Joseph Stalin are examples of such dictators. They used their power for terror and murder, and their motive is simply to maximize their own personal power. George Orwell had witnessed World War II, the fall of Hitler and Stalin’s dictatorships, and the fatal outcomes that have come from these governments. To warn future generations of the harsh effects of totalitarianism governments, he wrote the book Nineteen Eighty-Four. Published in 1946, Nineteen Eighty-Four describes life in a totalitarianism form of government, following the main character, Winston Smith, as he takes risks in discovering how he believes life should truly be. Literary critic Irving Howe states, “Were it possible, in the world of 1984, to show human character in anything resembling genuine freedom...it would not be the world of 1984” (62). In Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, the government uses its power to suppress individuality among the people.…
Florida is a great state to visit and an even better state to live in. I…
In its pure form, communism is a belief that private property should be replaced by community ownership. In the Soviet Union this idea was not easily accepted by the people. Russian leaders Vladmir Lenin and Joseph Stalin were ruthless in their elimination of those who had different ideas about Russia’s future. It is estimated that in the 1930s, Stalin was responsible for killing more than 10,000,000 Soviet people who he believe were in his way.…
The video “A Class Divided” was about an exercise in discrimination. Jane Elliot, a 3rd grade teacher in an all-white town in Iowa, decided to teach her students about discrimination and the effects that it has on people. She started the exercise by asking her class about national brotherhood week, what it means to them, and if there are people in America who are not treated like brothers. Her students told her yes, that black and Indians were not treated as brothers.…
Communism is a type of socialism and socialism is based around the idea of the states being owner of their means of production. Communism is based upon the ideology of Marxism. Marxism criticized Christianity by claiming that it was untrue because it took the side of the wealthy oppressors (Shelley 2008). The movement that we know as communism today was started by Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov know as Lenin. Lenin believed that violence was Marxism’s ultimate weapon (Shelley 2008). The theory that came from these two men’s ideas coming together was the Marxist-Leninist theory which claimed “Christianity is an illusory reflection of the world resulting from class divisions” (Shelley 2008). Communism was about not letting society become classless because Lenin believed that religion would take away the power of government and to him that could not…
Orwell vision of 1984 was shaped by his experiences though out his time as a volunteer in the Spanish civil war and upon returning to Britain post-war when the country was a place of shortages and rationing. Orwell struggled against fascism, but was intent on destroying its anarchist and Trotskyist allies. The defeat of fascism involved the success of and the emergence of the USSR as a great power. Orwell was deeply concerned about this fact. Orwell remained a believer in the fundamental goodness of the “common people”, the workers or “proles”. Due to Orwell’s personal circumstances, his fading life expectancy from tuberculosis may have influenced the bleak creation of the world that is “1984”.…
Communism in this era was a fast growing idea that was becoming widely popular for many countries. Communism is the political theory and philosophy created by the ideas of Karl Marx. Believing the best type of society is where all property is publicly owned and every citizen is paid by their needs and abilities. This idea was the stronghold for Russia and pushed them into power, while on the other hand there was The United States. The United States preached democracy and capitalism two ideals that did not mix well with communist thought.…
In 1984, by George Orwell, the reader sees a primary theme of political allegory and satire. Orwell is presenting the world of 1984 as a satiric statement of what might come to pass, though of course its exact form could never be predicted, if the world did not become aware of the terrible problems facing it, not in 1984, but here and now. Orwell wrote the novel not as a prediction, but as a warning. He believed that in many ways society was regressing back in the direction of barbarism, and that in the fight against fascism and other totalitarian and terroristic systems of government, even Western liberal society was being corrupted and was adopting the techniques used by its enemies. "Orwell 's purpose in writing was not only to record what was happening in the world and to project ahead in order to make men realize what was happening and likely to happen. It was as much or more his purpose to change the world"(Ranald).…
The Civil War in America was, in fact, inevitable. There were many disputes over the politics, economics, and culture of slavery both in the White House and in the Supreme Court. The South was very persistent about wanting to keep slavery and they even wanted it to spread in to the North. The North disagreed completely however and wanted it to just be completely abolished throughout all of America.…
1984 by George Orwell, written in 1949 is a product of an emerging threat to Communism and a global level power struggle between Russia, China and now at this time in 1949 the United States of America. The struggle only existing out of fear and respect for each other over the possibility of one being able to destroy the other and only needing each other to exist, as “…they are unable to destroy one another” for the specific purpose of holding power in the first place. This is also the beginning of classism in the United States with the dawning of the “Top 1%” post-World War II. Orwell himself; was born into a British military family and lacked the bond of a family with an absentee father and ultimately boarding school via partial scholarship,…
In his essay, ‘Why I Write’, Orwell stated that he wanted to capture the truth of human nature. As exemplified in his story of poverty, Down and out in Paris and London; he captured the realism of life during the Spanish Civil War in Homage to Catalonia, and in The Road to Wigan Pier, Orwell studied human misery in an exploitative social order. In 1984, Orwell described utter and total hatred to people who are different, hate of evil and hate of all other humans. It is where love is described as absurd, and totally unnecessary. People are raised to hate, and hate is the primary emotion that people feel. The lack of love and kindness is what brings the society to a complete totalitarian state. Human beings instinctively crave love and care to thrive; without it, no one can experience happiness or freedom. This works well for 1984 because of its hate-driven society; however the lack of love causes unrest with those who can see the importance of love.…
Government controlled by the people, for the people is the underlying idea and basis of a successful government. The ubiquitous need of the people to feel safe and protected in every aspect of their lives is what drives the power in society. When a government neglects this idea and takes control getting wrapped up in the power of their position in society’s hierarchy, chaos ensues and Big Brother has the ability to take control. Government control of society is an important subject due to the current state of the world today. From countries such as the United States to its polar opposite of North Korea government control of society plays an important factor in how people live their lives. The creation of new technology stirred George Orwell in nineteen forty-nine to write his epic novel of dystopian society and complete government control. Today, as new technologies such as iris scanners and street cameras are becoming more prevalent, the same issue arises as to how much control of society a government should have.…
Racism, a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others (“racism”), has been a significant problem for decades. In the 1960’s, Martin Luther King Jr., a U.S. civil rights leader, was assassinated, which lead to an upsurge in animosity between the Caucasian and African American people.…