Totalitarian governments rule every aspect of a society through rigid expectations, execrable consequences, and ruthless conformity. In George Orwell’s novel 1984, the author employs the use of a foreboding and dystopian fictional tale to vehemently warn his audience of an ominous fate in totalitarianism that consists of banished individuality and merciless rule in hopes of avoiding it in the future to come. Severely avoiding totalitarianism and conformity ensures the liberty to individuality and differing opinions: the lifeblood of the political arena and democracy of a nation. Humans are guaranteed the right to speak, think, and act freely. However, in George Orwell’s society of 1984, the denial of individuality is necessary to survive; …show more content…
As the most brutal choice a country can make, war derives severe pain and an ultimate suffering. One of the most popular slogans of 1984 in Oceania is “War is peace” ironically and paradoxically enough because anyone that has ever been involved or affected by a war can attest to its hellish qualities that wreak a bloody havoc. (Orwell 164). As a mere facet to control citizens, raging battles employ fear in every aspect because as long as war rages on, the longer intense government control is justified. The fact that corruption goes unnoticed during times of extreme tragedy is reinforced as Malcolm Pittock, author of “the hell of Nineteen Eighty-Four,” says “In Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell depicts a society which, strictly speaking, can never exist because its rulers have the kind of powers traditionally attributed to demons: the closed immobility of the society depends, that is, on its rulers having access to resources which human beings, however wicked and however ordinarily powerful, cannot command” (Pittock). Afterall, that very extreme serves to warn the readers of totalitarianism. Because of authors such as Orwell, today’s climate will thankfully draw full awareness of this corruption with tools such as total access to the media, though it does still occur. In the novel, the Party could elicit total …show more content…
Rebellion, a fight against conformity, is justifiable to avoid this fate as compliance is the forfeiture of independence. Furthermore, individuality is the main threat to a totalitarian government, which can be what pushes a revolution because creativity is the lifeblood of humanity. Author of the novel 1984, George Orwell inspirationally wrote to instill a sense of rightfully deserved freedom and an opposition to governments that aim to rule with corrupt authority. The way totalitarian governments begin and stay in power is through the suffering of the people, and in most cases war is what provides the justification of intense government control. In essence, it is the willingness to conform and give up God-given human rights that empowers totalitarian rule and the obliterates the freedom of
Nations all around the world are still healing from the wounds of twentieth century totalitarianism, yet more seems to be on the horizon. In his 1984 magnum opus, George Orwell warns future generations of the many dangers of allowing government, or the powerful few, from being the chiefs of law expression and history using the eerie, all-powerful dystopian Party. Unfortunately, it is a warning few have truly heeded in the past half century. Resulting from a lack of written laws, the Party may prosecute its citizens relentlessly and without reason. Moreover, the Party maintains an iron grip on all published information, ensuring a death hold on all free expression and education. Yet, above all, the Party controls history; it rewrites, revises and republishes the past to secure their totalitarian future. In spite of these warnings, the decades following the publication of this novel saw nations continue on the
1984 has come and gone. The cold war is over. The collapse of oppressive totalitarian regimes leads to the conclusion that these governments by their nature generate resistance and are doomed to failure. The fictional world of George Orwell's novel, 1984, is best described as hopeless; a nightmarish dystopia where the omnipresent State enforces perfect conformity among members of a totalitarian Party through indoctrination, propaganda, fear, and ruthless punishment. In the aftermath of the fall of capitalism and nuclear war, the world has been divided among three practically identical totalitarian nation-states. A state of perpetual war and poverty is the rule in Oceania. However, this is merely a backdrop, far from the most terrifying
Totalitarianism diminishes the idea of individuality and destroys all chances of self-improvement, and human’s natural hunger for knowledge. In George Orwell’s famous novel, “1984”, totalitarianism is clearly seen in the exaggerated control of the state over every single citizen, everyday, everywhere. Totalitarianism can also be seen in the book “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley, in which humans are synthetically made and conditioned for their predestinated purpose on earth. The lack of individualism will lead a community towards a dystopia in which freedom is vanished by the uncontrolled power of the state.
George Orwell’s 1984 is more than just a novel, it is a warning to a potential dystopian society of the future. Written in 1949, Orwell envisioned a totalitarian government under the figurehead Big Brother. In this totalitarian society, every thought and action is carefully examined for any sign of rebellion against the ruling party. Emotion has been abolished and love is nonexistent; an entire new language is being drafted to reduce human thought to the bare minimum. In a society such as the one portrayed in 1984, one is hardly human. In George Orwell’s 1984, the party uses fear, oppression, and propaganda to strip the people of their humanity.
George Orwell’s key objective throughout his novel, 1984, was to convey to his readers the imminent threat of the severe danger that totalitarianism could mean for the world. Orwell takes great measures to display the horrifying effects that come along with complete and dominant control that actually comes along with totalitarian government. In Orwell’s novel, personal liberties and individual freedoms that are protected and granted to many Americans today, are taken away and ripped from the citizen’s lives. The government takes away freedom and rights from the people so that the ruling class (which makes up the government), while reign with complete supremacy and possess all power.
