AS91472 - English 3.1 - External Exam Essays
2020 Statement: A worthwhile text encourages us to think about familiar things
in different ways.
Familiarity is peaceful yet dangerous. People tend to have their own routine; a
way of doing things that is done repetitively. We rarely question whether or not
these ways of doing things or thinking are correct; we simply comply. ‘1984’,
written by George Orwell, encourages us to think about the dangers of
conformity, technology and what “privacy” really is in a technology rich world.
A worthwhile text is a text that has a significant message - one that gives you a
different lens. ‘1984’ is a worthwhile text because it encompasses aspects of
society that the reader lives in. ‘1984’ is a text that warns readers about the
dangers of totalitarianism at the same time as touching on timeless themes such
as loyalty and class struggle, and raises questions about the truth and who
makes it. We are able to see a world through Orwell’s dystopian lens, which is
influenced by his own personal experiences through two world wars, and urges
people to think about how you may not even be aware of being repressed if it's
your normal.
Something that is familiar in our own society is conformity. We are forced to
follow rules, guidelines and policies that are set by people above us. ‘1984’ is
set in Oceania. All citizens look up to ‘Big Brother’, the leader of ‘The Party’,
the one who led the revolution and gained ‘The Party’ the power it holds. The
inner party consists of those in ‘the know’ and the elite of the society of Oceania
who monitor everyone beneath themselves. The outer party consists of those
that are somewhat trusted but have no say in political decisions. The inner party
dictates and rules through fear. One is not allowed to act or even think about
doing anything that would diminish the superiority of Big Brother. The
consequences of such things could end in something worse than death: Room
101. Therefore, people are forced to conform to the norms that exist in this
dystopian society. We are forced to think about how we conform in today’s
society, and how this might have implications unknown to us. This is exerted
even further through Newspeak. The dictionary gets smaller and smaller with
each edition so that in time, no one will have the literacy to challenge the way
things are done, and the way things were done in the past. “Who controls the
past, controls the future. Who controls the present, controls the past.” History is
allowed to be rewritten without question. Conformity is familiar to us to a lesser
, AS91472 - English 3.1 - External Exam Essays
extent: uniforms, policies, normative conformity. INGSOC is the language in
which is used throughout the novel and reminds us of the dangerous threat
posed to a democratic environment where language is used to repress citizens.
This has been apparent in countries such as Japan where regimes with
totalitarian aspects have been implemented. Orwell warns against these regimes
as it is not a democracy: it is not people orientated. The rich want to get richer
and exert their power over others.
Today, our footsteps are tracked by various methods such as security cameras,
bluetooth tracing, and GPS. A way in which the way the Inner-Party makes the
outer party conform is through the use of the telescreen which has a camera and
microphones which is monitored by the government. The telescreens represent
the continual surveillance that people were subject to in the novel. This is
topical in today’s modern society as we become increasingly dependent on
technology, we realise how our privacy is slowly but surely decreasing. Another
thing that is familiar in our own society is our definition of privacy - how much
of our personal information is private to us only? In 1984, not even Winston’s
inner thoughts were his own. O’Brien, on multiple occasions, speaks Winston’s
mind before Winston can himself. This is a scary concept that is mirrored in our
everyday lives: the way you google an item, and before you know it, Facebook
ads pop up for similar products. We don’t know how much of our lives are
being monitored and used to type into computers, likewise, Winston didn’t
know not only his every move but also his every thought was on display for
others to see. It is hard to not sympathise with Winston because we know how it
feels to have your privacy invaded. This aspect of the book is important because
in a way it reflects Orwell’s life. Although he attended the prestigious Eton
College, Orwell’s family was unable to pay for tertiary education where he
essentially found a dead end.
Winston is an anomaly. He claims to have these ‘memories’ of the past which
prove the Party is a lie. For example, Winston remembers the newspaper article
where the Party falsely claimed that Party members committed crimes. Winston
believes that the Party is lying in the fact that life was not better before the
revolution, it was much the same. Winston tries to validate these thoughts by
asking older people about their memories of the past to which they cannot
remember. It is only when O’Brien says, “We control matter because we control
the mind. Reality is inside the skull… you must get rid of those nineteenth
2020 Statement: A worthwhile text encourages us to think about familiar things
in different ways.
