Symbolism in George Orwell’s 1984

In the novel “1984”, author George Orwell employs the use of symbolism to further support the themes developed throughout the novel. Orwell wrote 1984 as a political warning to warn the future about the dangers of totalitarianism. To communicate his warning, Orwell uses the idea of themes, which in turns utilizes overpowering symbols to give these themes more significance. The ideas of physical and psychological control and technology are some of the themes that Orwell explores in his novel. By using symbols like Big Brother, the glass paperweight, and the telescreens, Orwell is able to provide a direct connotation to his themes. Other themes that are used in 1984 are believes of controlling information and history, which becomes very apparent later in the novel. Through this essay, it will give a better understanding of George Orwell’s use of symbolism to support his themes.

The symbol of “Big Brother” can be thought of as the face of the Party. This in fact can be viewed as a much smaller picture of a larger concept. In the novel, citizens are told that Big Brother is the leader of the nation of Oceania and head of the Party, but Winston can never determine whether or not he actually exists. In either argument, the face of Big Brother represents the Party in its public views. Big Brother can be seen as a comfort to most people with which his name promotes his ability to protect, but he is also seen as an open threat since no one can ever leave his sights or in other words “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU. The idea of Big Brother can be directly related to the theme of the dangers of totalitarianism. In this theme, Orwell describes a state in which the government watches and controls every perspective of human life.

The glass paperweight in 1984 has come to symbolize Winston’s past in which he tries to remember the days without the party. The paperweight symbolizes dreams of freedom for Winston and the desire to make a connection with a past that was destroyed by the Party. Winston struggles to recover his own memories, but by buying the glass paperweight in an antique store in the prole district, it had come to signify his attempt to reconnect with the past. Through Orwell’s use of the glass paperweight, it is supporting the theme of control of information and history since the Party does not allow people to keep any records of their past. As a result of this theme, memories no longer become reliable and individuals will then believe whatever is told to them by the Party. By controlling the present, the Party is able to change the past and by controlling the past, the Party can defend all of its activities in the present.

The symbol of the telescreen plays a major part in 1984. Telescreens were used to constantly monitor and observe the inhabitants of Oceania, which helps to support the themes of technology and psychological and physical control by limiting peoples’ movement. Aside from constant monitoring, telescreens were used to put out constant propaganda designed to make the failures of the Party appear to be successes in the eyes of the citizens and also to spread fear among the people. Telescreens likewise symbolizes how the totalitarian government abuses technology for its own purposes instead of exploiting its knowledge to improve the civilization of Oceania

By writing 1984, Orwell was able to warn future generations about the insecurity of totalitarian governments. Orwell was able to achieve this goal through the means of symbolism which in turns directly influences the themes. The symbols that are examined in this novel provide a better incite for the themes found in 1984.