Orwell's Message

10/20/2014

Based on the conclusion of the novel, what do you think was Orwell's purpose for telling Winston's story. What was his message to the world about the future?

**DUE: TUESDAY by 10:00pm

18 Comments

Dana

10/20/2014 11:12:23 am

Based on the conclusion of the novel, I think Orwell's overall purpose for telling us Winston's story is that an oppressive head of power, specifically the government, can break a person. The people who run a nation have a greater impact on its citizens than the individual may think. You may want to believe that every person you talk to is genuine and telling the truth, but that is not always the case. Also, individuality is a dying trait and the government is the one killing it. Keeping everyone the same and in line may make it easier to keep them under control, but it takes away from the diversity that society thrives on. Orwell might have been warning us to watch the apparent threat of overpowering leaders in our own lives. Modern-day governments know every single detail about us, control our money,and possess the power to put us on the streets, which they own, too. If we don't hinder the growth of this dangerous imbalance of power, our lives could turn into the plot of "1984".

Marc

10/21/2014 07:37:58 am

Based on the books conclusion, I think the message Orwell is trying to tell us is that no matter what you do the government is still watching. Also not only watching you they make sure to find out everything about you while they do it. That's how Big Brother knew Winston's greatest fear was rats. I also think another part of Orwell's message was that if you try to rebel against the government that there is no chance of doing so with a small number of people. That's the reason why Big Brother has room 101 and all these means of torture. To keep all these people who try to rebel and break them to the point were they look like the crazy ones. When in reality the people who want to rebel are the sane ones and the Big Brother is the crazy one. Its kind of like are government today. Everyone else in the world believes that America is the greatest place to live in which it is. How ever government wise I think its the worst. Which a lot of people think that. So Orwell's overall message was a warning basically saying that the government is a bunch of power hungry people and they want to keep us sane by making us look insane when in reality the government is the actually insane people.

Collin

10/21/2014 09:51:19 am

The story 1984 was made to foretell what the future of world could be like with technological advancements and a new world order. This book has the hero, Winston, live in a society which people are enslaved to a single figurehead and unwillingly forced to live their lives as mindless slaves for the government. On the outside, Oceania is considered an utopia, but in actuality this is a dystopia. Throughout the book, Winston is battling his sanity and fighting for his rights as a human being. Trying to regain his humanity and remember his past, he meets many characters who helps him complete his goals. But what makes this book differ from others is that the conclusion of the book isn't uplifting. In the end, Winston has all the hard work he has done to this point ripped apart and destroyed, thus converting him back into the dystopian society. This conclusion could symbolize that no matter how hard someone can try or how hard they may fight, if the government is left unchecked by the citizens, the government will have ultimate control over everybody in their domain.

Mrs. E

10/22/2014 01:18:58 am

Terrific response, Collin.

Kaley

10/21/2014 10:01:02 am

Based on the conclusion of 1984, I believe Orwell's purpose for telling Winston's story is to show how the government can brainwash anyone during any time period. Orwell is emphasizing the point that government has significant power over their people, and they always will. As Orwell gets deeper into the novel and citizens start to become more like minions than individual people, it also shows the profession of government control in history. As far as the future goes, Orwell is predicting a future with people wearing the same uniforms, preaching to the same leader. The statement that is being suggested is there is no future- the future is in the hands of the leader.

Tim Seibert

10/21/2014 10:50:33 am

I believe that Orwell wrote 1984 to illustrate the epitome of a dystopia. He wrote it so we would know if our government was slipping into a dystopian future, so we could prevent it. He uses O'Brien and Mr. Charrignton to illustrate that just because you think someone is trustworthy, doesn't mean you can trust them. This is similar to today's government officials. We want to trust them, but they are just as likely to lie to us so they can get the job. Orwell warns us that if the government can see too much, they will both know more about crime, but also have the ability to oppress the people more. He warns us of this so we can stop it before it is too late, and 1984 has already become a reality. This is enforced by the knowledge that Winston becomes subservient to the Party, and that rebellion is futile. After we pass the point of no return, democracy will be replaced with totalitarianism.

