Down With Big Brother English Literature Essay

Todaies newspapers are filled daily with articles picturing the slaughters committed by despotic authoritiess and totalitarian governments. Fear of authoritiess ‘ over-reaching power was a important concern of past epochs. Shortly after the terminal of World War II, several authors expressed their concerns in their Hagiographas. Such as George Orwell and his landmark novel 1984 show a universe where the authorities, ‘Big Brother, ‘ is ever watching. A parallel universe is depicted by Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451, which describes a totalitarian authorities that controls its citizens ‘ ideas by censoring books. Together Bradbury and Orwell were concerned about the manipulative and infiltration US authorities was puting on its citizens ; both wanted to show those concerns by making universes where the authoritiess ‘ ability to keep rigorous control over the public was an alarming world. Both 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 portray totalitarian authoritiess that exercise control over their citizens through their usage of engineering.

In Orwell ‘s 1984, the chief character Winston is revealed as one who does non quite fit into society. He has a uninterrupted feeling in the dorsum of his caput that life as he knows it is non what it should be and begins composing in a diary about his ideas, which is purely illegal. “ aˆ¦Winston saw that he had left the diary clear on the tabular array. ‘DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER ‘ was written all over itaˆ¦ ” ( Orwell, 20 ) The society where Winston lives in is governed by the Inner Party, and finally by a figure referred to as Big Brother. No members of the society are allowed to talk out, or even think out against the authorities. If a individual even appears to hold a different idea than what they are instructed by Big Brother to hold, this individual will be arrested by the presumed Police and finally murdered. In Orwell ‘s dystopian universe one can ne’er be excessively certain as to when and who is watching “ Winston kept his dorsum to the telescreen. It was safer ; though, as he knew, even a dorsum can be uncovering. ” ( Orwell 3 ) Winston is non comfy with the manner Big Brother maps, yet is forced to maintain his sentiment entirely to himself. Winston therefore is wholly isolated, even though he is forced to interact with other people all twenty-four hours at work and after work in the voluntary associations. The sarcasm of this is that all people in this society are isolated, yet each individual spends every bit small clip as possible by themselves. No 1 is of all time given the opportunity to believe or speak for themselves, alternatively everyone repeats what Big Brother wants them to speak about, and is excessively busy speaking mindlessly to other people to believe for themselves. In a similar sense, Guy Montag, the chief character of Fahrenheit 451, besides represents the subject of isolation and disaffection. Guy ‘s calling ironically a fireman, but alternatively of seting out fires he sets fire to houses that contain books. “ While the books went up in scintillating commotions and blew off on a air current turned dark with combustion. ” ( Bradbury 3-4 ) In the society in which Guy lives books are banned from having or reading. Guy has a similar feeling to Winston ‘s, in that he is diffident and oppugning of his society. Guy has an ordinary life married and financially fit, and has friends as colleagues, yet is besides really stray. Everything that the authorities encourages the people to make while at work and off from it acts to confound the people from believing excessively much or necessitating excessively much. “ How did you acquire so empty? He wondered. Who takes it out of you? ” ( Orwell 44 ) Guy attempts to speak to his married woman about what he is concerned with, yet is met with a clean reaction and non caring for anything except the Television. Guy realizes his isolation when even his married woman, the closest individual to him, cares more about the Television characters that she watches every twenty-four hours, which she calls her household, than him. Much of the isolation depicted in Fahrenheit 451 can be seen in a sense today with the rise of engineering. Many people remain in their houses for the bulk of their twenty-four hours, watching Television, and when they are non at place they are isolated in their autos from the 1000s of other people next to them in their ain autos. “ There are one million millions of us and that ‘s excessively many. Cipher knows anyone. ” ( Orwell16 ) Even when people are at work they no longer experience the demand to do existent friends, communicating is frequently times fake, merely as in 1984. Another really of import subject that both novels portion in common is the devastation of human values that occurs in both books. In 1984, there are about no human values left in most of the people of the society, and this is precisely how Large Brother likes it. Children are trained to impeach and describe their ain parents of idea offense if they suspect their parents of anything. “ Within two old ages those kids would be denouncing her to the Thought Police. Mrs. Parsons would be vaporized. ” ( Orwell 61 ) Absolute lies told from the authorities are considered normal, although the people do n’t even recognize this, but the changeless prevarication shows grounds of a devastation of human values. Peoples genuinely enjoy watching executings of their equals and take portion in an exercising of a two minute hatred every twenty-four hours. “ It was a good hanging, ‘ said Syme reminiscently. ‘I believe it spoils it when they tie their pess together. “ ( Orwell 49 ) Orwell is demoing how much can travel incorrect when so much power is placed in the custodies of a totalitarian authorities such as Large Brother. The devastation of human values is besides really evident in Fahrenheit 451. Adolescents kill each other for merriment, whether by chance or on intent. “ I ‘m afraid of kids my ain age. They kill each other. Make it ever used to be that manner? “ ( Bradbury 30 ) Members of the society do non hold any feelings or emotions for one another. Real communicating between worlds is cut to a bare lower limit, which is a clear illustration that the devastation of human values that has occurred. Peoples in the society are much more interested with the fictional events that are shown on Television than any cause or concern in existent life. “ No affair when he came in, the walls were ever speaking to Mildred. ” ( Orwell 44 ) Both novels contain sentences that can be long and descriptive, although Fahrenheit 451 tends to hold a small better imagination, “ aˆ¦His eyes all orange fire with the idea of what came following he flicked the ignitor and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the eventide sky ruddy and xanthous and black. ” ( Bradbury 3 ) The vocabulary of 1984 is more ambitious, as is this book as a whole to read. Orwell invents many of the words and footings that are used in the book, such as newspeak, Big Brother, and telescreen.