Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
By
Young, Javrielle O.
HUM01 - IS207
December 2018
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Literary Discussion
1984, is a dystopian novel that shows the dangers of totalitarianism. It exhibits a world governed
by surveillance, censorship, and propaganda. Nineteen Eighty-Four became one of the most
significant novels of the 20th Century for it challenged and questioned the existing political
system. Regarded as “the masterpiece that killed George Orwell” by McCrum (2009), Nineteen
as Orwell’s last published novel before his death on January 21, 1950 and was
Eighty-Four w
Author’s Background
A generational novelist, essayist, critic, and an avid supporter of politics, George Orwell
fashioned a legacy unparalleled by no other and was deemed, together with his works, the
conscience of the generation. Orwell was a man of strong opinions who publicized his intense
disapproval of some of the major political movements of his time, particularly totalitarianism,
fascism, imperialism, and communism through his most celebrated and preeminent works such
On June 25, 1903 in Motihari, Bengal, India, Eric Arthur Blair, who decided George
Orwell to be his pseudonym, was born to a family, which he described in The Road to Wigan
Pier ( 1973), in the “lower-upper middle class.” As stated by his biographer Bernard Crick in
George Orwell: A Life ( 1981), Orwell used a pen name partly to avoid humiliating his parents, to
protect himself against failure, and to replace the name ‘Eric’ for it “reminded him of a prig in a
Victorian boys’ story.” He was the second child of British parents Richard Walmsley Blair and
Ida Mabel Limouzin, and had an older sister named Marjorie and a younger sister. Orwell’s
family resided in Indian Bengal where his father was working as a minor customs official in the
British Civil Services. At the age of four, his mother brought him and his older sister back to
England, where they settled in Henley-on-Thames, a village near London. As a child, Orwell was
shy, diffident, and self-doubting as he grew up sickly – often battling bronchitis and the flu.
Orwell was an outstanding student and an ardent writer. At a young age, he found a
distinct enthusiasm and eagerness for writing – a passion that is manifested in the very first poem
he wrote at the age of four. He garnered one of his first literary successes at the age of eleven
when one of his poems was published in the local newspaper. Subsequently, he was fond of
spending long hours reading, particularly genres of ghost stories, science fictions, and several
plays of William Shakespeare and fictions of Rudyard Kipling, Edgar Allan Poe, and Charles
Dickens. From there, he went on to attend established institutions such as Wellington College
and Eton College on scholarships, where he dedicated himself to reading. When Orwell did not
obtain a scholarship to continue studies at university, he joined the Indian Imperial Police,
receiving his training in Burma – and was the first and only Etonian to attend the Burmese police
training – but resigned a few years because of his tremendous abhorrence for imperialism. In this
light, he was able to write his first novel, Burmese Days (1934) and essays such as A Hanging
and Shooting an Elephant. After leaving Burma, Orwell was also able to write Down and Out in
Unbeknownst to a number of people, Orwell was an anarchist in the late 1920s, but by
the 1930s, he considered himself as a socialist. He always thought of himself as a member of the
‘dissident Left’, and on July 1936, he arrived in Barcelona, Spain to and joined the militia, in the
light of the Spanish Civil War, where he was shot in the neck and severely injured; thus, Orwell
was forced to escape from the Soviet-backed communists who were repressing socialist
dissenters. With this experience in mind, Orwell became a lifelong anti-Stalinist and began
fashioning his works around this – one of these masterpieces is Animal Farm.
By August 17, 1945, Orwell’s first masterpiece was published – an anti-Soviet satire
entitled Animal Farm which combines animal fable with political mockery and caricature,
particularly the events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 until the Stalinist Russia of
the Soviet Union. This fable intends to expose the truth of the failures of communism through
animals that speak and act as though they are human. Four years later, Orwell was able to
publish Nineteen Eighty-four, an intricate satire on modern politics predicting a world wherein
humans are made less human in a world where citizens under the control of an oppressive
totalitarian government. Both masterpieces by Orwell involve his immense antipathy toward
Whilst Orwell was accredited for his novels by the modern world and the men and
women of the latter-day, his journalistic pieces and essays are affirmations of his deep-seated
fascination of the politics of his time. Adamant and assertive to his subject matter, Orwell wrote
with a purpose that will resonate as long as time prevails – a purpose to kindle the consciousness
of people and to challenge the status quo. The master works of George Orwell do not simply
dwell on entertainment; rather, these works intend to captivate the audience and challenge the
norm. Orwell stressed on innovation and uniqueness in his lucid style of writing. Enduring years
of sickness, Orwell was diagnosed with Tuberculosis in 1938, which ultimately became the
During 1984 post-revolution, Oceania was reigned over by the Party led by Big Brother
Thoughtcrime was any rebellious belief against the Party and was punishable by death. The
government dismantled the notion of freedom and privacy as the citizens, particularly the Outer
Party members, were under constant surveillance through telescreens. The two-way screens
operated as security cameras and microphones to detect instances that transgress the law;
however, it did not cease Winston Smith from defying the party and revealing its wraths through
writing in a diary.