Mrs E.

10/22/2014 01:18:35 am

Great response, Tim!

Christopher Keithline

10/21/2014 12:42:37 pm

Orwell's purpose for telling Winston's story was to teach citizens about the consequences that could happen if someone breaks certain qualifications. The government is always watching you to figure out if one is disobeying laws. Winston was disobeying laws by not loving Big Brother and following his ways and by doing that, he got the bad end of it. Winston was tortured in room 101 with the rats and was at the breaking point that he wanted to commit suicide. Just like in today's society, Winston represents a criminal who breaks the laws and gets the bad consequences. When a criminal, just like Winston, gets tortured more and more each day, they are on the breaking point on either escaping and/or killing themselves.Winston's story proves that the government is like a second father and mother. As your father and mother give you consequences for doing something wrong, the government gives you punishments for disobeying laws, such as jail time or the death penalty. That is what makes the government so powerful. Winston's story gives readers an understanding of what the government is capable of doing.

Gavin

10/21/2014 01:14:30 pm

Based on the conclusion of the novel, i think Orwell is trying to tell us that no matter how perfect your idea of rebellion is, unless you can get the majority to help you, the government will stay the way it is. Acording to Orwell and my general knowledge, the government knows what you are doing at any given point in time, and it's very hard to fly under the radar. The government in our society can link everything we're a part of back to us and figure out where we are and what we're doing if need be. This almost mirrors the society that Orwell portrays in his book, the only difference being that the common man will usually not rat you out to the authorities unless it is something huge. But in the setting that Orwell has laid before us there are some truths; people of this world seem to be following the government blindly, not acknowledging issues that are a problem in out area. This is everything from corrupt law enforcement and government officials to something as simple as pollution and our lack of necessity to get involved in foreign conflicts. So in conclusion i think Orwell told the story of an every day joe, discovering something wrong in his society and becoming repressed, like the silent majority in our time.

Mrs. Elbakry

10/22/2014 01:23:58 am

Insightful comment, Gavin.

John T.

10/21/2014 01:38:50 pm

Based on the conclusion of the novel, I think that Orwell was trying to say that in the end you can't fight the government. Orwell showed that despite Winston's best efforts Big Brother "brainwashed" and broke him, he sold out Julia and became one of the mindless citizens of Oceania. Orwell's message about the future is explaining that humanity will always be put down by the government.

catherine

10/21/2014 02:32:23 pm

I believe that Orwell told Winston's story because his was a story of defeat. Orwell's message about the future is a grim one. Where the government controls everything you do. He decided to tell Winston's story because at first, Winston was all for taking down "Big Brother" and did his best to get others on the same page with him. In the story 1984 everyone is the same and are controlled by Big Brother about everything. In 1984 there is no such thing as marring a lover, one marries to reproduce and train their kids to be spies. That is what makes Winston's story so unique, he loves Julia, another person who is for taking down Big Brother, and that is one of Winston's ways of rebelling against Big Brother. Over many chapters of the book, Winston tries many ways to destroy Big Brother and each time he fails. It is not until the end of the book, after Winston and Julia are caught in the apartment that they thought was "safe" and Winston is taken to an interrogation room and finally placed in room 101 that he finally gives into Big Brother and becomes a drone just like all of the other "people" if you can call them that, in Oceania. It is then, after all he had been through his entire life and past few weeks that Winston has the urge to die because he couldn't stand the fact of adoring Big Brother, as all of the other residents of Oceania do. So, although he didn't die, Winston was defeated by the government and forced to become something he swore he would never be. And by ending the novel the way he did, Orwell was conveying to the readers how awful their lives would be if they let the government control them like Winston finally did.

