SRP: Totalitarisme - '1984' og Stalin i Historie og Engelsk

In this project I’ve worked with George Orwell’s ‘’Nineteen Eighty-Four’’ which takes place in a dystopian future society. The world is ruled by totalitarian one-party governments who know no boundaries in their oppression of their people. The countries which constituted the totalitarian wave in Europe in the first half of the twentieth century were all similar to the regime in ‘’Nineteen Eighty-Four’’, but especially one stood out as being particularly comparable – the Soviet Union. This project contains an analysis and interpretation of George Orwell’s novel with a special historical focus on the power structure and the propaganda which is also analyzed comparatively to that of the Soviet Union. Furthermore contains an analysis of two Soviet propaganda posters as historical sources to clarify the intentions and the effects of the propaganda. Finally it covers a discussion of a quote from the book and its significance to and similarities with the power structure and propaganda of the Soviet Union. The conclusions of the project are that even though Orwell issues a warning against totalitarianism by drawing an image of a very sinister world, he believes in human spirit and morality. Additionally there is a vast similarity between Orwell’s fictional regime and the Soviet regime even though Orwell uses exaggeration to issue his cause. In both cases the power structure is built to preserve itself by oppressing the people, and the propaganda is meant to make the people tractable and loyal. Even though there is a difference in the official intentions and goals of the two regimes, the totalitarian system inflicts oppression and destruction upon their peoples.

Jeg arbejder i dette projekt med George Orwells roman ’’Nineteen Eighty-Four’’, som er udgivet i 1948. Historien foregår i en dystopisk, totalitær fremtid, der er inspireret af forskellige totalitære bevægelser i Europa i første halvdel af det 20. århundrede – særligt Sovjetunionen. Jeg vil i mit projekt arbejde med en række forskellige delpunkter. Først undersøger jeg totalitarismens oprindelse i Sovjetunionen, da det giver en forståelse af systemet og dets mekanismer. Derefter analyserer og fortolker jeg George Orwells ’’Nineteen Eighty-Four’’ ved hjælp af litteraturanalytiske metoder for dels at få et indblik i statens kontrol- og magtredskaber, for at klargøre systemets indflydelse på karaktererne i bogen og for at udlede historiens budskab. Jeg inddrager i analysen en overvejelse om Orwells valg af genre for at få et klarere billede af Orwells intention med historien.