Examples Of Totalitarianism In 1984 By George Orwell

1984 Essay In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, every citizen of Oceania lives under a harsh totalitarian rule that suppresses independence and individual thought. The Party uses this suppression to their advantage as each citizen lives with the idea of the Thought Police and Big Brother looming over their heads. In 1984, Big Brother completely strips individuals of their defining qualities and identities in order to promote sameness and subordination. One of the most effective ways The Party erases individual identities is through the manipulation of thought.

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.

In 1984, we see the the daily routine coming out of one character’s perspective living in a dystopian society. This one perspective comes out of the middle-aged man, Winston, which develops anti-hero character traits over time as he questions everybodys and his own existence . Not everybody has the ability to simply think and question like Winston does, because winston has the opportunity to look at false information in the Ministry of Truth. He belongs to only a small proportion of the party members that aren’t brainwashed completely. Social groups other than the party are either silenced or marginalized as naive, unintelligent, and incapable of being rebellious. This is because of the successful fear tactics and oppression from the government of Oceania that caused the impression of every single comrade to be dehumanized.

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

In this totalitarian world, the Party has complete control and uses the Ministry of Truth, Love, and Peace to enact the complete opposite of what these suggest. The people who grow up in the Party are not aware of private standards of morals or the actual loss of humanity. They grow up not having actual feelings/emotions. Take Julia for instance, when Winston tries telling her about a personal moment from his past involving his mother and sister, Julia doesn't respond like a normal human being would. Instead, she says "I expect you were a beastly little swine in those days.” (Orwell pg. 136) He even tries to explain to her the point of the story but she goes back to sleep, not caring. Her response is not of someone who understands his story,

In totalitarianism, the government controls every aspect of life. This is the kind of activity that occurs in 1984. This is the story of 1984, a novel written about a totalitarian society called Oceania by George Orwell in 1949. Then there came Winston Smith who is plotting to overthrow Big Brother and rebel because he doesn’t like his rules. 1984 really shows that rebellion and Big Brother doesn’t go very nicely together.

In George Orwell’s 1984, Winston Smith lives in Airstrip One, a place where the Party, government currently in charge, keeps an iron fist around its citizens with constant monitoring by Big Brother, the Party leader. Massive images of Big Brother complete with his mustache and dark hair are displayed throughout London, often accompanied by “Big Brother is watching you”. The Party’s slogan is “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery and Ignorance is Strength”. The citizens of Airstrip One are conditioned to religiously follow and serve the Party from birth, with children often spying on their parents and reporting them in for ‘thoughtcrime’, which is the thought of treacherous acts towards the party. The world which Orwell depicts in 1984 is his view of totalitarianism ‘perfectly’ executed.

Imagine a world where no one could live without fear. Given the thought of this, one might presume that the society is dangerous and is repleted with criminal activity. However, the reality is that the government is mentally holding their citizens captive by imprisoning them into a world that dissuades one from acting on impulse. Everywhere where interactions occur between citizens lay technology that monitors everyone 's actions which prevent many from expressing themselves. Even one’s children are taught to rebel against their parent’s if any “incriminating” action occurs. Essentially, people are trapped in a world where privacy doesn’t exist which forces many to be loyal to their government. While this scenario might be absurd and

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.

There's a small a part of the population that believes that the elite are pushing our society to a state of control. 1984 does a good job of showing us the path if that were to happen in our time. The idea of this may sound crazy to others but there is always truth to some parts of it. In the book 1984 George orwell depicts a path in which our world could gone down. Although some people may argue that our society is not going down a path of totalitarian state there is evidence that it could happen.

Totalitarian Domination In George Orwell’s 1984, the society is negatively impacted by Big Brother and the Party’s totalitarian control, the limitations on individual expressiveness, and what it means to be “human”. Through the customs of one society, Orwell predicts what our future world could look like if we allow our government unregulated control. Issues such as the lack of input from community members and the lack of question towards laws and the customs created solely by Big Brother and the Party pose a largely negative effect on the improvement and survival of our society. Additional issues with a totalitarian government include the issue of persuasion over true belief.

Solipsism is the belief that nothing exists outside of oneself. Orwell used this term in his novel, 1984. Society can imply this definition to the many objects of recent news. Orwell used 1984 as a helpful reminder of what could happen if society continued down the path it was going. The novel was a horrific example of what could happen, but not what would happen.

Throughout novels and plays alike, authors highlight the values of a culture or society in their novels by monitoring the protagonist’s journey. In 1984, George Orwell creates a totalitarianism super state, Oceania, to serve as the mainstream and societal morals that accentuate the protagonists unorthodox ethics. The state’s societal moral values are determined by the media through the government’s process of doublethink and application of Newspeak. Orwell highlights the societal values of Oceania by following the protagonist, Winston Smith, as an alienated character of society who differs from the population of Oceania because he believes in traditional history, the logical process, and democratic governmental ideals.

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.

Over seventy years after he lived and wrote, the works of English journalist and democratic socialist George Orwell, continue to fascinate, stimulate and enrage his readers concerning the structure of society and the organization of government. The controversial writer openly spoke out against the absolute power of any government, warning that a fascist government would deprive its people of their basic freedoms and liberties. Orwell’s novel, 1984, serves as a reminder of the danger of totalitarianism by depicting a future in which all citizens live under the constant surveillance of the “Big Brother.” Through the main character, Winston Smith, Orwell demonstrates the dangers of totalitarianism; writing of the consequences of absolute government in several essays and proposing socialism as an alternative. To Orwell, the role of government is to represent the common people rather than the old and the privileged.