Examples Of Power In George Orwell's 1984

In the book 1984, Orwell vividly describes a society driven by a totalitarian government that thrives on controlling what everyone does, think, or say. The main character, Winston Smith, undergoes the loss of his distinct character as he is created in the Party's image in anticipation of him not only obeying, but loving Big Brother. As discussed in class this novel was written not only for entertainment or pleasure but as a warning sign to others. Throughout the novel Orwell discussed many things that made him believe that the problems in 1984 will still exist in today’s society. Although there were numerous issues discussed I consider the most relevant were the discussions about Big Brother, War, and Newspeak.

The masterpiece 1984 by George Orwell first published in 1949 is regarded by many as the best book ever written. It is a novel which explores deep into the human psychology and is a permanent warning and remainder for the ever-lasting threat of totalitarianism.

Your world is not real. Kennedy was never assassinated, Michael jackson has actually always been white, and subway is certainly NOT always fresh. Stop thinking you are free, you’re not. Okay, I’m just kidding. But am I really? Because sometimes subway really just sucks. Questioning. With this, through his work ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’, George Orwell has brought to my attention that I should be occasionally thinking for myself rather than constantly abiding by what I’m told is right. More specifically, ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ suggests the plentiful ways that people can be oppressed in a totalitarian society will result in the loss of humanity and failure to rebound from the government’s control. These forces inhibit and encourage individuals’ actions and is described in the novel by the abundant use of technology combined with psychological manipulation. Orwell also uses symbols and metaphor to explain consequences of totalitarianism on a deeper level.

Granted the Party can warp laws and control knowledge, its greatest tool for taking away freedoms and controlling the public is its ability to revise history. This idea is displayed throughout the novel, and is fundamental to our understanding of how perfect the Party is. A prime example occurs when Winston is at his job at the Ministry of Truth, the manipulators of history and truth. He contemplates how he simply substitutes one lie for another in his daily work rewriting history, and explains, “And so it was with every class of recorded fact, great or small. Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which, finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain" (Orwell 36). This highlights the genius of the Party’s control; there is no history. As mentioned earlier, the Party controls all publications, and destroys all facts that are not helpful. Much of it is simply fake information that bolsters the Party. Thus, when Winston changes

This was first demonstrated in the allegory of the cave through the idea of locking prisoners in a cave since birth. Thus, withholding all the realness of the world to manipulate them to believe that shadows were the truth. Once released to life beyond shadows the prisoner saw understood that the shadows were reflections of real things. Similarly, the Party used language to manipulate the citizens of Oceania in this way. Newspeak was perhaps the most important message that Orwell put forth in the novel. The control of language is the control of how individuals express themselves. Thus, in 1984 individuals were not even permitted to have thoughts that went against the government. Fear kept those thoughts away, but eventually the Party planned to use Newspeak instead of English. This is because Newspeak was to eliminate the idea (the language) of overthrowing the

We have freedom, but are we free? You can have your phone at school/work, but you cannot use it unless specifically given permission to. This is a paradox. A paradox is “a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true” (Merriam-Webster). According to Liah Greenfield, a professor at Boston University and a three-time novelist with books in Political Science, totalitarian societies are democracies with either no cultural traditions or too much free thought. Greenfield goes on to argue we have always had democracy, totalitarian, and nationalism, we just did not have names for them. In fact, we did not have the term “totalitarian society” until one of Winston Churchill’s speeches of Mussolini in 1946. She next brings up that totalitarians are nearly always permeating throughout cultural centers. Finally, she states, the university scene is the seed for totalitarian thoughts. She even mentions that they are like Minitrues, from George Orwell’s 1984. College students change statements or take statements out of context to use to their own benefit. The only difference is that universities do not have a head figure like Big Brother. Greenfield has solid thoughts, but she never gives facts to prove totalitarians are everywhere. She thinks totalitarians are reactions to modernity and too much free thought. George Orwell uses Newspeak, thoughtcrime, and telescreen in 1984 as well o show not giving the people of Oceania a voice will prevent

Fear, although it may not seem to be, is an ever constant emotion that is going through everyone during many moments of their day. Some may not admit to it and others will let you know whether it may be a phobia, fear of presenting in front of the boss, or just not wanting to go through something alone. Power is always through those that have a greater role or have the urge to make a change to the higher power. In at least every book or movie, there is one person that shows their fear and/or power to the audience which brings them more to their character. Power can, in the slightest way, bring fear into others to change the way that they behave and create an even bigger power to rule over. In the movie V for Vendetta, fear is shown through the movie as, fear in the main character herself, Evey and her actions, the people apart of the London government with the power of V’s government and the rising of Lewis Prothero and symbolism of both fear and power within the movie. In comparison, George Orwell's novel 1984 shows in great length of fear through the main character Winston Smith shows his fears by going against Big Brother, government of Oceania taking over the lives of innocent people and symbolism of both fear and power within the novel. Power and fear show great comparison in these to classic government feuds by two people that fear the most.