Rachel Giannettino

10/21/2014 02:38:34 pm

Based on the conclusion of the novel, Orwell's message that he was trying to tell us is that you can be the strongest believer ever but as soon as someone puts a threat to you, that it is possible for you to change your mind about your beliefs. When the threat is put over your head the only thing you have is yourself, and if it means protecting yourself than you have to do so. The government does have a huge contribution to changing a person's mind, but so does the way society is. In the book the society in which Winston lived in was full of people loving Big Brother, and if you don't then you're an outcast, and no one wants to be the outcast. Eventually everyone falls to pure pressure. In the novel, Winston fell for it very hard. His belief was to never fall for Big Brother, and to never betray the trust he had with Julia. Both of those things happened. This proves that no matter what you believe in, eventually something or someone will come into your life and change that, because as a person you are always changing. Also, this shows that trust in one person with another is decaying in the world. If you don't have trust in a person you do not have anything. Betrayal in the story was an endless event that would always occur, and every character showed that. In conclusion Orwell's overall message was to show the change in the society, beliefs do change, and trust is becoming a huge problem in our society.

Lauren Silversey

10/21/2014 02:51:47 pm

Based on the conclusion of the novel, I think Orwell's trying to tell us to be aware of what the government is going to turn into, or what is has already turned into. The government has control over all of us and Orwell is trying to give a warning. Just because there aren't telescreens or cameras everywhere, doesn't mean that the government doesn't know what we do. In 1984, Big Brother had everyone believing what he says. The government has them all brainwashed into some of the most ridiculous things, but that's what they have to believe. This message that Orwell is showing us is that our government could be doing the same thing. They could be slowly trying to take over everyone's individuality and freedom just like in 1984. All the citizens of Oceanis have no clue what they are believing and this could slowly happen to the governemt here. Since Winston was starting to get through to what Big Brother was actually doing, the governemt got in his head to brainwash him. Therefore, I think Orwell is mainly trying to give a warning on what could possibly happen soon or in the future of the government.

Mikayla Pudelka

10/21/2014 02:58:28 pm

Based on the conclusion in 1984, Orwell was giving the reader a glimpse of the future. Orwell was telling us that there will always be a stronger, and more powerful source above us. In 1984, Winston loses the battle against Big Brother in which he becomes a regular citizen that he rebelled to be. Orwell was trying to warn the readers and citizens that giving too much power, can never end well. The quote that Orwell uses, "If you want the vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face- forever," betrays that the future is always going to have someone putting you down, or over coming you. He tells us that we will never win the battle. Orwell's theory may be true because even now the government is always watching us on our history on the internet, listening in on our phone calls, reading our texts, and even watching our every location by our cellular devices; just like Big Brother watched Winston.

Mrs. E

10/22/2014 01:29:01 am

Well put, Mikayla

Alex

10/21/2014 03:00:22 pm

Based on the conclusion of 1984, I think that Orwell was trying to say that there is no such place where citizens and the government and live in complete harmony. There are only society's where citizens and government can coexist as long as both complies to the social norms. Any government is capable of being horrifying when it wants information, but it takes a really messed up fictional society to show people on a large scale what these higher up officials are capable of. It makes you question the reality of where you're living. Is it really as safe as they say it is? Are they really giving me the privacy they say they're giving me? And most importantly, who is "them"? How can we feel safe with our government if we are given a false sense of who our protectors/ law enforcers are? Orwell wanted to communicate to us that a government will never go without flaws no matter on how big or small they are.

Kevin B.

10/22/2014 12:05:35 pm

The novel 1984 was meant to warn about the deadly combination of ignorance and technology to a civilization. Technology is a tool but if not properly understood could be damaging. With the ignorance the people of Oceania they were blissful unaware of their surroundings. The only people alarmed were those with some past knowledge. But Orwell also warn of that this does not grant immunity, after Winston so strongly against Big Brother turns to a normal Oceania citizen in almost no time.

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Orwell's Message

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