1984 Totalitarianism Essay

In modern society, people have seen the development of technology and the improvement of policy. But in George Orwell’s novel entitled 1984, set in a dystopian world, the protagonist named Winston who works for the Ministry of Truth in London. He finds love with Julia, and they begin to question the Party. The author portrayed the world in his novel was oppressive and totalitarianism. However, In George Orwell’s novel 1984, the dystopian world and the totalitarianism state will not develop in the future society. In the ways of the conformity, the reality control and laws and regulations.

I am going to start by examining the genre of the novel. 1984 is one of the most popular novels of George Orwell’s work. When defining the genre, we can state that it is a dystopian, or negative utopian novel, since the writer aims to portray the worst human society imaginable to persuade readers to avoid any path that may lead towards it, while a novel of utopia does the exact opposite.

Nobody can disagree with the fact that George Orwell’s vision, in his book 1984, didn’t come true. Though many people worried that the world might actually come to what Orwell thought, the year 1984 came and went and the world that Orwell created was something people did not have to worry about anymore. Many people have wondered what was happening in Orwell’s life and in his time that would inspire him to create this politically motivated book. A totalitarian world where one person rules and declares what is a crime and what is not, is something many people would have been scared of a lot. The totalitarianism in 1984 is very similar to the Nazism that was occurring in Germany with Hitler. This could have been the key thing that motivated

George Orwell’s 1984 is a prime example of a deep dystopia with a totalitarian government. Totalitarian governments have full and total control. The Inner Party, which is the main form of government in Oceania, has total control over its people’s thoughts and actions. They use many forms of abuse in order to control them. The Inner Party controls the government and is the upper class. The middle class is called the Outer Party. These people are given jobs from the government and are more educated than the Proles, which make up the lower class. The Outer Party is in charge of executing the Inner Party’s policies, but they have no say in them. The government uses many forms of manipulation to control their people. The members of Oceania’s society do not misbehave out of fear of punishment. People who betray the government vanish. They disappear and there is no evidence that they even existed. The government also uses the threat of abuse to keep its people in line. People of Oceania know they can be tortured or killed for even the slightest misdemeanor. The middle class is led to believe that they are living a high quality life through a method of false prosperity. The government fools people by changing history so the only form of truth the people think they have is their own memory. Many people discard their own memories and believe whatever the Party tells them is truth. Winston Smith is the character in which the book is centered around. He has doubts

George Orwell wrote his novel 1984 in 1949. Even though it was written as a dystopian political satire and many of the points he was trying to make were exaggerated, nevertheless we can still take a lot away from what Orwell wrote. To his credit, much of what he said in the novel came true to a certain extent. That is impressive considering he wrote the novel in 1949. Through his use of new topics and interesting characters, Orwell is able to provide an entertaining route to pass along some very interesting and important ideas.

Family is a concept older than recorded time. The fact that humans form familial bonds, take care of their young, and work together to achieve a goal is the reason that humanity has succeeded this far. But maybe for not much longer. In George Orwell’s 1984, a totalitarian government monitors everything that its citizens say, do, and even think in order to prevent revolution and suppress individuality. One of the ways the government achieves this is by destroying all bonds between members in a family by turning the children away from their parents (and towards the government) at a young age. To the government in 1984, a citizen’s closest relationship should be to the party. In fact, a citizens only good relationship should be with the party.

Before the concept of government existed mankind still attempted to gain dominance over one another. Once the concept was developed governments remained consistent in their attempts to gain control of their people and world domination. Adolf Hitler and other dictators were prime examples of totalitarianism “attempting to control every aspect of its subjects, viewing any sign of independence as treasonous centralized party” ( Quinn 1). Along came “historical catastrophes which would lead them to create a false utopia vision of the just society” (Quinn 2). George Orwell noticed this tug of war for control and wrote about it in his novel. The novel’s protagonist, Winston Smith, would struggle to retain his

The everyday lives in the society were essentially nothing. Freedom was Slavery. Each individual was treated as a slave. Not only a slave in the sense that you needed to work for the party against your will but also in the sense that you had to do AND think exactly as you were told… Your emotions were to be contained by all means and the rage taken out in the two minutes hate and events of the like. Ignorance is Strength. When you were intelligent you knew what was going on in society, you were less vulnerable to the brain washing. Your intelligence lead curiosity and made you question the party. In the long run you became rebellious with your awareness. In the end your rebellion lead to torture and ultimately death. All

George Orwell, in his book 1984, paints a picture of a grim dystopian world in which each person’s every move is monitored and manipulated by a totalitarian government called the Party. Orwell’s purpose is to warn readers that if democracy is allowed to decay into totalitarianism, the oppressive government would eventually rid the human race of its most prized possessions: thought, emotion, and knowledge. Orwell effectively proves his purpose by alluding to the historical background, appealing to the readers’ emotions, and using repetition and comparisons. In order for 1984 to explain how an oppressive government could ruin humanity, it is important to know the historical background behind the book and the author himself.

Historically, literature has always echoed the key issues and themes present during that time. In the period which Orwell wrote this novel, totalitarian government was a popular concept seeing implementation around the world such as Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and Mussolini’s Italy. In the novel 1984. While Orwell’s world is a fictional one, it can be said that he uses it as a voice for social commentary, and he predictions as to what a world would be like if totalitarian governments would rule the world. This essay will aim to explore how Orwell goes about doing this.

George Orwell’s key objective throughout his novel, 1984, was to convey to his readers the imminent threat of the severe danger that totalitarianism could mean for the world. Orwell takes great measures to display the horrifying effects that come along with complete and dominant control that actually comes along with totalitarian government. In Orwell’s novel, personal liberties and individual freedoms that are protected and granted to many Americans today, are taken away and ripped from the citizen’s lives. The government takes away freedom and rights from the people so that the ruling class (which makes up the government), while reign with complete supremacy and possess all power.

George Orwell tells “But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother” (298). This quotation from George Orwell’s novel 1984 describes the end results of the novel and the choice that the main character Winston Smith ends up making. In the beginning Winston is just a quiet, average citizen in the state of Oceania.

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.

The moment a baby is born, that neonate is born free and innocent, however within the first few seconds of their life, based on where they are born thousands of laws are immediately placed on them. In 1949, George Orwell published his dystopian novel 1984 which gave an insight into the totalitarianism of a fictional world in the country of Oceania. Through the eyes and words of the main character and protagonist, Winston Smith we saw the corruption of the party Big brother. Throughout the novel we saw how the party is able to alter the past as well as removing and adding individuals into existence. This book can be related to many countries in today’s society and be used to analyze what is happening in those areas.

The moment a baby is born, they are born free and innocent, however within the first few seconds of their life, based on where they were born, thousands of laws are immediately placed on them. In 1949, George Orwell published his dystopian novel 1984 which gave an insight into the totalitarianism of a fictional world in the country of Oceania. Through the eyes and words of the main character and protagonist Winston Smith we see the corruption of the party Bigbrother. Throughout the novel we see how the party is able to alter the past and also remove and add people into existence. This book can be related to many countries in today’s society and be used to analyze what is happening in theses areas.