1984 By George Orwell: Literary Analysis

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Although George Orwell's seminal 1984 practically defines dystopian fiction, its themes are far from fictional. They echo disturbing trends that began in the early twentieth century and continue to this day. Within its pages, not only does the our hero fall, but evil triumphs totally unimpeded. The novel paints a picture of humanity going far beyond totalitarianism and toward something far more sinister: societies functioning solely as a means to power, oppression, and hatred of common man. While even the Nazis had a system of ideals in their own twisted way, the Inner Party values nothing but violence for the sake of violence; power for power. The novel questions the integrity of hatred over love, but society cannot subsist solely on hatred, for without love, the human spirit goes bankrupt and loses its will to carry on.…show more content…
“It would have no vitality….It would commit suicide,” he says to O’Brien, the interrogator. O’Brien retorts tersely “You are under the impression that hatred is more exhausting than love.” (269) If one glimpses at history, one begins to realize that all human conflict arises from incongruence either among rival power structures or between the echelons within. Religious conflict, for example, stems from the competition between any two opposite spiritual ideologies; class conflict, on the other hand, grows within hierarchies, when lower echelons become aware of their bondage. Ideology, a source of vitality, drives these power structures. Ideology may advocate hatred, but hatred is not an

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