Assignment Writing - Paper No.107
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● Name :- Hetal Pathak
● RollNo. :- 09
● Semester :- 2 ( Batch 2022 - 2024 )
● Enrollment No. :- 4069206420220022
● Paper No. :- 107
● Paper Name :- The Twentieth Century Literature: From World war ll to the End of the Century
● Topic :- Use Of symbolism in George Orwell’s Novel ‘1984’
● Submitted to :- Smt. S.B.Gardi Department Of English,Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University
● Email address :- hetalathak28@gmail.com
● Date of Submission :- 31st March 2023
Use of Symbolism in George Orwell's Novel - '1984' :-
□ Table of Contents :-
▪︎ Introduction
▪︎ What is Symbolism - General Introduction
▪︎ Definition of Symbolism
▪︎ Importance of Symbolism in literature
▪︎ Symbols in George Orwell's Novel '1984'
▪︎ Conclusion
◇ Introduction :-
George Orwell is one of the World 's most influential writers, the Visionary Author of 'Animal Farm' and Nineteen Eighty Four. He eyewitnesses, non - Fiction Classics Down and out in Paris in London , The Road to Wigan Pier and Homage to Catalonia.
Eric Arthur Blair, better known by his Pen Name George Orwell was born in India in the year 1903 into a Comfortable ' lower - middle class ' family. Orwell's father had Served the British empire, and Orwell's own first Job was as a Policeman in Burma. Orwell Wrote in "Shooting an elephant" 1936 that his time in the Police force had shown him the ;
" Dirty Work of Empire at Close Quarters ," the experience made him a lifelong foe of Imperialism.
By the time of his death in 1950, he was World renowned as a Journalist and Author. For his eyewitness reporting on war and Poverty , for his Political and Cultural Commentary, where Orwell stood up to Power and said the Unsayable ;
" If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell People what they do not want to hear. "
For his Fiction , Including two of the most Popular novels ever Written ' Animal Farm ' and ' Nineteen- Eighty Four.' His work is characterised by lucid Prose, Social Criticism and Opposition to totalitarianism. He was a Supporter of democratic Socialism.
◇ About the Novel :-
Nineteen Eighty Four, also Published as 1984, Novel written by English Author Grorge Orwell. It is Published in 1949 as a Warning against totalitarianism. The ceiling dystopia made a deep impression on readers , and his ideas entered mainstream culture in a way achieved by very few books.
" Orwell 's novel 1984 is a Warning for the human race. " The book's title and many of its Concepts Such as Big Brother and the Thought Police are instantly recognized and Understood , Often as bywords for modern Social and Political abuses. Orwell wrote 1984 while he was seriously ill with tuberculosis. Nineteen- Eighty Four is Perhaps Orwell's most famous work. The story of Winston Smith who rewrites Times editorials at the Ministry of Truth to suit the Party's version of events.This novel introduces Big Brother, Thought Police, Room No.101 , doublethink and Newspeak to the English language.
A Satire on totalitarianism. 1984 is a testament to the Potential Power of the Modern Political Systems , and the dark Side of human nature. As O'Brien tells to Winston Smith ;
" The Object of Power is Power.'
◇ What is Symbolism :-
Symbolism is a Literary device in which a Writer uses one thing - Usually a Physical Object or Phenomenon- to represent something more abstract. A strong symbol usually shares a set of key Characteristics with whatever it is meant to Symbolise, or is related to it in some other way. Characters and events can also be symbolic.
Symbolism can be very Subtle, So it isn't always easy to identify or understand. It can Sometimes be difficult to say whether an author intended for something to be symbolic or not. Symbolism allows writers to Convey things to their readers Poetically or indirectly rather than having to say them outright , which can make texts seem more nuanced and Complex.
◇ Definition of Symbolism :-
According to Merriam Webster Dictionary of English language;
" Symbolism means an art or Practice of using Symbols especially by investing things with a Symbolic meaning."
◇ Importance of Symbolism in Literature :-
Symbolism is when the author uses an object or reference to add deeper meaning to a story. There are hundreds of different Symbols authors and Poets use. Symbolism is a very important aspect of writing good Literature. It can have a major impact on a piece of Literature. Most of the readers, including us, miss the Symbols the first time reading through the work and are unable to get it until someone teaches or reads it again. Symbols are hard to detect in the Story or Poem. So, Symbols are very important in literature.
