1984 Essay Topics: Compare, Analyze, and Argue | Blog

40+ Ideas for “1984” Essay Topics

Big Brother – you should have heard of him. He watches you while you are at home, in a taxi, or at work. He is hiding among the trees and strives to know all your secrets. He is here and nowhere at the same time.

Orwell began his work on “1984” as a reaction to military dictatorship and should have been a logical continuation of “Animal Farm.” Orwell wrote this novel in 1948 and changed the order of the last two numbers for the book title. In that period of time, the world had faced the power of the USSR army and many people speculated about the third world war. Dictatorship became one of the most urgent topics of discussion among the world. Orwell, seeing the consequences of that battle of authoritarian regimes, became a critic of tyranny. He was afraid that it would come to a power that would force people to think that “two plus two is five.” His fears of the fate of civilization became the basis for dystopia in “1984.”

In short: The story is about the authoritarian state. A member of the party tries to resist the authorities, trying to hide his consciousness from manipulation. But his thoughts of crime cannot be hidden from Big Brother, and the party subordinates the person to the system.

In his book, Orwell has successfully depicted the pointless battle of personality and governmental systems. An authoritarian state restricts the right to individuality and this means that the person will lose themselves. The meaning of “1984” is to show a world that has evolved into tyranny and to describe its total discrepancy from current social norms, values, and representations. Any dystopia exaggerates the story to make people think about the future and what will happen if we don’t change the current situation. “1984” has been banned for decades in the Soviet Union and the United States. Now it is on the list of top hundred best novels. Until now, this book continues to excite the minds of the public, inspiring musicians and artists.

We have created the following list of essay topics for “1984” by George Orwell to inspire you with ideas for your future essay. Let’s check them out!

Compare and Contrast: “1984” Essay Topics

1. Compare “1984” and “Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini.
2. Compare and Contrast “Huckleberry Finn” and “1984.” How does reading “1984” help understand the themes hidden in “Huckleberry Finn”?
3. Compare the ideas from “1984” by George Orwell and the communist party in China. Analyze the freedom of speech, class system, China’s child policy, punishment for wrong behavior, etc.
4. Compare “1984” and the movie “Lives of Others” (2006). What similarities can you see? Analyze the plot and conflicts depicted in book and movie.
5. Compare the movie “V for Vendetta” and the novel “1984.” What role does technology play in these two dystopian worlds?
6. Compare “1984” and “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley. Analyze these two novels from the point of Marxist theory.
7. Compare and contrast “1984” and “Panopticism” by Foucault. Compare the themes, ideas, and motifs in both works. How does the society depicted in “1984” relate to the concepts of surveillance?
8. Compare and contrast the political situation in North Korea and “1984.”
9. Compare the ways authors portray female characters in “1984” and “Brave New World.”
10. Compare and contrast “1984” and “The Giver” by Lois Lowry.
11. Compare the movie or book “Hunger Games” and the “1984” novel. Think about ideas, themes, characters, and style of storytelling. How is a dystopian society seen in these two stories?
Compare “The Shawshank Redemption” and “1984.” What is the main idea that connects these two books?
12. Compare two dystopian works “1984” and the movie “The Truman Show.” What differences do the main characters have? Analyze the plot, themes, and motifs.
13. Compare the text of “1984” and the movie “The Propaganda Game.”
14. Compare the book “1984” and the article “Truth and Lies in the Age of Trump” (2016). Can we claim that dictatorship is among us? Add citations from “1984” and make research of credible sources about contemporary political situations around the world.
15. Compare and contrast the influence of society in “Lord of the Flies” and “1984.” What other connection you can see in these books?
16. Compare the book “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer and “1984.”
17. Compare “Metropolis” by Fritz Lang and “1984.” Address mass manipulation and oppression.

Analysis: “1984” essay topics

1. How can the book “1984” be compared to today? What countries have the features of Orwell’s dystopia? How have Orwell’s political views influenced his works?
2. Analyze the theme, setting, and the ways the author depicts characters in the context of his political predictions and point of view.
3. Analyze the propaganda. How does a government achieve their goals using telescreens, government sponsorship, and associated media?
4. What role does the Ministry of Truth play in the story? What does the government achieve with controlling the truth, writing and revising history? How does it influence society?
5. Is it possible to organize a Thought Police nowadays? How does it influence patriotism and freedom of speech? Do we need such organization in our world?
6. Big Brother: on privacy and surveillance.
7. What role does language play in “1984”? How does language change throughout the novel? Who was responsible for that change? Are meanings of words constantly changing?
8. Analyze the significance of the room above Charrington’s shop. How has the author changed its significance for Winston and the reader throughout the novel?
9. Analyze the novel “1984” in the context of racial profiling.
Analyze why the party in “1984” allows intellectual freedom only to the proles?
10. Analyze the symbolism of dystopia used in the classic book “1984” By George Orwell.
11. Analyze how oppression and fear contribute to rebellion in “1984.” Can the fear beat humanity?
12. Analyze “1984” in the context of Carl Jung’s analytical psychology.
13. Analyze the characters of Julia and Winston. Can they be considered as complementary characters? Discuss their views on morality, ethical views, political values, and thoughts about history.
14. Analyze chapter 10 in “1984.” Consider the interior monologue thought police when they arrest Julia and Winston.
15. Analyze “1984” referring to the theme of consumerism.
16. Analyze the role of alienation in the following works: “1984” by George Orwell, Euripides’ “Medea,” and Sophocles’ “Antigone.”
17. Select several characters from “1984” and analyze their engagement with the issues of identity, existence, and consciousness.
18. How does the figure of Big Brother contribute to the story? Analyze Big Brother’s speech and its influence on society.

If you have chosen one of these topics, check out How To Write An Analysis Essay In the Proper Sequence.

Argumentative: “1984” essay topics
1. Can a society survive if it is based on hate and deception? What future does the society from “1984” have?
2. Should art focus on political messages? Will it be able to communicate aestheticism? How is this situation depicted in “1984”?
3. Describe how technology can be used in a wrong way. Base your opinion on “1984” and add citations to prove your point of view. How does Orwell’s “1984” relate to the modern technological world? Discuss betrayal, conformity, privacy, technology, and nationalism.
4. Does “1984” help us understand more about the origins and popularity of national socialism, fascism, and other authoritarian movements in the 20th century?
5. What power do common people have in the world of Orwell’s “1984”? How does Orwell treat the proles? What does Winston think about proles? Describe your point of view about Winston’s expression: “If there was hope, it must lie in the proles.”
6. How does the dehumanization used in “1984” help the reader understand the moral sentiment collapse? What instruments does the author use to show the insidiousness of a repressive government?
7. Disagree or agree with George Orwell’s statement in “1984” that all countries will eventually come to a totalitarian government.
8. Describe how protagonists have developed over time. Have they become more complex? You can compare the characters of Macbeth and Winston Smith.
9. Why has “1984” become a best-selling book again? Does our world have the same political issues as depicted in the book? Describe your understanding of the undying truth of Orwell’s dystopia.
10. What is the significance of memory in “1984”?
11. Which situations from the book “1984” have come true? What things were exaggerated and cannot come true? Use examples from reality and the text.

Hopefully, our “1984” topics for essays will help you create an outstanding essay! We wish you more inspiration and good luck!

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