Examples Of Totalitarianism In 1984 By George Orwell

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.

Famous theoretical physicist Albert Einstein once said, “Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth” ( ). Winston Smith, main character in 1984, would agree wholeheartedly. Living in a world entirely controlled by Big Brother, Winston and all other citizens of Oceania must live their lives in the confines of totalitarianism, specifically Ingsoc. This authoritarian rule is so strict, that these inhabitants are constantly subject to patrol by the Though Police. Winston even boldly states that: “Nothing is yours except the few cubic centimeters in your skull” (Orwell 26).

In 1984, George Orwell describes a dystopian future in which the people are completely controlled. Every aspect of life is carefully monitored. While in reality totalitarian regimes have been overthrown, Orwell warns us of an even more grim future. In 1984 the Party has complete control and there is no hope for their demise. Several methods of control are used to keep Oceania's people in line, and therefore, ensuring the continued existence of the Party.

In the book 1984 by George Orwell, Orwell describes a society based on totalitarianism throughout the life of Winston Smith, a guy who believed that the party would not be able to brainwash him and would be able to rebel against them. When Winston was taken by the party, O'Brien and Winston had a discussion about the society and how Winston believed that eventually somebody would overthrow the power. O'Brien proved to him that getting overpowered would not happen as he put Winston through the suffering. O'Brien implies that a society based on hate and suffering could exist for a long time as long as the ruler knows how to play the cards correctly.

1984 by George Orwell is an extremely negative outlook on a futuristic, seemingly utopian society. People inhabiting the land of Oceania are enslaved to the government, most without even realizing it. The Party uses its many members to enforce its methods of control on the population. While a bit extreme, Orwell was attempting to warn people about the dangers of totalitarianism.

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.

Literary critic Stephen Ingle explains the goal of the Party to be the destruction of its people's privacy and elimination of their personal identity so they don't stand separate from the state (127). In addition to the Party’s control of private actions, they also dictate people’s emotions to further control and corrupt them to the aim of the Party. In the process called two minutes hate, the Party subjects its people to images that put them in a rage against the country they are at war with and the main conspirator Goldstein and increases their love for Big Brother. As Ingle puts it, “ … a totalitarian elite would… seek to control human emotions… All feelings of passion would henceforth be directed towards the Party…

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.

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.

Freedom - having the right to act, speak or think as one wants. Over time, people in power have challenged this concept of freedom, through the establishment of a “perfect” totalitarian society which includes a government system which is dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state. Both George Orwells novel 1984, and Kurt Wimmer’s Si-Fi thriller Equilibrium were written with the purpose of warning readers of the dangers of totalitarian governments. Through reference to symbolism, setting and character it is evident that, when acted on, the perils of totalitarian control deplete the physical and emotional strength of individuals in society.

In the totalitarian society of George Orwell’s “1984” natural impulses, namely thinking and feeling, are forcibly repressed by the Party, which essentially strips away the humanity of the individual. The government of Oceania’s main goal is to eliminate the need for the citizens to think, as it provides the Party with more control. The slogan “War is Peace Freedom is Slavery Ignorance is Strength,” (Orwell, 4) demonstrates the Party’s ultimate aim of having the citizens believe they are, in fact, better off not knowing or understanding anything. The government demonizes thinking for oneself, as demonstrated by Winston’s fear of being punished for starting a journal, “He had committed—would still have committed, even if he had never set pen to

In George Orwell’s “1984”, Orwell is cautioning his readers of the dangers of totalitarianism and the loss of language.

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

George Orwell’s 1984, widely known for its chilling descriptions of the dystopian society of Oceania, warns of a world in which individuality is virtually destroyed as one oppressive government controls all aspects of life. Decades after the novel’s publication in 1949, various nations today draw unsettling parallels with the characteristics of the government described in 1984. North Korea is one such example, particularly seen as a controversial topic in global debate. Although North Korea and Oceania in 1984 both possess totalitarian governments that attempt to control and restrict individualism, the means in which each government originated and gained authority differ.

In the totalitarian world, which Orwell describes, language is the most significant and effective approach to maintain the rule. From Orwell’s perspective, everything including language, which is particularly powerful, belongs to political measure. In fact, language is the fundamental motivation of creating a nation or a tribe. It is also the foundation of thought because Human’s thought must rely on the language expressing. Then it could be deduced by analogy that controlling human’s language equal controlling human’s thought. Except expressing, it has the ability to build facts. The Party controls citizens’ thinking through controlling the language so that the Party applies euphemistic words to mislead public and prettify its policy. It is unimaginable that language contributes to the rule. The totalitarian utilize every language method to hold the dominant position.