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Julian Robinson
Ms. Thompson
H Brit Lit Block 3 Skinny A
March 3, 2015
Rhetorical Themes in 1984 and Oliver Twist
Dickens is one of those authors who are well worth stealing. -George Orwell
Orwell mentioning Charles Dickens like this in one of his pieces about writing, writers,
and books just shows how well known Dickens was, and Orwells respect for him. This reflects
why Orwells work was kind of similar to Dickens in the way that it challenges authoritative
figures without making too many people upset. Just as a side note, another great writer to do this:
William Shakespeare. Orwells book, 1984, was his prediction of what the world would be like
in 1984 if Communism spread larger than it already was in 1948. Oliver Twist, Dickens book, is
not a prediction, but it tells the reader about the tough times in the beginning of Victorian
England. Oliver Twist and 1984 have similarities in theme and rhetorical meaning by way of
character motivations and time written, but not by denotation.
To start off, character motivations play a large part in themes of 1984 and Oliver Twist.
Oliver Twist, a workhouse foundling, the helpless, abused hero of the novel. Both innocent and
morally sensible, he gives force and sharpness, as well as a full measure of sentimentality, to
Dickens vision of social injustice. Oliver Twist is meant to appeal more to sentimentality than
to practicality. Throughout the book, Oliver is just being a naive young orphan boy, which shows
his motivations to be having fun and staying alive. According to gordonstate.edu , Winston got
his name from Winston Churchill, a great Englishman of Orwells time. This shows Winston's
thought process as being reasonable (for the most part) and wise. Winston is thought to be one of

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the few "normal" humans, but at the same time his body will not let him think too much. Winston
Smith is meant to show us more of the logical side of things, as the people in 1984 are not
supposed to have feelings. The types of characters George Orwell and Charles Dickens came up
with were determined by the time they wrote the book.
Meanwhile, along with character motivations, theme and rhetorical meaning are also
being developed by the time the books were written in. A biography from A&E Televesion
reports that He [Orwell] later wrote, I had the lonely child's habit of making up stories and
holding conversations with imaginary persons, and I think from the very start my literary
ambitions were mixed up with the feeling of being isolated and undervalued. (Orwell)
Orwell wrote 1984 in 1948. he was an Englishman, hence the naming of Winston from Winston
Churchill. The term hungry 40s is sometimes applied to the first part of the decade. Food prices
were high motivated by his loneliness to make the character Winston Smith, who is also lonely.
Orwell was shown to be a child prodigy, which brings in some irony. Winston is not even sure
who his mother is, but Orwell had a great childhood. Salisbury, Joyce, and Kersten point out that
"The term hungry 40s is sometimes applied to the first part of the decade. Food prices were
high"(Salisbury and Joyce and Kersten). This quote tells about the beginning of Victorian
England, which is not only the setting of Oliver Twist, but the place and time to was written in.
The quote is trying to tell the reader that There may be more stories like Oliver's in the real
world.

In summary, the books 1984 and Oliver Twist have some unique differences and
similarities in their major themes and rhetorical meaning. Denotation is not a good way to
determine this, because an author could say a word, say "adapt", a generally neutral or positive

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word, but mean it in a negative way, changing the connotation of the word. The denotation will
always be the same, so readers must look past that, and figure out what the author is really trying
to say in that situation. In a time where writing was more simple, one could use denotation, but
as of recent, writers have become far more crafty in their literature. One should keep in mind that
Orwell knew perfectly well who Dickens was and remember that in determining that they had
similarities and differences in writing.