Familiarity is peaceful yet dangerous. People tend to have their own routine; a
way of doing things that is done repetitively. We rarely question whether or not
these ways of doing things or thinking are correct; we simply comply. ‘1984’,
written by George Orwell, encourages us to think about the dangers of
conformity, technology and what “privacy” really is in a technology rich world.
A worthwhile text is a text that has a significant message - one that gives you a
different lens. ‘1984’ is a worthwhile text because it encompasses aspects of
society that the reader lives in. ‘1984’ is a text that warns readers about the
dangers of totalitarianism at the same time as touching on timeless themes such
as loyalty and class struggle, and raises questions about the truth and who
makes it. We are able to see a world through Orwell’s dystopian lens, which is
influenced by his own personal experiences through two world wars, and urges
people to think about how you may not even be aware of being repressed if it's
your normal.
Something that is familiar in our own society is conformity. We are forced to
follow rules, guidelines and policies that are set by people above us. ‘1984’ is
set in Oceania. All citizens look up to ‘Big Brother’, the leader of ‘The Party’,
the one who led the revolution and gained ‘The Party’ the power it holds. The
inner party consists of those in ‘the know’ and the elite of the society of Oceania
who monitor everyone beneath themselves. The outer party consists of those
that are somewhat trusted but have no say in political decisions. The inner party
dictates and rules through fear. One is not allowed to act or even think about
doing anything that would diminish the superiority of Big Brother. The
consequences of such things could end in something worse than death: Room
101. Therefore, people are forced to conform to the norms that exist in this
dystopian society. We are forced to think about how we conform in today’s
society, and how this might have implications unknown to us. This is exerted
even further through Newspeak. The dictionary gets smaller and smaller with
each edition so that in time, no one will have the literacy to challenge the way
things are done, and the way things were done in the past. “Who controls the
past, controls the future. Who controls the present, controls the past.” History is
allowed to be rewritten without question. Conformity is familiar to us to a lesser
, AS91472 - English 3.1 - External Exam Essays
extent: uniforms, policies, normative conformity. INGSOC is the language in
which is used throughout the novel and reminds us of the dangerous threat
posed to a democratic environment where language is used to repress citizens.
This has been apparent in countries such as Japan where regimes with
totalitarian aspects have been implemented. Orwell warns against these regimes
as it is not a democracy: it is not people orientated. The rich want to get richer
and exert their power over others.
Today, our footsteps are tracked by various methods such as security cameras,
bluetooth tracing, and GPS. A way in which the way the Inner-Party makes the
outer party conform is through the use of the telescreen which has a camera and
microphones which is monitored by the government. The telescreens represent
the continual surveillance that people were subject to in the novel. This is
topical in today’s modern society as we become increasingly dependent on
technology, we realise how our privacy is slowly but surely decreasing. Another
thing that is familiar in our own society is our definition of privacy - how much
of our personal information is private to us only? In 1984, not even Winston’s
inner thoughts were his own. O’Brien, on multiple occasions, speaks Winston’s
mind before Winston can himself. This is a scary concept that is mirrored in our
everyday lives: the way you google an item, and before you know it, Facebook
ads pop up for similar products. We don’t know how much of our lives are
being monitored and used to type into computers, likewise, Winston didn’t
know not only his every move but also his every thought was on display for
others to see. It is hard to not sympathise with Winston because we know how it
feels to have your privacy invaded. This aspect of the book is important because
in a way it reflects Orwell’s life. Although he attended the prestigious Eton
College, Orwell’s family was unable to pay for tertiary education where he
essentially found a dead end.
Winston is an anomaly. He claims to have these ‘memories’ of the past which
prove the Party is a lie. For example, Winston remembers the newspaper article
where the Party falsely claimed that Party members committed crimes. Winston
believes that the Party is lying in the fact that life was not better before the
revolution, it was much the same. Winston tries to validate these thoughts by
asking older people about their memories of the past to which they cannot
remember. It is only when O’Brien says, “We control matter because we control
the mind. Reality is inside the skull… you must get rid of those nineteenth