Winston Smith was an Outer Party member who worked in the Records Department of
the Ministry of Truth, the ministry responsible for distorting literature to get ahold of the people.
It was a continuous cycle of turning a lie into a truth and turning it into a lie again in order for
history to be in favor of the Party. Smith was among the victims of the Party’s tyranny that
continued to obtain absolute power while disregarding the needs of humankind. He recognized
how the Party manipulated and brainwashed the society into becoming ignorant. Winston
deviated from the Party through writing and having an affair with a fellow Outer Party member,
Julia.
The Party condemned all sexual acts and relationships as it was perceived as a threat to
the loyalty of the members to the Party. Winston and Julia continued their clandestine affair in a
room above Mr. Charrington’s shop that was free from telescreens, where they shared their hate
against the Party, and hoped to be emancipated from the captivity they are in. They then
confessed their hatred for the Party to an Inner Party member, O’Brien, who they regarded as
someone who shared the same aversion to the Party. O’Brien revealed how he rebelled against
the Party through joining the Brotherhood and gave them a copy of Emmanuel Goldstein’s book,
which discusses how the Party remained powerful. Winston read the book to Julia until the
thought police barged in and caught them. It was revealed that Mr. Charrington, the proprietor of
the store, was a member of the Thought Police and concealed a telescreen in the room.
Winston was torn away from Julia and was brought to the Ministry of Love which is
responsible for enforcing loyalty to Big Brother through torment. It was also revealed that
O’Brien was a Party spy who only pretended to be a member of the Brotherhood in order to lure
and trap Winston into committing an open act of rebellion against the Party. O’Brien tortured
and brainwashed Winston for months and then sent Winston to the dreaded Room 101, the final
destination for anyone who opposes the Party. Winston was forced to confront his worst fear,
rats; he snapped and pleaded with O’Brien to do it to Julia instead of him. His spirit was left
broken and he was released to the outside world. He met Julia again, but he no longer felt
anything for her for his loyalty now remained only to the Party and Big Brother.
CHAPTER 2
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Introduction of Theory
This paper revolves around utilizing Marxist Literary Theory as the primary lens in
Based on Marxism, the Marxist Literary Theory is considered as one of the most
influential critical theories to analyze literature (Alam, 2017). Marxism is the school of thought
founded by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, a German philosopher and a German sociologist
respectively. Both Marx and Engels coined Marxism as Communism which is an ideology of
economic equality through the elimination of private property (Dhar, 2014). In 1848, both Marx
Manifesto. Nevertheless, Marxism still proves to be relevant in the modern world despite its
emergence from the distant past because of the fact that it gives readers a consequential way of
understanding society, history, literature, and the world in general. In particular, Marxism targets
the society and its ideology, as well as history and the economy.
Marxism sees economics as base on which superstructure, or the social, political, and
ideological, is built (Alam, 2017). One of the most fundamental supposition of Marxism are the
material circumstances referring to economic condition that, in turn, generate the other premise
of social, ideological, or political atmosphere – the historical situation (Alam, 2017). Marxism
highlights the socioeconomic class divisions as well – particularly referring to the bourgeoisie
and the proletariat – that entail class struggles which have plagued human history and
humankind. In line with this, Marxism targets ideology as a belief system, which necessitates the
superstructure, and ideologies exceptionally. Marxist critical theory simply employs historical
materialism as a functioning approach. The theory explains the phenomena of changes in various
material conditions – ways of people producing life necessities – and how these changes
influence the social organization. To put it simply, the way someone works defines his or her
eliminated the significance of having a logical explanation of things. Unlike these approaches,
Marxist perspective does not only stress to understand the ideologies of the world but also focus
While the perspective of a Marxist opposes the idealist philosophy that focuses on
conceptualizing a spiritual world. The idealistic approach believes that spiritual world controls
and influences the material world we live in. However, Marxist criticism perceived literary work
as a product whose practitioner or creator emphasized the role of ideology and class.
