Orwell used many techniques to communicate his political messages to the reader. 1984 was written in a limited third-person point of view. By only showing the thoughts of Winston, the author gave us a personal connection with him. Orwell used this point of view so that the reader empathized with Winston and better understood the power of totalitarian governments. Another way political ideas are communicated to the reader is through irony. For example, Orwell names the four ministries running Oceania ironically, explaining to the reader that "The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation." (273). By giving the organizations names that are so far from the truth, Orwell hopes to show that anyone with enough power can alter a society's logic and reasoning at the most basic level.
I found that 1984 was a straight-forward story with simple word choice. However, simplicity on the surface does not necessarily mean that there are no hidden ideas. In this case, George Orwell chose this writing style because he believes that it is the easiest way to get a point across. While researching Orwell, I even discovered that he wrote an essay explaining why his novels are seemingly simple. The essay includes tips for other writers. Here they are:
- Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
- Never use a long word where a short one will do.
- If it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out.
- Never use the passive where you can use the active.
- Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
- Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
These rules suggest that Orwell used simple language purposefully. This style may have also been used to communicate the political ideas with the less educated.
As I have explained in my five other posts, there are many literary devices used throughout 1984. Without directly telling the reader, Orwell makes many connections between Big Brother and the governments of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and even England and the United States during World War Two. Also, Orwell shows the regression of the character Winston to show the power of totalitarian governments. Overall, 1984 uses many literary devices to make complex political and social statements. Because of these advanced ideas, it is clear that there is a deeper meaning behind George Orwell's simple style of writing, making it an AP worthy book.
