Why did George Orwell write 1984?

Eric Blair (better known as George Orwell, pictured below) was an author and activist who was born in 1903 until his untimely death in 1950 due to tuberculosis. Orwell is well known for his novels but was also well known for his poems, essays, journals, radio broadcasts and critiquing of other literature. most notably Orwell wrote the short story Animal Farm and the novel 1984. In addition to his contributions to literature, Orwell also fought in World War 2,  many of his stories (most notably 1984) are very clearly influenced by what he saw in WW2

BBC Radio 4 - Great Lives, George Orwell

Orwell wrote 1984 as he was fearful that a totalitarian government would take over Britain and the U.S. and wrote the book as a cautionary tale, to discourage going along the same path that the book takes. he wrote the book as a way to help people figure out what not to do and what the consequences their actions may have

The term Orwellian refers to a governing body trying to manipulate and twist language to force people to think the way they think. (ex. contradictory terms such as the ministry of peace [military], ministry of truth [propaganda dept] ,Ministry of Love [torture dept], joy-camps [work camps] many people think that the term “Orwellian” refers to the idea of government surveillance or anything that they don’t find desirable

The novel 1984 cautions the world about totalitarian governments and their impact on the world. the book paints a brutal picture of a world where free thought is illegal and the government maintains control of every aspect of the state, the story cautions against totalitarianism as the effects (as illustrated in the book) can be catastrophic and terrible for anyone who is not in a position of power

 

 

 

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