Looking through the lenses of a Marxist literary theory, a literary critic takes into
consideration the material or historical conditions of the text. A literary critic utilizing a Marxist
literary theory keeps in mind that the text reflects the existing ideology of a society (Alam,
2017). With this, it is important to manifest the relationship between the people, as well as to
investigate the text as a critique of Capitalism, since Marxism is generally a critique of the
Objectives
The literary criticism on Nineteen Eighty-four aims to criticize Orwell’s work through the
Marxist lens. This criticism attempts to determine how the novel challenges the current
socioeconomic structure and how it reflects social institutions as instruments for promoting
social stratification and strengthening the status quo. The study also aims to determine whether
the novel protects, promotes, or invigorates the Marxist ideologies and agendas.
Research Questions
1. How does the superstructures protect the status quo, and aggravate the social and
2. How does the novel challenge the existing socioeconomic condition, and reveal the
3. How does the work manifest the ruling power and economic structures of the capitalist
ideology and society? Specifically, how does the work portray the social structure of a
4. Does the work protect, promote, or invigorate the Marxist ideologies and agendas or does
Application of Theory
On Winston
The novel was narrated in the perspective of an Outer Party member, Winston Smith.
Winston may be perceived as an intellectual, a fatalist, and a rebel. It was evident in the novel
how he restrained from drowning in the lies and propaganda fed by the Party and how he was
conscious on the Party’s tyranny. He successfully resisted the mental oppressive forces of the
Party and continued to conceive rebellious thoughts against the Party, thus, maintaining his
individuality. However, Winston still had the tendency to refuse individuality and reason on his
resistance. This conveyed the oppressive system of the Party, Big Brother, and the Thought
Police for he feared on attempting to think against the system. He is denied the right to contest
his disagreement to the ruling system and forced to conform to it. Although Winston attempts to
oppose individuality, he is incapable of eliminating his distaste on the Party and resisting the
urge of overthrowing Big Brother with still, however, pessimistic and inevitable views of the
future.
Winston was convinced on how he will remain powerless for only few will be capable of
recognizing the deceitfulness of the Party and how the Party shall continue to maintain its
position and will take absolute control over the society, until the society becomes conscious of
the Party’s menacing ways. This, however, shall not be attained for the people are already
manipulated through the Party’s propaganda. In addition to this, the system continues to
‘And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed – if all
records told the same tale – then the lie passed into history and
became truth. "Who controls the past," ran the Party slogan,
"controls the future: who controls the present controls the past."
And yet the past, thought of its nature alterable, never had been
altered. Whatever was true now was true from everlasting to
everlasting. It was quite simple. All that was needed was an
unending series of victories over your own memory. "Reality
control," they called it: in Newspeak, "doublethink."’
The Party’s primary goal was for people to exude ignorance through shaping its image to
the minds of the people as an ideal government in order to eliminate rebellion. It was shown how
the Party targeted intellectuals for its propaganda was insufficient for them to conform to the
society; it attains it through force and torment the Party. This was evident in the event wherein
Winston had to face his greatest fear to betray Julia and pledge his loyalty to Big Brother alone.
It showed how the Party took complete control over the mind of Winston through treacherous
ways.
On Social Structure
Figure 2. Social Structure in Oceania
Social Stratification was present in the novel for the division of social class – Inner Party,
Outer Party, and Proles - was evident (Figure 2). It may be deduced how marginalized the proles
were for they were perceived as outliers and did not have access to necessities including goods,
education, literature, and etc. It could also be seen how wealth and power was concentrated
among the inner party, even though it only makes less than 2% of the population.
The dissimilarity between the two parties were evident on the descriptions of Winston
and Julia, both Outer Party members, and O’Brien, an Inner Party member. It may be seen in
comparing the physical attributes of Winston and O’Brien. Winston was described as a small
O’Brien, however, was described exactly the opposite. He was pertained to as a man who
was large and burly with a thick neck and a coarse, humorous, brutal face. Their physical
description suggests how the Outer Party members lacked nourishment compared to the Inner
Party members for they did not have access to basic necessities.
It could also be seen how the way the Inner and Outer Party differed in the way they live.
Winston was said to be living in a neglected and dilapidated apartment, the Victory Mansion,
where it had a dysfunctional elevator, broken pipes, tiny kitchens, and etc. The flat was described
It was also presented when Julia brought Winston chocolate from the black market. It
seemed peculiar to Winston for he was used to eating bland chocolate available for them.
