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How Does Orwell Create a Dystopia in "1984"?

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How Does Orwell Create a Dystopia in "1984"?
A dystopia is the opposite of a utopia. The meaning of utopia is a perfect place. Therefore making a dystopia a nightmarish place with many things wrong with it. The book "1984" is based in a dystopian world in 1984. This is the future from when the book was written. Orwell has to use many ideas and very twisted thoughts and nightmares to create this world, which seems to become more like reality year by year.

An example of the dystopia being created would be the weather note on the first line of the book. "It was a bright cold day in April", this puts forward the idea that that in the time of rebirth (spring, dawn of a new year) there is a war between weather and a strong contrast. This also paints a good picture in the reader's mind of what the world must be like as quite a horrible place with grim weather that sets a scene of war. A dystopian world would definitely have war as a part of it as war is a great fear of people and is something that would be included in a nightmare.

The story then goes on to describe where Winston lives (Victory mansions). This building has a large poster (big brother) and reminds you of a high rise apartment block in the UK that are rundown, dirty and are very small. Victory mansions is well named because it's supposed to provide the occupants with a pride of victory and to focus peoples mind on the idea that life is great when it is actually sad, nightmarish and everyone has an extremely low standard of living. If everyone lived in these kind of buildings it would almost be like living in a prison. The prison idea is also supported by constant surveillance of the people. Thought police will arrest someone for thinking of committing a crime and the telescreens are two way. The giant poster in the building is also a sense of constant surveillance because the face is permanently watching over people and also the caption reads "big brother is watching you". A big brother is supposed to take care of their other brothers in this case the people and the government; however the government aren't being anything like a big brother because the people are not being treated well.

The main feature of this book that makes it such a dystopian world is the three statements on the ministry of truth ("war is peace, Freedom is slavery, and Ignorance is strength"). This is believed by the people and this means they have been brainwashed into believing it. If war is peace then there will always be war, if freedom is slavery then no one will ever be free because they are slaves in the book as they are kept under watch by this extremely delusional world. If ignorance is strength then everyone will be filled with fury against something. So the people are forced to direct hatred outwards to other people to prevent the government being looked at and be seen as such a bad, slave driven place.

In conclusion this world that Orwell has created is one with brain washed slaves that are just contributing towards aiding war and the people themselves are completely miss treated and yet they love the government. This is a true nightmare of a world which no one in this reality could stand to live in. However some may argue that it is a utopia as war unites people together in one effort, when people are free they can do what they want including crime, murder. Ignorance can be seen as strength because it is something that protects the people from other wars and is what the government uses to drive the people. There will also be no crime in this world because everyone has been brainwashed into getting behind the government and the thought police can arrest someone for thinking of a crime so no one can commit one because you must think of a crime to commit it.

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