◇ Symbols in George Orwell's Novel - ' 1984 ' :-
In 1984 , George Orwell used a number of Symbols to represent a deeper meaning for the readers. Following are the Symbols Presented in dystopian science fiction novel Nineteen- Eighty Four.
Big Brother
The Telescreen
Glass Paperweight
St.clement's Church
The red armed Problem woman
The Rats and Room No. 101
The Place where there is no Darkness
Let Us understand these Symbols in detail.
Big Brother :-
Throughout London , Winston Smith Sees a Posters Showing a man gazing down over the Words - ' BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, ' Everywhere he goes. Big Brother is the face of the Party. The citizens are told that he is the leader of the nation and the head of the Party, but Winston can never determine whether or not he actually exists.
In any Case, the face of Big Brother Symbolises the Party in its Public manifestation; he is a reassurance to the most People ( the Warmth of his name Suggests his ability to Protect ), but he is also an Open threat that one can escape his gaze. Big Brother also Symbolises the Vagueness with which the higher ranks of the Party Present themselves. It is impossible to know who really rules Oceania , what life is like for the rulers , Or why they act as they do. Winston thinks he remembers that Big Brother emerged around 1960, but the Party's Official records date Big Brother's existence back to 1930 , therefore Winston was ever born.
" It was one of those Pictures which are so Contrived ;
that the eyes follow you about when you move.
Big Brother is watching you , the Caption beneath it ran. "
Big Brother also Symbolises an open thread that no one can escape his gaze therefore no one can break his rules. Besides, the name itself represents irony since the name of Big Brother should be a kind of Person but we find the complete opposite in this novel.
The Telescreen :-
The Omnipresent telescreens are the book's most visible Symbol of the Party's Constant monitoring of its Subjects. In their dual capability to blare Constant Propaganda and observe citizens.
' There was no place where you could be more Certain that the telescreens were watched Continuously. "
The Telescreens are everywhere, at home, office and bars. The Signifier of these telescreens is regular T.v. Present News. However, The Telescreens are camera devices that are used by the dictator of Oceania to Prevent anyone in his realm from forming conspiracies with others against the government. Also they Symbolises how a totalitarian government abuses technology for its own benefits instead of exploiting its knowledge to improve Civilization.
The Glass Paperweight :-
The major symbol of the Novel is the Paperweight which Winston Smith buys from Mr.charrington. In George Orwell's Novel 1984 the Glass Paperweight becomes in Winston Smith 's eyes a symbol of the past which Winston values greatly but which the Party wishes to obliterate. Winston 's purchase of this Paperweight constitutes a Further act of rebellion against the state. This Paperweight is a dangerous thing for a party member to have in his possession. Anything old and for that matter anything beautiful is always suspect in Oceania. But the Paperweight does not symbolise the past only. It acquires a whole Complex of meaning for Winston.
The Paperweight has yet another kind of Significance. It Suggests those valuable feelings which in his dream he remembers to have been experienced by his mother. For that dream had all occurred inside the glass Paperweight, through the surface of the glass was the dome of the sky and inside the dome everything was flooded with a clear, soft light.
Finally when Winston Smith and Julia are seized by the Thought Police we have the climax of horror in the Paperweight being smashed to pieces by a police officer. Given the many associations of the Paperweight this crash is the most terrible sound in a scene that conveys the transition from a sense of quiet joy to one of stark horror.
St. Clement 's church :-
By deliberately weakening People's memories and flooding their minds with Propaganda, the party is able to replace individual 's memories with its own version of the truth. It becomes nearly impossible for people to question the Party's Power in the present when they accept what the party tells them about the past - that the party arose to Protect them from bloatedness.
The old picture of St.clement's Church in the room that Winston rents above Mr.charrington's shop is another representation of the long past. Winston associates a song with the picture that ends with the words ;
" Here Comes the chopper to chop off your head ." This is an important foreshadow, as it is the telescreen hidden behind the picture that ultimately leads the Thought Police to Winston Symbolises the Party's corrupt control of the past.
The Red armed Prole woman :-
The red armed Problem woman whom Winston Smith hears singing through the window represents Winston 's hope for the long term future. The possibility that the process will eventually come to recognize their plight and rebel against the Party. Winston Sees the prole woman as a prime example of reproductive virility; he often imagines her giving birth to the future generations that will finally challenge the Party's authority.
The Rats and Room No.101 :-
" I would not Confess anything ! Just tell me what it is and I will confess straight off.