It was also evidently displayed when Winston and Julia were offered wine while they
were visiting O’Brien in his home.
‘It is called wine,’ said O’Brien with a faint smile. ‘You will
have read about it in books, no doubt. Not much of it gets to the
Outer Party, I am afraid.’
This shows how the Inner Party members had access to and could afford luxurious items
while the Outer Party members’ lifestyle was practical and simple.
Nineteen Eighty-four has characterized the proletariat class, which is the one of the
centerpieces of Marxist criticism, in a way that explicitly resembles how Karl Marx depicted the
oppressed proletariat class. The resemblance of the Proles, as characterized in the novel, was
bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and this capitalist society was highlighted in the novel. The
bourgeoisie were represented by the Inner Party i n the novel, while the proletariat were
represented by two classes, namely the Outer Party a nd the Proles, with the Outer Party
portraying the roles of the workers of the totalitarian system of Oceania and are presumed as part
of the proletariat class. How Marx describes the proletariat class exactly resembles how the
In line with this, the Proles were given a burden in terms of the workload they had to put
through, just as how Marx describes the working class of the capitalist society. These Proles
would be bombarded by worthless things to ease them, in a vague manner, of the work that they
With this, the entirety of the novel centered on portraying the main idea related to the
Marxist idea of social classes. In Marxist theories, the proletariat class must overthrow the
bourgeoisie in times of economic crises; hence, resulting to a revolution in classes, with the
capitalists being overthrown, while the working class be on top of the social triangle.
Subsequently, this is one of the many ways that the novel challenges the ruling ideology of a
capitalist society, that those in power need to be overthrown by the those being oppressed which,
in relation to the novel, were the Proles. The change in the society, therefore, lies in the hands of
the proletariat class, or the Proles a s represented in the novel. Nineteen Eighty-four expresses its
disapproval of the capitalist society and, in turn, desires a change through the proletariat class.
In this light, the revolution that Marxist theories promote could only be achieved once the
proletariat class realize the problems of the ruling capitalist ideologies, which was strongly given
Through this, the capitalists that Marxists theories pertain to which, in the novel, is
represented by the Party manipulates the population through fear. The capitalists acknowledge
the fact that the proletariat class have the power to rebel. In turn, the capitalists do everything in
their power to strip the proletariat class of the power that they have. Because of this, the
capitalists plant ideas in people’s minds so as to not have the power to rebel. Until the people
become conscious of this, they could never rebel, and the only way to rebel was to think against
The Party a s portrayed in the story controlled the society and everything within the
society in a way that favors the Party, the same way how capitalism controls the society. In the
novel, the Party would alter the course of history, so far as to wipe-out the mere existence of a
person and the records of the said person. This is a representation of how capitalism controls the
society and ultimately controls the idea of communism. Capitalists would engrave every detail
about the capitalist society on every person’s mind, making these people reject the idea of
communism. Communism was resisted, thereby increasing the power of the capitalists by
causing people to not let the former happen. As evident in the novel, anything caught against the
ould be deleted permanently from the system, therefore concentrating the power on the
Party w
Party o nly:
Overall, the Proles o f the novel, consisting of the workers of society, were showcased as
ith the proletariat class of Marx goes to show how the novel
exact resemblance of the Proles w
expresses the social classes of the capitalist ideological system. However, these Proles e ven
though were treated as the ne’er-do-wells of society, ironically were more alive rather than just
Nineteen Eighty-four not only portrayed the ruling capitalist ideologies and how the
workers the society were oppressed, the novel also portrayed the challenging of the societal
norms by emphasizing the power vested upon the working class of the society, and how these
On the system
The novel’s take on the system immensely showcased the implications of absolute power
and how the superstructures promote and protect the ruling system. It presented how the system
as an endless catchphrase
action of the members of the society. “Big Brother is watching you” w
in the novel that conveyed the constant surveillance of the government and its dictatorship,
which strengthened the power of the Party even more; it forces the citizens to conform to the
system as it engraves fear among the minds of them. Winston mentioned that “thoughtcrime
does not entail death; thoughtcrime is death.” This shows how the people greatly feared of
deviating from the Party even in their thoughts which eradicated individuality among the people
The Party eliminated all forms of religion for it may also be a hindrance in obtaining
absolute power. It was discussed in the novel how there were no traces of churches to be found
for they were turned into museums in Oceania for propaganda displays of various kinds. They
may be perceived as a threat to the loyalty of the citizens to Big Brother, instead, Big Brother
was portrayed as an image of a divine being. This allowed people to worship Big Brother as a
God-like figure, and focus on following his commands and be blinded from the government’s
tyranny.
