Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four Research Articles

Speech, music and dehumanisation in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four: a linguistic study of metaphors

This article examines the way in which metaphorical expressions referring to speech and music in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four contribute to the elaboration of the theme of dehumanisation. The term ‘metaphor’ is used in a broad sense to refer to various types of transfer of meaning, thus including metonymy and synecdoche as well as metaphor, strictly speaking. Further, the viewpoint is that metaphor is the result of grammatical as well as lexical choices, and is therefore to be dealt with on the lexicogrammatical level. The following conclusions can be drawn from the data examined in the article. First, a linguistic analysis of clause types shows that Orwell makes very consistent selections from the grammar to express the central meaning. Second, it appears that metaphors have been drawn from a relatively small number of recurrent donor domains. These are the domains of animals, physical force and liquids. Although superficially unrelated, they are united in the more abstract domain of ‘control’ and play their roles in creating the picture of a world in which individual consciousness and liberty have no place. Third, the article shows that conventional and creative metaphors harmoniously co-operate in establishing the meaning of dehumanisation as a characteristic of the world depicted in the book.

STRENGTH IS IGNORANCE; SLAVERY IS FREEDOM: MANAGING CULTURE IN MODERN ORGANIZATIONS*

ABSTRACTThe article subjects the assumptions and prescriptions of the ‘Corporate Culture’literature to critical scrutiny. the body of the article is devoted to teasing out the distinctive basis of its appeal compared with earlier management theory. It is seen to build upon earlier efforts (e.g.‘theory Y’) to constitute a self‐disciplining form of employee subjectivity by asserting that ‘practical autonomy’is conditional upon the development of a strong corporate culture. the paper illuminates the dark side of this project by drawing attention to the subjugating and totalitarian implications of its excellence/ quality prescriptions. to this end, parallels are drawn with the philosophy of control favoured by the Party in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty‐Four. Specifically, the paper critiques the ‘doublethink’contention that autonomy can be realized in monocultural conditions that systematically constrain opportunities to wrestle with competing values standpoints and their associated life projects.

"2+2=5," Symbol of Tyranny or Freedom in the Technological Society: a Study of the Number Symbol in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Dostoevsky's Notes From the Underground

"2+2=5," Symbol of Tyranny or Freedom in the Technological Society: a Study of the Number Symbol in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Dostoevsky's Notes From the Underground

"2+2=5," Symbol of Tyranny or Freedom in the Technological Society: a Study of the Number Symbol in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Dostoevsky's Notes From the Underground

"2+2=5," Symbol of Tyranny or Freedom in the Technological Society: a Study of the Number Symbol in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Dostoevsky's Notes From the Underground

The theory of panoptical control: Bentham's panopticon and Orwell's Nineteen eighty-four.

The basic idea of panoptical control is that people will obey the prevailing rules and norms when they know they are being watched. The theory was developed by Jeremy Bentham 200 years ago when he designed an architecturally and managerially innovative model prison called Panopticon. Along with his Utopian Panopticon-poorhouse scheme, Bentham's vast plans have been viewed as the most thorough combination of physical and social engineering ever devised. The various elements of panoptical control theory received their most systematic realization in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-four. The novel serves to illustrate the theory and also to suggest Orwellian overtones to Bentham's plans, which were quite antithetical to his Utilitarian philosophy.

Psychology and Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four

(1985). Psychology and Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. Australian Psychologist: Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 5-19.

George Orwell'sNineteen Eighty-Four:some reflections on its relevance to the study of history in South Africa

(1984). George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four: some reflections on its relevance to the study of history in South Africa. Kleio: Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 20-33.