Write it down and I will sign it - anything! Not Room No.101 ! "
The symbol of Rats appears many times in the novel. Firstly, appeared in the room of Charrington when Winston met Julia. The signifier of the Rats is a regular small Animal but the signified in this scene is a warming sign and it represents a horror for Winston. It is revealing that he is more afraid of Rats than anything else. So the Rats on this room represent a Warning sign for Winston from the horror in which this room will bring him.
The second scene is in room no.101 that represents the worst thing that could happen to anyone , where the prisoner faces his / her own worst nightmare that breaks down their resistance. This signified in this scene for Winston is a threat since they represent his worst fear , In which Mr. O' Brien has threatened Winston.
Room 101 symbolizes the kind of torture which nobody can endure or withstand. Only those persons, who cannot be converted by the ordinary kinds of torture, are sent to Room 101. What a prisoner has to face in Room 101 is so terrifying and awful that he feels compelled to make an abject surrender of himself to his tormentors. One of the prisoners, when ordered to be taken to Room 101, feels so terrified that he makes the following appeal to the prison officials
" Do anything to me. Shoot me. Hang me. Sentence me to twenty-five years prisoner. But not Room 101! "
This prison would not mind if his wife and three children are murderer in his very presence if he can be saved from the kind of torture to which he will be subjected in Room 101. O’Brien tells Winston that in Room 101, there is the worst thing in the world, he says, varies from individual to individual. It may be buried alive, or death by fire or by drowning, or fifty other deaths. In Winston’s case, the worst thing in the world happens to be rats. Winston is confronted with the ferocious rats in Room 101, his resistance finally breaks down, and he shouts ;
" Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not to me! "
Thus Winston here makes a complete surrender of himself and betrays Julia whom he had loved so well. Room 101, then, symbolizes the worst kind of punishment and torture which any dictator can inflict upon his opponents. Room 101, as a symbol, contributes to the horror of this novel to no small extent.
The Place where there there is No Darkness :-
Throughout the novel, Winston imagines meeting O’Brien in “the place where there is no darkness.” The words first come to him in a dream, and he ponders them for the rest of the novel. Eventually, Winston does meet O’Brien in "the place where there is no darkness"; instead of being the paradise Winston imagined, it is merely a prison cell in which the light is never turned off. The idea of “the place where there is no darkness” symbolises Winston’s approach to the future: possibly because of his intense fatalism (he believes that he is doomed no matter what he does), he unwisely allows himself to trust O’Brien, even though inwardly he senses that O’Brien might be a Party operative.
" We shall meet in the Place where there is no Darkness.' It was said very quietly , almost casually a statement , not a command. "
The Phrase the place where there is no Darkness is repeated many times. First seen when Winston imagines meeting with O'Brien in a place where there is no Darkness. Then when he met alone O'Brien in his office. O'Brien told him that we shall meet again and Winston completes and says " In a place where there is no Darkness."
The signified of the darkness is a place without light. It indicates a Warning symbol for Winston since eventually the Place with no Darkness is the Ministry of love ( a Ministry with no Windows) where he is tortured. Therefore, we can say that O'Brien warned Winston indirectly and this is why he said ;
" Even I told you that if we meet again it will be here." - Said O' Brien
Conclusion :-
To Sum up, From literature Point of view the use of Symbolism is a very helpful technique in creating indications about the future.The novelist uses them to show a picture of the results of a totalitarian government as a Warning message for readers.
[ Words :- 2411]
[ Images :- 10 ]
Works Cited :-
“About George Orwell.” The Orwell Foundation, 10 Nov. 2021, www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/about/about-george-orwell/.
“Nineteen Eighty-Four.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/Nineteen-Eighty-four.
“Nineteen Eighty-Four.” The Orwell Foundation, 28 Aug. 2018, www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/books-by-orwell/nineteen-eighty-four/.
“Symbolism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/symbolism. Accessed 30 Mar. 2023.
Sarkar, Somnath, “Symbols in 1984 by George Orwell: Symbolism in 1984.” All About English Literature, 31 Oct. 2022, www.eng-literature.com/2022/10/symbols-in-1984.html.
A Semiotic Analysis of Threat and Warning Symbols in George Orwell's ... www.researchgate.net/publication/294886724_A_Semiotic_Analysis_of_Threat_and_Warning_Symbols_in_George_Orwell's_Novel1984.
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