POST-COLONIAL THEORY ON GEORGE ORWELL'S 1984

A fter analyzing the novel 1984 by George Orwell, there is no doubt that the conflict that appears in the book's plot has also been influenced by the post-colonial theory. There are several different types of conflicts that can appear in a narrative such as the one that is being dissected, such as man versus nature, man versus man, and even man versus self. However, in the case of the book 1984, the conflict that the audience is being presented with is the issue of man versus society - Winston Smith against The Party. Winston, the protagonist of the novel, begins to question the society he resides in - Air Strip One, Oceania, currently under the jurisdiction of the totalitarian government known across the fiction world as 'The Party'. Oceania is technologically advanced, having surveillance devices in all homes keeping watch on its citizens, making sure that there is no committing of 'thoughtcrimes'.The Party effectively controls almost all aspects of life within i

W hen observing the context in which the novel 1984 was written in, one can deduce that components of the literary theory , 'post colonialism', can be found in the events that influenced the creation of the book. George Orwell was born under a different name, Eric Blair, in India in 1903. Orwell was educated as a scholarship student at various boarding schools in England during his adolescence, but never really fit in with other  children of his age. Quite to the contrary, young Orwell felt oppressed by the 'dictatorial control' that the administration expressed over the lives of him and his fellow students. This feeling of oppression could have resulted in his creation of the totalitarian government present in the story, The Party, which censors most aspects of everyday life for the people inhabiting Oceania. Orwell's feelings could also be compared to the oppression felt by the colonists in a relationship with their colonizers, a relationship that is analyzed in

T he theory of post-colonialism is also observable in the setting in which 1984 takes place. The setting of George Orwell's 1984 unfolds in the year 1984, as the title suggests, on the continent of Oceania. It is to be noted that although the year 1984 is currently the past, in terms of the plot, it is considered the future from the perspective of the characters. The super-country of Oceania is in constant war due to the nature of their governing systems, observed in the fifth chapter of the second part of the story. The specific country in which our protagonist embarks on his ventures is called Air Strip One,the capital of Oceania, which was once London. England has been transformed into one of world's three superpowers (Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia) through imperialistic conquest. One can clearly conclude that the post-colonial theory takes form in the aforementioned setting while observing the states in which the three countries are in. They are all in constant battle,

A fter observing the main character, as well as the protagonist, throughout the entirety of the novel 1984 by George Orwell, one comes to the conclusion that the literary theory of post-colonialism heavily impacts the character development of Winston Smith, as well as his preexisting traits. Winston Smith resides in Oceania, which is currently under the occupation of a totalitarian superpower government known across the world as 'The Party'. The creation of this entity by Orwell is already one instance in which he implements the post-colonial theory, to display his criticism of the philosophic values of imperialism. The post-colonial theory expresses the relationship between the colonized people and their colonizer, which is perfectly depicted in the novel.In the case of this book, Winston, as well as the other citizens of Oceania, are the colonized. The Party, as well as Big Brother who looms over the entirety of the continent, are the colonizers. Winston is placed in the

A fter a complete and thorough reading of George Orwell’s 1984, it becomes apparent that the literary theory of post-colonialism had a sizable impact on a variety of the book’s aspects. These aspects could include the personality of the main character (the protagonist), the setting in which the plot unfolds, the tone in which Orwell depicts the story, as well as the conflict that emerges. This theory, characterized by ties with imperialism and colonialism, had a profound influence on various components of the novel.