George Orwell’s political parable, 1984, portrays an oppressive and dictatorial government, which thereby presents to the reader a palpable sense of danger and malevolence born out of the creation of a counter utopic totalitarian regime. Orwell’s nihilistic creation of Oceania, presents a world wherein every aspect of private and public life is abhorrently regimented and regulated by the autocratic ‘Big Brother’. The whole population at large is forced to conform to the ideals and beliefs of the tyrannical ‘party’ as a means of not only survival but also a means of being able to live an unabated existence. The party opposes all forms of individuality and
Despotic governments, public welfare, illusions of utopia, despondency, individualism, conformity, protection against foreign invasion, and paranoia are conflicting ideas yet all exist within societies past and present. George Orwell prophetically writes about a futuristic society in his book entitled 1984. He uses hindsight of past and present political authority to illustrate the possibility of additional states imposing oppressed control. Orwell asserts the conflicting ideas with, “…the three slogans of the Party: War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength,” (Orwell, 4). In a clever, applicable, and daunting approach, Orwell challenges the so-called pragmatism in London, England. The antagonism of Big Brother opposes
In the book 1984 by George Orwell, a totalitarian government is emphasized. Throughout the story, it is revealed that all the government cares about is war and power within themselves. It is clearly shown that the intentions of the government in Oceania are self-serving and not benevolent. With the use of Newspeak and Doublethink, Orwell further shows that the intentions of the government are one sided and are only effective for themselves. The way in which the government runs its people expresses the idea of selfishness and that all benefits are only for the government. Through the use of surveillance, torture, and complete removal of people's privacy, the government is able to manipulate and scare people into obeying the government, which in turn only makes the government stronger.
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
Orwell’s 1984 is a direct allusion to our past and a warning for the future; that a society completely controlled by the government leads to a meaningless life and the decay of humanity in the human race. The definition of a totalitarian government is a government that has complete control over the actions and lives of its citizens. In order to keep that control they use tactics such as fear and mistrust among the people to keep them at bay and disbanded. These same tactics have been used by real groups in the world such as Stalin’s rule over the Soviet Union.
The concept behind the difference amongst people within a society is crucial to the improvement and betterment of living conditions. The individuality of people in modern-day society is upheld and encouraged, where each person is typically given the freedom to choose and not bound by an overbearing power. With too much control and power over society, the concept surrounding individualism disintegrates as one’s freedom of expression and choice is eliminated. In George Orwell’s 1984, the dominance of the totalitarian state and the several aspects integrated into the day-to-day lives of Oceania’s people substantiates their desire for power and control which suppresses the individuality of each person. The Party’s use of a newer form of
Readers of George Orwell have long appreciated the significance of his representation of a futuristic dystopian world. ‘Big brother is watching you,’ ‘Thought police,’ ‘Ministry of love,’ ‘Hate week,’ are expressions that Orwell used to represent his preoccupation with the totalitarian regimes of 20th century. More than one out of four Americans said they have red his dystopia and use his expressions in their language. Many critics claim that the novel opened up new prospects of political awareness. ‘1984’ is a political fiction in which the government eliminates all forms of political opposition, be it real or imaginary. The atmosphere of the novel is completely depressing because there is no hope for change. The government dominates people morally and forces them to live in constant fear. His terrifying vision of a future in which all aspects of society are controlled by a tyrannical system attracted the
Historically, literature has always echoed the key issues and themes present during that time. In the period which Orwell wrote this novel, totalitarian government was a popular concept seeing implementation around the world such as Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and Mussolini’s Italy. In the novel 1984. While Orwell’s world is a fictional one, it can be said that he uses it as a voice for social commentary, and he predictions as to what a world would be like if totalitarian governments would rule the world. This essay will aim to explore how Orwell goes about doing this.
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.
Naturally we as humans have the drive to be different, to stand out in a crowd. We like as humans like to express individuality, we like to say what we want and do as we please. We don’t like to be controlled or told what to do. Although these are nice thoughts to have, but reality of it is we don’t always receive that freedom. Time and time again our freedom, of expression, opinion and worship are taken away with in the blink of an eye. This type of event happens in all corners of the world, taken away by governments and deranged individuals, whether it’s Soviet Russia, Imperialism or even aspects of the Nazi party. George Orwell is the author of some of the most well know allegorical novels, Animal Farm and 1984 cover two of the three governments, The Nazi party and the Russian revolution. He writes about these concepts because he sees and understands what is going on around him. He saw how easily a government could turn from civil ran to a Totalitarian government. In Orwell’s Novel’s Animal Farm and 1984, he pulls ideas and concepts from existing totalitarian governments, throughout his works he focuses mainly on the idea of corruption and the effects it has on lower social classes. His purpose of his allegorical writings is to warn his readers and anyone who could listen to the cold hard truth any of these types of government could easily because the overall ruler, easily take away what makes them human. He believed that power in the government should stay