If You Want a Picture for the Future, Imagine a Boot Stamping on a Human Face – Forever - Throughout the Text, 1984, Orwell Presents a Cynical View of Humanity

1984 essay – exam redo                                                                                                                                             14th July

“If you want a picture for the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever”.

‘Throughout the text, 1984, Orwell presents a cynical view of humanity. Discuss’.

A1: Through ultimate control of relationships and emotions by leaders; the society breeds hatred and disapproves of love in its citizens.

A2: Orwell depicts an oppressive government forcefully demanding change within their nation in order to remove their humanity.

A3: Nevertheless, the potential for rebellion increases as the government grows stronger and with-it emotional connections, whilst fleeting, occur.  

Contention: Seeking out a relationship in this society brings inevitable pain, with no emotional loyalty strong enough to withstand the oppression and fear inflicted by their government.

George Orwell’s dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, portrays a totalitarian government in which is continually using surveillance as a means to control the society. Through ultimate control of relationships and emotions by leaders; the society breeds hatred and disapproves of love in its citizens, and in such a society, an oppressive government forcefully demanding change within their nation in order to remove their humanity is depicted. Moreover, seeking out a relationship in this society brings inevitable pain, with no emotional loyalty strong enough to withstand the oppression and fear inflicted by their government. Nevertheless, the potential for rebellion increases as the government grows stronger and with-it emotional connections, whilst fleeting, occur.

With the control of relationships and emotions by leaders; the society breeds hatred and disapproves of love in its citizens. The government and its leaders allow the only influential emotion to be that of hatred rather than love, with the use of fearful techniques in which causes mass hysteria and such a willingness to follow. These techniques include the misuse of technology and their spyware which allows the government to have access to their citizens private and public lives; ultimately controlling them as a whole. The political slogan, ‘big brother is watching you’ insights fear, and subsequently forces the once openly conversing society to one that can no longer trust their surrounding peers. This mass hysteria, which is brought on by doctrines such as ‘war is peace’, ‘freedom is slavery’ and ‘ignorance is strength’ presents a cynical view not only on their government but what is left of humanity. Orwell portrays the frightfully scarce humanity as one that is vulnerable to manipulation by both their leaders and peers, as well as a society whom no longer understand what the term ‘freedom’ truly means; a basic right that the human species has fought for centuries for.

Orwell depicts an oppressive government forcefully demanding change within their nation in order to remove their humanity. This totalitarian government, led by ‘big brother’, inflicts constant government surveillance and blatant public manipulation on its citizens, with the formation of their invented language ‘newspeak’ and the thought police controlling every aspect of human life. There is no privacy or dignity for residents of this society, instead they face persecution for individualism and independent thinking; with the punishment for such crimes horrifically taking place in ‘room 101’; and in it being ‘the worst thing in the world’. With the government laying claim to their citizens lives, in their controlling methods and violent punishments the nation is no longer able to envision their future, instead ‘if you want a picture for the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever’. With such a clear metaphor, Orwell presents a cynical view of humanity; with the ‘human face’ representing humanity and the ‘boot’ representing the government. With the repeated ‘stamping’ on its residents, the government is stripping away what makes them human.