Contrasting Words In A Totalitarian Government

War is peace, Freedom is slavery, Ignorance is strength. These three phrases may contradict everything that you know and have been taught, but in the “negative utopia” of George Orwell’s novel 1984 these are

Absolute control over society is the central theme in the novel, 1984, by George Orwell. One method this power over society is exercised is use of language to manipulate and control people. The story features a society called Oceania, which is located in the European region. In Oceania, there is a form of totalitarian government called the Party which controls the entire society. The Party controls thoughts by making certain words or phrases illegal. In addition, any anti-party thoughts or motives are also deemed illegal. To control society, thoughts are monitored by telescreens which read reactions and record speech. A force, called the Thought Police, is also engaged to take power over and eliminate society’s individual beliefs. The

The Meaning of the Term Totalitarianism Totalitarianism was a one-party political system that was based on dictatorship. It first started in Europe in the 1920s and 30s. It was an absolutism that emphasized the importance of the state at the expense of individual liberties. It displays the following features: One-party dictatorship and one-man rule were emphasized in a totalitarian state. Only one party ruled in a totalitarian state, for example, the Fascist Part in Italy, the Nazi Party in Germany and the Communist Party in the Soviet Union.

In the 20th century totalitarian governments had come to power in Italy, Germany, and the Soviet Union. These governments had forced their political authority and centralized control over all aspects of life (Document 3 and 6). The government had imposed public gatherings to invade people’s lives and indoctrination of totalitarian ideas had influenced youth organizations and literature to help the government gain authority over one’s country (Document 2). One method used by totalitarian dictatorship is having mass rallies and speeches. The totalitarian government that used these method leaders was Benito Mussolini of Italy and Adolf Hitler of Germany.

Throughout history totalitarian leaders would violate people’s safety, their peace of mind and their freedom to rise to power. For example, Germany lost the war in 1919 which cause the need for reparations and a new leader, that is when Hitler became the leader of Germany and in that time Germany was going through a lot of hard times which caused the people to look forward to the future. Another example of totalitarian leaders in that time was Stalin who used people’s fear to gain trust from his people and cause paranoia in people of that time. Both of these totalitarian leaders violated democratic ideas by violating the safety and freedom of their people to manipulate them and their minds. And then they would oppress the minority group, for example, those who were Jewish were treated badly and killed.

The United States government is certainly better than totalitarian and authoritarian governments, and can be rated as one of the top countries for protecting individual rights and ensuring citizen political participation. The United States is a constitutional government so the individual liberties of the people are protected, and the government can not have complete control over everything because they too are confined by laws. This is unlike totalitarian governments that do not care or provide for individual rights and do not have anything confining them, so they are allowed to do whatever they like. Also, authoritarian governments do not allow citizen participation in government, while the United States does which makes our country freer

He demonstrates this idea through Winston’s psychological failure to cope with the cruel reality and what Big Brother wants. The dystopian society in 1984 not only governs with total control over the people, but also fundamentally restricts people’s ability to think freely. The government dictates this domination through the power of the “Thought Police.” Winston on the other hand struggles with severe internal conflicts. Orwell articulates, “He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the monster. He was alone. The past was dead, the future was unimaginable. What certainty had he that a single human creature now living was on his side” (Orwell 25)? What Orwell is expressing about the dystopian government is that they are spreading nonsense beliefs using fear out of people. He uses simile to expresses Winston’s internal conflict in the totalitarian government when he writes, “he felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom.” Orwell is comparing an intimidating world that Winston confronts with the idea of doublethink. The “forest” is a place where one gets lost and the “sea bottom” is a place where only darkness exists. Orwell further support the idea of doublethink when he says, “lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the monster,” using situational irony.

George Orwell’s 1984, widely known for its chilling descriptions of the dystopian society of Oceania, warns of a world in which individuality is virtually destroyed as one oppressive government controls all aspects of life. Decades after the novel’s publication in 1949, various nations today draw unsettling parallels with the characteristics of the government described in 1984. North Korea is one such example, particularly seen as a controversial topic in global debate. Although North Korea and Oceania in 1984 both possess totalitarian governments that attempt to control and restrict individualism, the means in which each government originated and gained authority differ.

Any government with total control is worth being feared and having a group of individuals who go against their government. With complete control, a government is capable of committing acts against their citizens, which can be perceived as “something good” from the government’s point of view. In 1984 by George Orwell, and “Harrison Bergeron”, by Kurt Vonnegut, the main characters, Winston and Harrison, feel oppressed by the government's acts and events, try to overthrow their government, and go through a realization of hopelessness and defeat.

Imagine living in a world of complete rejection of liberal ideas and absolute conformity. Citizens of this world do not have the freedom to choose their occupation. In fact, these citizens have no rights. They cannot speak freely, they do not enjoy any personal freedoms or privacy, and the media is aggressively censored. This is the world of George Orwell’s 1984 and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. The protagonist of Fahrenheit 451 is Guy Montag, and he is a fireman. His job is to destroy books completely by setting fire to them. Winston Smith is the main character in 1984, where he works as a civil servant in the lower class ruling party. Both of these men become entranced with the past and how life was before a totalitarian government.

War Is Peace. Freedom Is Slavery. Ignorance Is Strength. The government slogan illustrates the sense of stringency that characterizes the world created by George Orwell. The vast power of the Oceanian government kept their people in constant paranoia through perpetual publicity, mangled violence and persistent manipulation in order to keep their world regulated as much as possible. The scene in the Novel 1984 is positioned in the expansive nation of Oceania, a realm of the future that replicates London. It is a totalitarian state that is dictated by an perplexing figure named Big Brother, who may not even exist. The government of this world is prevailed by the group of the Inner Party, and use their dominance by inhibiting everything

     War is Peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. These are the beliefs that the citizens of Oceania, in the novel titled 1984, written by George Orwell, live by. In this novel, Oceania, one of the three remaining world super powers, is a totalitarian, a society headed by 'Big Brother' and his regime, known as the ministries of Truth, Love, and Peace. A totalitarian government is defined as a government characterized by a political authority which exercises absolute and centralized control, and in which the state regulates every realm of life. This is the type of world that the citizens of Oceania must live in, ruled by fear and under force every day. The names of the different ministries for example,

Throughout the novel, the world state plays a big role, as it does what it can with its power to provide a perception of maximum happiness to the society. Notably, the government is afraid of those who oppose or

The governments in today’s society have brainwashed their citizens into believing everything their leader says and thinks is correct and everything else is wrong. This can sometimes be known as a totalitarian government. George Orwell’s novel 1984 revolves around totalitarianism. The members of the party in Oceania are taught and required to worship their leader Big Brother whether they believe in him or not. In the novel 1984, George Orwell shows the problems and the hatred with a totalitarian government through his use of symbolism, situational irony, and indirect characterization.

In the texts, 1984, written by George Orwell, and Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, the concepts of totalitarianism and censorship are addressed throughout in various ways. Both texts are of dystopian fiction, set in post-nuclear war nations, although they are somewhat of a different nature. The concepts of totalitarianism and censorship are addressed throughout the texts throughout the exploration of the issue of ‘knowledge is power’, the use and abuse of technology, manipulation and the desensitising of society. Although these are mentioned in both 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, they are fairly different in the way they are approached by each totalitarian government, as the government in 1984 is much more severe in the way each of these issues are dealt with in the text.