George Orwell Idealism

The novel 1984 was written by George Orwell in 1948, almost half a century before the year in which the novel was based. In this essay, I will demonstrate that the social and political environment at that time in history as well as the author’s personal life and conditions had a tremendous impact on the concept and completion of the novel.
Orwell’s personal beliefs and idealism critically influenced his writing. In the late 1920’s, Orwell believed in anarchism and in 1936, he travelled to Spain to fight for the Republicans against Franco's Nationalists. The Spanish Civil War played an important role in influencing Orwell's socialism and by the late 1930s he had begun to consider himself a socialist. Orwell stated in "Why I Write" (1946):
"Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it." Therefore, it is evident that the anti- totalitarianism theme of the novel 1984 is strongly influenced by the environment and personal beliefs of the author.
Orwell’s personal experience and perception of the leaders in history influenced his creative work. During the Spanish Civil War, Orwell was forced to flee in fear of his life from Soviet-backed communists. This experience turned him into a lifelong anti-Stalinist and it is important to note that this was seriously reflected in the character and plot around Big Brother in the novel 1984. For example, much like Stalin, Big Brother's plans were a success in creating a powerful state. Stalin and Big Brother both believed in the idea of superiority, and spread it by use of similar propaganda techniques. The use of propaganda was an asset in the success of creating the totalitarian government of Big Brother, Hitler, and Stalin. The Two Minutes of Hate, a program designed by Big Brother, was one of many of his propaganda techniques. Thus, the characters and plots of 1984 are also a result of the authors’ depiction of autocratic leaders at the time.
Orwell’s experience of World War II influenced his imagination of the years to come. His writing in 1984 created a future nearly half a century away from the time period in which he was writing. This future had to be the natural end of the totalitarianism Orwell witnessed in the communist and socialist regimes of World War II. For example, the novel exposes totalitarianism as the Party's use of Big Brother, the Thought Police, the Two-Minute Hate, and Doublethink make it easy to see how a person's ability to think independently and to figure out fiction from reality can be eroded. “‘Death to the traitors’. People during the Two Minute Hate, shout this quote but they don’t know why they are saying it. They are like sheep, being told what to do.”
Having witnessed firsthand the horrific lengths to which totalitarian governments in Spain and Russia would go in order to sustain and increase their power, Orwell designed 1984 to sound the alarm in Western nations still unsure about how to approach the rise of communism.
For example, in the novel, it is easy to see how those in control can, through manipulation and propaganda, maintain that control simply for the sake of sating their own power hunger. For example, the party slogans “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength” are designed to keep the citizens under control. This proves that 1984 is a political novel written with the purpose of warning readers in the West of the dangers of totalitarian
government.
Moreover, the protagonist Winston Smith is created by the writer to demonstrate the effects of political regimes on ordinary citizens. In the American press, the Soviet Union was often portrayed as a great moral experiment. Orwell, however, was deeply disturbed by the widespread cruelties and oppressions he observed in communist countries, and seems to have been particularly concerned by the role of technology in enabling oppressive governments to monitor and control their citizens. A reader of the novel 1984 would easily identify several examples of this in the text which prove the assertion that Orwell’s personal perception of the historical political environment influenced the events in the novel. “Every citizen or at least every citizen worth watching could be kept for 24 hours under the eyes of the police.”
Furthermore, the gloomy stories and character descriptions of Winston Smith are inspired by the writer’s own ailments, including tuberculosis and infertility.
Winston Smith - grey, thin, unable to climb the stairs without stopping to rest, doubled up every morning by 'a violent coughing fit' that leaves him lying breathless on the floor - is plainly Orwell.
Depressed by his wife’s death in 1945, Orwell moved to a windy and damp Scottish island. His health worsened significantly just as he was working on the first draft of "1984," as reported by his best friend, Ross. Fever, weight loss, and night sweats sent him to the hospital, where he underwent “collapse therapy,” a treatment designed to close the dangerous cavities that form in the chests of tuberculosis patients. Relying on Orwell's own descriptions of the treatment, Ross says it "may have influenced the depiction of the tortures of Winston Smith in the Ministry of Love" in "1984."
Ross also figures Orwell drew from firsthand knowledge of the wasting effects of tuberculosis. A passage from the novel: "But the truly frightening thing was the emaciation of his body. The barrel of the ribs was as narrow as that of a skeleton: the legs had shrunk so that the knees were thicker than the thighs…the curvature of the spine was
astonishing."
"Orwell himself told his friends that 1984 would have been less gloomy had he not been so ill—it was a very dark, disturbing, and pessimistic work," Ross said. Orwell's illnesses "made him a better and more empathetic writer, in that his sense of human suffering made his writing more universal."
In conclusion, it is overwhelmingly evident that both history and George Orwell’s life/environment had a major contribution in the development of the character, theme, plot and events of the novel 1984.