Dancing Dragons In A Dystopian Society

Following World War Two, Europe was thrown into chaos and despair. The major world countries, such as the Soviet Union and America, were still suffering from the wide spread fear caused by Hitler and fascism. From this fear, George Orwell’s 1984 was born. It served as a warning to where he feared the world’s leading countries were headed, and the dystopian that he fretted would become a reality. While the party may have held total dominance, it would not be able to control human nature forever. In George Orwell’s 1984, he posits through Winston’s observations of the proletariat that while one individual would not be able to overpower the party, the collective group would.

“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” (Orwell 4). These three seemingly contradictory statements are the national slogans of the Party, the totalitarian regime government in George Orwell’s classic novel, 1984. Through psychological manipulation, an authoritarian government can have many harmful effects on society. Orwell’s novel is a prime example of this, and the oversight and regulation the Party has over its citizens is evident throughout the course of the novel. Orwell shows the reader the dangers of a totalitarian government, and the ways in which it can completely manipulate its citizens.

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.

This quote exemplifies the extent to which the Party hijacks the mental processes of people to gain power, and how that is more crucial to unopposed power than physical control already established. Thus, Orwell presents a perspective on power through exploring the restriction of free thought and movement, and how that benefits a totalitarian government.

“We can't be confined to one way of thinking, and that terrifies our leaders. It means we can't be controlled. And it means that no matter what they do, we will always cause trouble for them.” (Roth, 2012) Victoria Roth describes the way people act in a society, individuals are different from one another, and therefore have different beliefs, ideas, and thoughts. When a ruler comes into power, he wants to make the whole community think as he does, but the real problem comes when he abuses of his power to take control. In this way totalitarian governments and rulers have arose, and have intended to influence in the society to achieve their goals. A totalitarian leader controls

“The resort to fear by systems of power to discipline the domestic population has left a long and terrible trail of bloodshed and suffering which we ignore at our peril” (Chomsky). This is significant because it relates to both 1984 and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Fear is used in both of these stories to discipline the domestic population and ends up being effective. These two novels are ran by totalitarian like structures. The characters are under a certain person 's rule, creating the totalitarian government. In these societies, fear is used to gain power in these governments. The manipulation of fear is used in both 1984 and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in the manner of which the authoritarians control every aspect of the character’s lives.

Political control has come a long way since 5,000 years ago when the first city-states appeared. Today with the advancement of technology and literature, political control has become more sophisticated and complex. Communication between the masses and their governments have been made easier with the use of television and political ideologies being published as books. The vast amount of sources available to the masses mean they can make more informed choices about politics. However, in ‘1984’ and ‘Fahrenheit 451’ the use of advanced technology and literature as political control is shown in a negative light. George Orwell and Ray Bradbury show the consequences of power being placed in the wrong hands. The dystopian governments presented by

Uncertainty is horrifying—and the genre of dystopia knows this. Not only does dystopia know this, but it feeds off of it—turning the fears of the mind’s eyes into a cornucopia of terror. However, it is not uncommon for the fears of one man to be the dream of another. Indeed, to Aldous Huxley, writing in 1931, the rise of totalitarian governments across Europe was terrifying–however—perhaps more terrifying to Huxley was the fact that these governments were arising not by force, but by the will of the people themselves. As Huxley saw it, people were forfeiting their privacy to a hegemon to which they smiled, not to one from which they cowered in despair.

There is a correlation between fear and the amount of power people seek. Fear is instilled in us at an early age and infects our perceptions throughout our lives. Society has taught us to be afraid of crime, losing our jobs, immigrants, failure, and many other things . All these apprehensions are seized on and blown up by the media, the government, corporations and the Church, whipping us into a frenzy of fear. Robert Evans Wilson a writer for Psychology Today talks about the connection between fear and power and how people with power use that to their advantage. He says that, “An individual’s motivation for power is to acquire control over his environment. A certain amount of controlling behavior is a healthy natural survival instinct, but

George Washington once said, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.” With the ability to change society in vast directions, government is the controlling power of its people. Its power to control our nation’s economy and law are something to be feared. However, there are always more numbers in society than in government. Society is limitless, broad, and expanding. Government is small, limited, and finite. For this reason, the general population should hold no fear in guiding the government in its choices. 1984 written by George Orwell and V for Vendetta directed by James

In both novels, 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, the impacts of living under radical levels of censorship and control are highlighted and indirectly scrutinized, in an allegorical manner. Written about are what these two authors believed could have become a possibility if humanity were to take a wrong turn and gives power to the wrong party and the negative influence it would have. The two books have many common ideas pertaining the methods of government that could lead to society’s demise such as the limitation of knowledge, manipulation of emotion and prompt elimination of any kind of rebels. Proven by the pair, is the ineffectiveness and possible downfall as a result of these irrational control tactics.

Throughout the course of history repressive forms of government have utilized specific elements of power to manipulate their constituents. The Stasi, the former official state security of Eastern Germany, is commonly referred to as one of the most oppressive secret police agencies to have weald any political power. In present day Russia, President Vladimir Putin exploits his extreme qualities of masculinity to promote and carry through a specific agenda. Both forms of manipulation are incredibly harmful tactics to further control the people of non-democratic societies.

Living in a world that continues to make advancements technologically and politically, a book written more than 50 years ago still warns the world of what could happen if government becomes too forceful. Because of George Orwell's strong hatred for totalitarianism and its life dictating qualities, readers can get a taste of the perfect "dystopia". Though the people of today have been warned and are afraid of an all controlling government, they continue to allow the concept of 1984 to become more and more real. If people continue to just watch their governments make decisions and not ask questions, they will fall victim to its power. If a man not of this time understands the terror of totalitarianism, everyone should

Many people have sought to evaluate the vulnerabilities associated with states and markets that are under totalitarianism, which is a political system in which the state holds total authority over the society. First developed in 1920 by the Italian fascists, and in particular Benito Mussolini, who ruled Italy for over twenty years, totalitarianism embossed the minds of those who lived under it. This system was conceptualized mainly to highlight the similarities between Nazi Germany and other fascist states. There’s one underlying difference that one must understand for one to assess the restrictions that totalitarianism puts on one’s liberty. One should realize that totalitarianism states are states where there is a single party rule, where a dictatorship is type of government in which a single person rules. Aldous Huxley and George Orwell are famous authors who opposed totalitarianism, and through their philosophical ideals, attempted to inform people of the dangers faced by society under this restricting system, where people are inhibited from holding any sort of authority. George Orwell, in 1984, discusses concerns relating to big government and big brother and Aldous Huxley, in Brave New World, discusses predatory markets impinging on our personal freedoms. Through their works, they attempt to question societal beliefs on brute force and physical coercion verses the manipulation of preferences and tastes leading to willing submission. George Orwell and Aldous Huxley each