Essay On Totalitarianism 1984

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.

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.

A society in which independent thinking is a crime punishable by death, the government does not think of the common good by which all of the society will benefit, and the leaders are self-serving. Big Brother doesn't need to justify its ways because it holds all of the power in society through its ministries. In the novel, 1984 by George Orwell, there is one theme that stands out the most from the point of view from Winston, the main theme of the book is that government’s intentions are not benevolent, but self-serving this is show through government control, population control, and

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.

As the Party establishes Newspeak to be the spoken language in Oceania, it implicates the idea of Doublethink and increases the citizen’s loyalty toward the Party due to the elimination of all rebellious words. The quote, “‘Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it...’” (46), expresses how the Party is striving for vocabulary that abolishes the thought of rebelling. As more words that are irrelevant to the Party are removed from the Newspeak dictionary, people’s vocabulary and ways of expression are decreased. Without words to express any independent ideas, emotions, or opinions, ideas of disobeying the Party cannot be produced. This results in orthodox beliefs among people in Oceania and leaves people no other option but to adhere to everything the Party says. Based on the idea that it is impossible to express dissatisfaction without words that exist to describe it, controlling the language of Oceania with Newspeak is one of the key factors for the Party to control the population’s thoughts. Syme suggests that the Party using language and communication to gain complete dominance over people’s lives by saying, “‘...The Revolution will be complete when the language is perfect...’” (46-47). As

Besides the thought police, the very language of Oceania was used to control its citizens. Newspeak is the language of Oceania, and if a word deemed not beneficial to the Party and control of its people, it would simply be

A dystopia is an imaginary place or state in which the condition of life is bad, as from deprivation, oppression, or terror. Referring to the definition, totalitarianism throughout 1984 demonstrates all elements of a dystopia. Big Brother instills fear in the minds of Oceanians to access all power and build their version of a utopia. Orwell faults the world of 1984 to show the protagonist, Winston Smith, is able to overcome all fears the Party instills in him and to find it in himself to rebel against the totalitarian government. Winston criticizes his society for being so driven by party ideology which encourages them to go through mental processes that confuse them with what is reality as to the Party’s version of reality (Becnel 74). The protagonist proves himself to be a misfit in the society of 1984 by not conforming to the party’s ideas as others would, diminishing the idea of individuality. George Orwell portrays a dystopian society through a rebellious protagonist’s hatred of totalitarianism to illustrate the idea of nonconformity in 1984.

George Orwell’s novel, 1984, follows the life of Winston Smith, a member of a social class known as the “Outer Party.” Orwell portrays a hypothetical society known as Oceania that is ruled under an absolute totalitarian regime known as “Big Brother”. Written in 1949, Orwell implied that governments are likely to increase/diversify methods to control their citizens as time and technology advance. One of the main concerns emphasized in 1984 is the government using the media to persuade, shape, direct, and sometimes even deceive the population. It is evident that Orwell used the world of Winston Smith to portray potential issues of concern regarding federal control of the media.

The influence of government over society that is presented in the novel 1984 by George Orwell cannot be underestimated, nor can Orwell’s commentary on the possible future of society be ignored. Orwell develops an astute perception of the degree to which a totalitarian government can influence society through his creation of a dystopian world where individuals possess no freedom and are brainwashed constantly. Though the responsibility of newscasters and journalists is to provide facts and information to citizens, there is no denying the media is anything but neutral; and so, Orwell writes 1984 with the purpose of warning readers of the dangers of an imposing administration that controls its citizens through the use of propaganda and incessant

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.

George Orwell lived during a time of great uncertainty. During the time he wrote the novel 1984 World War II had recently ended and the Soviet Union was amassing world power. The Soviet Union, controlled by the Communist Party, frightened other world powers because of their totalitarian view of governing. In response to totalitarianism, George Orwell wrote 1984 to portray what it would be like for the entire world to be ruled by totalitarian governments. The novel depicted a bleak existence for all of humanity if totalitarianism continued to grow support and strength.

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

However, numerous qualities from both utopian and dystopian societies are presented in the country of Oceania. Censorship and the removal of everything related to the ugly truth is a prominent theme within not only the novel 1984, but also the civilization known as Oceania. The Ministry of Truth changes recounts about past events- including Big Brother’s speeches and old news articles- to fit the current circumstances. One can argue that the censorship can be a utopian feature of which the inner party only wanted to affiliate the government with positive terms and emotions such as having the the government being known as all knowing in addition to providing only positive

Winston Smith lived in a world of lies, chaos, and disorder. His uniform was shabby and living space cold and dirty. Changing the past to suit the present was his job where he worked, the Ministry of Truth. One day, he encountered a beautiful young woman of about 26 years of age and instantly fell in love. Little did he know that she would be the one who would end his life. He dreams of sleeping with her but fears that he would be captured by the Thought Police because sex is illegal. During the Two Minutes Hate - a time when members of Ingsoc come together to despise Emmanuel Goldstein, a man who supported freedom and rights - the woman passes a note to Winston. It says for

Progressives throughout history have idealized the emergence of a totalitarian government in the belief that it is the most efficient form of national progress. This ideal speculation is not foreign in academia. Discussing and dissecting the central concepts of totalitarianism helps people further understand the visible and invisible power structures that dominates a society. One of the oldest notions in the history of mankind is that some people are to give orders and others are to obey. This with itself is considered a gamble knowing that the direction of that society’s governance is highly dependent to its ruler or its ruling party. In George Orwell’s 1984, he presents the consequences of totalitarianism to warn present and future generations of submitting to complete dictatorship. With the Party’s masterful display of historical manipulation, the citizens of Oceania were deprived of freedom, privacy, and individuality. This mastery is possible through the party’s usage of propaganda and technology. As daunting as it may seem, people over the past century worldwide made numerous attempts of emulating a totalitarian society. Many have tried, most have failed. Despite the real-world sociological concepts that Orwell presented in 1984, his perceived totalitarian society will not thrive in today’s world.