Imagine living in a world with three totalitarian powers that have absolute control over its people. In this world, two of the powers are always at war while the other is an ally. Suddenly, both powers become allies and fight against the other power. As a result, the citizens in both factions are oblivious that the war had even happened between the two. This is because both factions have instantly altered the past so absolutely no evidence is able to prove a war between them had ever happened. Sadly, this is practiced in Oceania everyday to its newspapers, pictures, movies, and other forms of media. The altering or destruction of the past is the main cause to their rule over its people. It has caused them to come to power and stay in power

In George Orwell’s 1984 Power is gained most effectively through control, fear and violence. Compared to a government like that of America’s, 1984 creates a more threatening structure of government where the public is limited from freedom and happiness. 1984 shows a world of a society where only the upper class has power and freedom from the harsh treatment that the general population receives. The idea of Big Bother makes the population of Oceania believe they are being watched over by a powerful force and oppresses them so they feel powerless and unable to do anything against a “great” force like Big Brother. The well-being of others depends on their willingness to agree with Big Brother and abide by their laws, if you think otherwise then you will be an accuser of thought-crime will be vaporized and removed from society or harshly punished through rigorous treatment and torture methods as was Winston and Julia. Power creates problems for others in which they do not deserve.

The Government has a lot more power and control over us than you may think. According to popularmechanics.com, there are an estimated 30 million surveillance cameras now deployed in the United States, shooting 4 billion hours of footage a week. Americans are being watched at all times, more than ever. George Orwell’s novel 1984 is a great example to what a government would look like if it had complete surveillance and power over its citizens. The United States might not be at the same level as Big Brother in 1984 yet, but it certainly looks like it might be going in that direction.

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

After capturing Winston Smith for thought crime, O’Brien describes real power as “tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your choosing” (Orwell 266). By this he explains that true power is being able to choose what people minds think. In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, Winston, a Ministry of Truth worker who hates the Party, slowly starts to disobey the Party rules such as having freedom of thought and individuality. He entrusts a Party member, O’Brien, with his secret for the hatred of the Party. O’Brien reveals that he is a high Party leader who will fix Winston’s corrupt mind. Throughout this novel, it demonstrates that government is controlling people’s minds and

Since without language thought is nearly impossible the party believes that by altering the language they can impose their untrue reality. They will be able to restrict it to the point that even a person’s thoughts are manipulated; things such as individualism and imagination will cease to exist. Which ultimately will give the Party total control over society. The newspeak engineer also goes on to state “ In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible because there will be no words in which to express it.” (55) This quote proves how vital control of language is to the party, it is the key to becoming a controlled state. By creating the element of Newspeak in 1984 Orwell is warning against the potential consequences of manipulating language to benefit people in power and how this can eventually lead to a totalitarian state.

War Is Peace. Freedom Is Slavery. Ignorance Is Strength. The party slogan of Ingsoc illustrates the sense of contradiction which characterizes the novel 1984. That the book was taken by many as a condemnation of socialism would have troubled Orwell greatly, had he lived to see the aftermath of his work. 1984 was a warning against totalitarianism and state sponsored brutality driven by excess technology. Socialist idealism in 1984 had turned to a total loss of individual freedom in exchange for false security and obedience to a totalitarian government, a dysutopia. 1984 was more than a simple warning to the socialists of Orwell's time. There are many complex philosophical issues buried deep within

In “1984,” Orwell describes a terrible society where totalitarianism reaches the top. In this circumstance, personality and freedom are strangled and thought is controlled. The most frightening aspect is that citizens have no sense right and wrong. Without a doubt, the reason why these happen is the governing of the Party, which is controlling everything in the country, Oceania. Orwell uses the control of language to show the idea that the Party solidifies its dominant position.