Four ministries were established by the Party - Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Love,
Ministry of Plenty, and Ministry of Peace - which were responsible in spreading the propaganda
of the government. The records department in the Ministry of Truth, where Winston worked, was
responsible in altering news that presented a flaw of the government and replacing it instead with
news that favors the government for people to be strongly convinced on the Party’s good
governance.
Fabrication was not only limited to news, but also to other forms of literature including
history books for people to think how life improved after the revolution. It discussed how
marginalized commoners were and how they were exploited by capitalists, and how life became
The main protagonist, Winston, was not able to verify this for all the original copies and
other traces of the past were destroyed. It was shown how the inhabitants of Oceania had trouble
in remembering the past and chose to believe in whatever propaganda the Party feeds them.
It was also mentioned in the novel how the Party created a new form of language called
Newspeak that was established as their official language. It was shown how the Research
Department of the Ministry of Truth continued to reduce the number of words annually for it to
eliminate negative equivalent of concepts i.e. bad, the antonym of good, is replaced instead with
ungood which lessens its degree and shifts the concept to a more positive direction.
conceiving any other point of view other than the Party’s. The Party chooses which words should
The educational system was also utilized by the Party in order to corrupt the minds of the
children. The Party established organizations including Junior Anti-Sex League and the Spies
which are responsible in disseminating the propaganda of the Party among the children and
influencing them into conforming to the system through lectures, slogans, songs, and martial
music.
This also disrupted the concept of family for children are turned against their parents and
remained loyal only to the system for they are taught to spy on them and report their deviations.
CHAPTER 4
CONCLUSION
In criticizing a literary piece in a Marxist approach, it determines how the work reflects
the existing society. It sees literature as a product of the historical situation including the
political, economic, social, and ideological atmosphere. The novel has illustrated an oppressive
society that eliminated the notion of freedom and individuality. It reflected the existing social
structure wherein the division of social classes based on wealth and power is present. It
represented the prevalence of social discrimination among the proletarian class for it is denied
the access to necessities and is forced to submit to the ruling system that promotes social
inequality. Social inequality was also seen in the distribution of resources and wealth wherein it
is only concentrated in the upper class who dominates the system and suppresses the middle and
lower classes. The upper class continues to govern the society for it spreads false ideology in
order for the lower class to not recognize its ability to rebel and overthrow the ruling class. The
novel highlighted how the proletarian class shall remain unconscious of its power until it decides
The Party was able to maintain and strengthen its control over Oceania for numerous
social institutions including political, economic, and educational institutions, and the media
spread the false ideologies of the system and manipulated the people into seeing an effective
governance free from oppression. They helped the Party gain absolute control through the
distortion of history in order for it to be perceived as triumphant. It was stated in the novel how
"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past." The Party
was able to rewrite the past wherein it coordinated with the Party's goals. Furthermore,
technology was also a major contributor in gaining power for telescreens were utilized in order
to engrave fear in opposing to the Party, thus, eliminating rebellious acts of citizens. It may be
deduced that the Party's success in poisoning the minds of the citizen was greatly influenced by
literature.
For the novel was narrated in the perspective of an Outer Party or a middle class member,
it was able to present the oppressive acts on the lower classes. The character of Winston Smith
was also able to showcase this as he was able to recognize the Party's tyranny. It may also be
seen in how Winston had the tendency to deprive himself of individual because of his grave fear
of the Party. In addition to this, the novel revolved on the Winston's continuous questioning of
the system. This implies how the novel challenges the current socioeconomic structure of the
time and reveals its true objective - maintaining inequality in the society for the ruling class to
remain on top.
In line with the presence of social inequality, a caste system was evident in the novel
where it comprises of the Inner Party (<2%), the Outer Party (~13%), and the Proles (~85%). It
was apparent in the novel how the Inner Party dominated the society even though it makes up a
small number of the population, and how the Outer Party and the Proles were greatly
marginalized for they were denied the access of numerous resources including goods. It may also
be seen in the novel that the Inner Party takes full control in running the society which makes
society favor them. The Party and the proles exactly resemble the bourgeoisie and the proletarian