The
book,”1984” by George Orwell, is
analyzed as the author’s prediction of the future. George Orwell uses his
literary skills to give details on what he assumes would take place in the year,
1984. There are many possible themes that can sum up this story such as,
ignorance, dystopia, hatred, propaganda, sexual intercourse and irony. There
are three commonly used parts of irony such as, dramatic irony, situational
irony, and verbal irony. Dramatic irony is when the reader knows something the
character doesn’t. Situational irony is when something occurs that was totally
unexpected. Verbal irony is when the speaker says one thing and means another.
In 1984 there are many examples of irony such as the slogans, Winston (main
character), and the dark-haired girl.
Admittedly, the
slogans that the party promoted are a great example of verbal irony. The
slogans were, “War
is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength.” For the inner party, these slogans mean as long as
Oceania is at war, the masses are able to direct their anger at an enemy and
not at the party. The inner party enjoys its freedom insomuch as it enslaves
the masses, and outer party members, proletariats, or workers are out in the
war zone. As long as the masses remain ignorant to the truth, the party remains
strong. Those not understanding the machinations of the inner party believe
peace can only be achieved by conquering the world and eliminating the enemies
of the party and of Oceania. They believe that to act freely would lessen
Oceania's strength and lead it to possible doom. They believe that any
deviation from the party weakens the nation, preferring to remain ignorant.
There were meanings behind the slogans but overall they were very ironic.
Undoubtedly, both Winston and Julia,
known as the “dark-haired girl,” had ironic situations. The main character,
Winston Smith, uses the "Memory hole" to deposit things. One would
think that the memory hole would be place of past memories and thoughts of the
past. Contrarily, the memory hole is used to dispose of documents and other
items in an incinerator. Winston does this as a part of his job within the
party in an attempt to get rid of all past events and history. The dark-haired
girl wears a chastity belt above her waist to indicate that she has not had sex.
While in all reality she has been with numerous men. Winston hated the
dark-haired girl then came to a reality that he really wanted her. These
situations held many depths of irony.
As you can see, George Orwell’s
novel, “1984” was analyzed as an extraordinary prediction of the future. Not
only did he describe his thought well but he used the theme of irony all
throughout the story keeping the reader fascinated at how dramatic the future
may be. This book was cleverly put
together. In the novel, 1984, there are many examples of irony such as the
slogans, Winston and the dark-haired girl.
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