Ironic or what?

In the novel 1984, the author George Orwell describes how he thinks life will be in the future.  The protagonist, Winston Smith, is living in London, England which was now called Airstrip One, Oceania. Winston and his comrades are being controlled by a government called Big Brother (BB). Winston does not remember a thing about the past because Big Brother is in charge of what they can and cannot remember from the past, present, and future. Many themes are being described in this novel so far such as ignorance, irony, hatred, propaganda, dystopia, and sexual intercourse but irony is one theme that is being observed more than the others. Irony is humor based on using words to suggest the opposite of their literal meaning. There are many examples of irony in this novel, but the ones that stood out the most were the three slogans of the Party and Big Brother.

            One example of Irony that stood out in the novel was the three slogans of the party. The three slogans are War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, and Ignorance Is Strength. In the first line, War is Peace is ironic because Oceania is frequently at war. In the second line, Freedom is Slavery is ironic because it is stating that someone who is free is destined to fail and that everyone has to rely on the Party in order to be prosperous. In the third line, Ignorance is strength is ironic because the people's failure to recognize all of the lies and contradictions that the Party feeds them strengthens the Party's control.

            Another example of irony that stood out in the novel was Big Brother. BB is another name for the Party. It is ironic because it portrays a child’s big brother which holds emotion, yet the Party is trying to get rid of emotions in Oceania. Also BB watches over every move a person makes and keeps them controlled by using fear, but a child’s big brother is the complete opposite.

            As one will see, this novel describes the future from the author’s thoughts. The irony shown in the novel so far has to do with the Party’s three slogans and Big Brother. Even though there are other examples of irony in the novel, not many are being observed as much as others. This novel includes irony much more than the other themes described in it.
 ©SamanthaSosnowski