Literary Analysis: 1984 by George Orwell

1. 1984 is a about a man named Winston Smith living in a country with a dictatorship type government known as the Party. Extreme measures are taken so that nobody will rebel against the Party. Winston cannot stand The Party. He keeps a diary to write in so he doesn't have to voice his opinions aloud. Love is against the law and one day he receives a letter from a woman named Julia saying I love you. At first he thinks that it is a trick, but she is really telling the truth and the two end up having an affair together.  They continue to have their affair and eventually Winston hears about a group known as The Brotherhood, who are trying to undermine The Party. They meet with the leader, O'Brien and they end up joining the group. They end up being arrested by the Ministry of Love and Winston is tortured. He is taught to love The Party and give up his rebellious ways and to not love Julia.
2. 1984 has a pretty straightforward theme. It is has to do with the idea of censorship. The government cannot control everybody at every time. Their trying to control everything will only cause people to want to rebel. This theme can even apply today. There are still governments around the world trying to censor the information that their people are seeing. You would think that the governments would learn by  now that this is not the answer.
3.    The author’s tone throughout the novel is paranoid, dark, and frustration.
·         “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.” I think this shows the dark tone of George Orwell. It tells of a scary and dark future.
·         “If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.” This quote shows the paranoid tone of George Orwell. It is saying how The Party will find out your secrets if you aren’t careful.
·         “Big Brother is Watching You.” This quote in itself explains the paranoid tone of George Orwell.
4.       ·         One of the biggest literary techniques used by George Orwell was the point of view. The story was told from the point of view of Winston Smith. This had a huge impact on the tone throughout the novel and that it is obvious why.  Winston was often paranoid that he will be found out and that has gives the novel a paranoid tone.
·         George Orwell also uses a little foreshadowing. These give the novel a dark and eerie feel to it. For example the St. Clements Church theme song is, “Here comes a chopper to chop off your head.” That is creepy and most certainly dark.
·         Suspense is a technique used by George Orwell to set the mood and setting. The constant thought of Winston and Julia getting caught or not keeps the reader in suspense, therefore, creates a feeling of uncertainty.
·         The use of symbolism is a way for George Orwell to give The Party a face. The posters of Big Brother and monitors are symbols that let the citizens know that The Party is watching them.
·         George Orwell uses both direct and indirect characterizations in his novel. Direct characterization is used to describe the character’s physical appearance and their jobs. For example it says Winston works in the Ministry of Truth and that Julia is a dark haired woman. Indirect characterization is used to find out the character’s personality and motives. For example Winston writing in his diary shows he harbors some rebellious thoughts against The Party and that shows he is rebellious himself. Julia is shown to be optimistic when she believes that her affair with Winston will never be found out.