Irony and 1984
1984 by George
Orwell is an eloquent novel that was written in 1949 as an exaggeration of the
future. This novel focuses on a man named Winston, who is living in the year
1984, under a dystopian government run by a man named Big Brother. This
government is not in any way perfect and in fact, many things that they have
done and that Winston has done are very ironic. For instance, the slogans that the
party made and the way Winston views a certain girl that works with him is very
paradoxical, which will be discussed in this composition.
Irony, in part, is the expression
of words to convey a meaning that is opposite of its literal meaning. For
example, when someone really does not appreciate what you have said or done,
they may say, “Thanks a lot”. In accordance with the book, the party created three
different slogans in which they base their whole lifestyle on which are: WAR IS
PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY and IGNORANCE IS
STRENGTH. In a literal sense, these slogans make no sense at all. Each saying contradicts
itself. But, in fact, the party created these slogans because this is exactly
how they have decided to manage their populace and keep them from knowing what
goes on “behind the scenes” so to speak.
Another big form of irony is the way
Winston views a girl with dark hair that works in the same building as him.
Winston speaks of how much he hates and despises her because of how politically
active she is, but he has had dreams about her. He envisions her tearing off
her clothes in front of him and he feels that this gesture is splendid. This is
very paradoxical because it seems as though Winston doesn’t actually hate the
girl, he hates that he cannot be with her.
In conclusion, irony is an
expression of words that do not take their literal meaning and this expression
of words has been used frequently in the novel 1984 by George Orwell. Two
examples that are very paradox are the slogans produced by the party, and the
way Winston views a dark haired girl.
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