1984 Totalitarianism Analysis

George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, examines a society in which the overwhelming domination of Oceania’s leading party of the totalitarian government, Ingsoc, causes its citizens to become automatons—except for one citizen: the protagonist, Winston Smith. Like the masses, Winston is subjected to the regime’s use of constant surveillance, alteration of historical records and memories, psychological and ideological manipulation, and torture. Although Winston is subjected to the regime’s various manipulations, which have the final goal of eliminating all individualism, Winston stands out from the masses. Throughout the novel, Winston actively rebels against the regime primarily by having independent thought and by forming a meaningful relationship with another citizen, a relationship that is restricted by the regime. As Orwell depicts Winston’s strong desire for individuality, he compels readers to pay attention to the totalitarian regime’s deliberate restraint of distinctiveness. By using Winston’s role to demonstrate the importance of individual thought and meaningful relationships in the identity of a human being, Orwell suggests that a totalitarian regime demands the loss of individuality in order to have and preserve total control.

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Set in a world with three major super countries, George Orwell’s novel 1984 gives a futuristic insight into the new London, renamed Oceania and under Big Brother’s totalitarian reign (Schmoop). Big Brother and the Party use violent and extreme rules and rituals to control its population and enforce its brain washing ideals. Winston Smith, a subtle rebel, follows the rules with an invisible hate for the Party. When he falls in love with Julia, another inconspicuous rule breaker, they work to find new ways to free themselves from the Party, soon discovering the Brotherhood, the rebel group against the Party. Using Winston’s thoughts and perceptions of the world he lives in, the reader is shown the fear instilled in the people by the use of totalitarian

Taking place forty years ahead of the time it was written, 1984 was written with the purpose of revealing the dangers of a totalitarian society. Despite the large time frame from when 1984 was written to the year the Cultural Revolution took place in China, and also to the year 1984 was set in, this novel accurately depicts a totalitarian government during the 1900s. In 1966, the Communist Party leader, Mao Zedong launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in fear of losing power to the Communist party to his adversary, Liu Shaoqi. Similar to the government policies in Oceania, the Communist Party corrupts the minds of the children in order to enlist them as loyalists to the Party. They also harassed and denounced party bureaucrats,

The book 1984 by George Orwell tells of the dreary existence of Winston Smith, a man living in a communist dystopia. The government spies on its citizens in every room, and forces them to love its leader, Big Brother. Throughout the book Winston attempts to resist his government by joining a rebel organization, but the task proves impossible as the government is too overbearing. Winston’s failure to join a rebel organization demonstrates the difficulties in changing the society that he lived in. The totalitarian society in 1984 deprived citizens of virtually all power so that no group, let alone single person, could extend its parameters, and nothing about the society could be changed at all.

Published in 1948 and set a mere to 36 years into the future, ‘1984’ unfold of George Orwell ‘s cynical foreshadowing of the impending threat to democracy in apprehensive post-World War II period. 1984 is set in the oppressive, dystopian society of Oceania, where the state, led by omnipotent figurehead of ‘Big Brother’, governs the lives of the individuals in order to influentially fashion a community of conformism. Orwell successfully illustrates the tension within power through the lens of a frail protagonist, reminiscent setting, and narrative suspense. Themes are explored that exemplify the interplay of power in terms of political work: fabrication of history, the practice of totalitarian government, and most importantly the elimination of language. Significant symbols and motifs, such as ‘Newspeak’, and Big Brother, also efficiently aid in demonstrating the concept of power in political terms.

Rough Draft 1984, a book written by George Orwell, is a dystopian novel about a totalitarian government that oppresses its people and controls all aspects of their lives. The book goes into grave detail about what it would be like if the world was ran by a totalitarian government. 1984 was published on june 8, 1949 and was a presentation of how the world would be in the future more specifically in 1984. 1984 uses many prime examples of today society and how the government works today and some countries that still use communism in today modern government.

Most books have a meaning or message that is conveyed throughout the book, but some have a meaning that is stronger than others. 1984 by George Orwell, is a story that conveys a message of warning, Orwell is trying to warn people that the world cannot let the government take total control. Because if that happens then the government can do whatever it pleases. This relates very well to current events as well.

“It is quite possible,” wrote Orwell in January 1939, “that we are descending in to an age in

George Orwell was born in Bengal in 1903, and was educated at Eton. He then served in the Indian Imperial Police before returning to Europe as a political writer. He was considered, and hated totalitarianism. He died at the age of forty-seven due to a neglected lung illness. He published his final book 1984 in June of 1949, only seven months before his death in January. Orwell wrote 1984 to express his fears of America becoming a totalitarian government as a repercussion of World War II (September 1, 1939- September 2, 1945). I chose this book because I personally enjoyed the way he depicted his thoughts into his novel. He even used his personal knowledge he attained when he worked in England to create the concept of Newspeak.

Totalitarianism is a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state, according to Google. George Orwell aims to establish this type of government in his novel 1984. The protagonist, Winston Smith attempts to conform to the strict everyday society, but also seeks to find justice within the corrupted Inner Party. As he does so he struggles to find the humanity within the system and his investigations lead him down a dangerous path. Throughout the novel Winston’s mind is pulled in conflicting directions between following the government’s strict laws and acting towards the rebellion.

The political scientists Carl Friedrich and Zbigniew Brzezinski define the concept of totalitarianism by using a set of typical attributes that can very much be identified in the system elaborated by Orwell in 1984. Firstly, “an official ideology to which general adherence was demanded, the ideology intended to achieve a ‘perfect final stage of mankind’ ” (Pleuger). This first attribute can be ascertained upon examining one of the ruling party’s three slogans: “War is peace; Freedom is slavery; Ignorance is strength” (Orwell). The motto fully embodies the foundational ideology of the party and it is expected that all subjects adhere to it without stopping to question the workings of the logic behind the statements.

A dystopia is defined as an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives. Authors frequently write about possible futures or versions of common societies to display the plausibility of a nation deteriorating into a dystopia. George Orwell, author of the novel 1984, discusses the effects of a despotic government on its subjects as the entire country is absolutely ruled by one governing body known as the Party. The protagonist, Winston Smith, struggles to comply with the Party’s laws and the injustice of the political system. But fatalistic characters, despite their major flaws that often result in their demise, sometimes represent the only sense of sanguinity in the entire novel. Despite the oppressive force of a dystopian

1984, written by George Orwell, is every social justice activists’ worst nightmare. Main character, Winston Smith, lives in a dystopian totalitarian state in which the government controls every aspect of its citizens’ lives. The citizens of Winton’s state, Oceania, have no freedoms whatsoever. Everything from their actions, to their emotions, and even their thoughts are regulated by the government. Countless tactics ranging from, 24/7 hour surveillance, government agents hiding everywhere you turn, and the infamous propaganda, were enforced to further the dictation of these the lives of these oblivious beings.

The dystopia depicted in 1984 is a direct result of author George Orwell’s exposure to the oppressive regimes of his day. At the time of Orwell’s composition of the novel, authoritarian governments of the 1940s posed a real and dangerous threat to the free citizens of Europe. Much of what he saw in the Nazi and communist regimes inspired the Party, the government of Oceania, in his text 1984. The text argues that the effectiveness of an authoritarian regime depends on its ability to dehumanize its people. Themes involving alteration of language and the past, sexual frustration, and characterizations of O’Brien and Winston illustrate the ways by which the Party must dehumanize and alienation the people of Oceania in order to maintain absolute power. The text reveals that the people can effectively fight oppression through solidarity, which enables them to pose a danger to the Party’s power and finally regain their humanity.