Dystopian Simulacra: A Baudrillardian Study of George Orwell's "۱۹۸۴"

In the fathomless realm of literature, reality could be perceived as more flexible and take more complex definitions than what it would be generally interpreted. Humans’ attitude towards various forms of reality might involve a set of controversial thoughts, rejecting or unseeing the existent truth, or even accepting unbelievably bizarre concepts in an exceedingly sane world. It is debated that this conception is better than simply having a set ability to determine black-and-white and differentiate between ideas and establishing beliefs on external evidence. A postmodern work of fiction gives the audience a substitute reality to match to the one perceived outside the work, since it allows for the alteration and variation of reality. For this purpose, postmodernism applies the simulacrum to obliterate reality and put a synthetic sense in its place. This study aims to explore the significant features of a dystopian reality in George Orwell's "۱۹۸۴", primarily in terms of an ideological and social context existent in its reality. Then, by applying Jean Baudrillard's theory of "Simulacra and Simulation", the presence and function of simulacra in various dimensions of this dystopian novel is explored.

Keywords:

Simulacra , Orwell , ۱۹۸۴ , Baudrillard , dystopia