Fear And Power In 1984 And George Orwell's Novel 1984

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.

The fictional novel, 1984 by George Orwell is about a world run by a totalitarian government, called the Party, which takes away all the freedoms of its citizens by watching over them with high surveillance technology. In addition, the Party uses dishonesty and betrayal to expose people’s true feelings of Oceania, the country where the story takes place. Betrayal is seen throughout society in Oceania through government manipulation and actions made by Winston, Julia and O’Brien, the main characters. Winston’s true self-betrayal comes when he realizes his new passionate love for Big Brother, the leader of the Party and Oceania. The Party fears a rebellion against them, as a result they use different methods to eliminate trust between

Being structured on fear inhibits the possibility of a civilization's endurance. Fear can cause people to become unpredictable, to the point of sacrificing strong beliefs they once held. In 1984, Winston is determined to not sacrifice his relationship with Julia, as they both tell O'Brien that they are unwilling "'to separate and never see one another again'"(Orwell, 173), and when tortured, Winston holds on to the fact that he has held to his beliefs and not betrayed Julia(273). However, when placed in Room 101, facing his greatest fear, Winston quickly forgets his will to not hurt his relationship and his hope in the fact that he has not been unfaithful to her. When his fear gets closer, he exclaims, "'Do it to Julia...I don't care what you do to her'"(286). This exposure to Winston's greatest fear caused him to behave contradictory to his previous belief of loyalty

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.

When George Orwell wrote his novel, 1984, Hitler and Mussolini had recently been defeated in World War II, the nuclear arms race was warming up and the Soviet Union was a threat to the world. Although these are not problems in today's society, 1984 is still very relevant in current time, "The twentieth century will soon be over, but political terror still survives and this is why Nineteen Eighty-four remains valid today” (Ricks 5). In the novel 1984 the main character Winston is faced with challenges when he meets a woman named Julia. Julia makes him question his loyalty to the government. They are living under a totalitarian government that sees everything you do, hears everything you say, and knows everything you think. George Orwell’s novel 1984 is still relevant in today’s society.

A leader who is feared by his people has much more control than a leader who is loved by his people. From the beginning of governments hundreds of years ago, leaders and government rulers have discovered that fear is what will keep you in power and prevent chaos in your country. The book, The Prince, written by Niccolo Machiavelli explains this. In one of his quotes, he says "Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.” 

The concept of being forced to follow society and the government through fear and torture is represented and can be connected through the book 1984, written by George Orwell and through an article from Sky News titled, North Korea defector: We follow Kim Jong Un because we're scared. In 1984, Big Brother wants and envisions a perfect society enough to where they are way too overpowering. They control everything, they watch every move you make, they know the ins and outs of your life, your family is broken up, there are no relationships and the last thing that you are able to enjoy is personal privacy. Telescreens, line against the walls to keep no space unwatched for any possible rebellious or abnormal act. The government controls everybody and everything. A quote from chapter 5 sums up much of the lack of privacy individuals in London are given. “It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself – anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face was itself a punishable offense. There was even a word for it in Newspeak: facecrime, it was called.” Big Brother’s advanced technology and special tactics to always watch you are so precise that the even the smallest act of rebellion could give

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.

Before every sporting event at Bexley High School the announcer says, “we live in a country with freedoms like no other”. He is right. We do have freedoms that aren’t afforded any other place on earth, but as Americans we often take those freedoms for granted and assume we have them even when we might not. Often times we are being oppressed not by a law, but fear. This control by fear is used both by the government in George Orwell’s 1984 and by modern American media and politicians.

Based on events from the past and what is shown in 1984, I believe a society focused on fear and hatred will not be able to flourish. O’Brien argued, in the novel, that The Party has control over external reality because nothing exists outside the mind, only The Party exists (Orwell). Winston responded to this by saying that a society that lives on fear and hatred would have no vitality, it would disintegrate, and it would commit suicide (Orwell). I personally agree with Winston because a society needs to breathe or have freedoms in order to survive. In essence, I believe a society based on hate and suffering, such as what O’Brien described, could not exist for long, and the intoxication of power and thrill of victory could not be enough motivation for people to continue living without friendship or love, and I could not live in such a suffering society.

In book one, Orwell sets up this dystopian society in which the fear you have controls the actions you take. There are telescreens set up in every room and everywhere outside allowing the parties and Big Brother to see everything the proles do. With this, rises paranoia because now people are afraid to do certain things that would be considered unlawful, like writing or committing thoughtcrime. The idea of fear is already strong in this book, but the fact that the author puts posters and telescreens saying “Big Brother is Watching You,” outside on most the buildings places the paranoia at a higher level. The proles are told that Big brother is the leader of the party, but they don’t even know if he actually exists. Another example that can

V for Vendetta is set in a futuristic dystopian world in which Britain is ruled by a totalitarian-fascist party, and follows the events triggered by a masked shadowy revolutionary known only known as ‘V’. BNW is a controversial masterpiece and is also about a dystopian society where the government has outlawed free-speech and individuality and uses psychological conditioning to control the people. Political ideologies inherently shape people and their nature. The representation of politics has a reciprocal relationship to human nature. This is evident in Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ and, in which the composers reveal the complex interactions between human nature and politics.

The book, 1984 by George Orwell, is about the external and internal conflicts that take place between the two main characters, Winston and Big Brother and how the two government ideas of Democracy and totalitarianism take place within the novel. Orwell wrote the novel around the idea of communism/totalitarianism and how society would be like if it were to take place. In Orwell’s mind democracy and communism created two main characters, Winston and Big Brother. Big Brother represents the idea of the totalitarian party. In comparison to Big Brother, Winston gives and represents the main thought of freedom, in the novel Winston has to worry about the control of the thought police because he knows that the government with kill anyone who

As human beings, there are distinct characteristics that separate us from feral animals; the ability to create, to appreciate art, to curiously question the world and most importantly to sympathize for our kind. However, when that exact nature is stripped from us, we tend to become mindless, restricted, cold, and degraded as an entire race. This is the setting of George Orwell’s last book, 1984. A world where human thought is limited, war and poverty lie on every street corner, and one cannot trust nobody or nothing. It is all due to the one reigning political entity, the Ingsoc Party, who imposes complete power over all aspects of life for all citizens. There is no creative or intellectual thought, no art, culture or history, and no

Hopelessness, deep and gaping ever lasting hopelessness. If the course of humanity fails to change, to this everyone will succumb. That is the message that George Orwell has left for the future, and it would be in humanity's best interest to heed. Winston Smith of 1984 lived in a world that had been consumed by the everlasting abyss of injustice. Eventually this world became too much for our hopeful protagonist and thus, like the future that is bound to a horrific fate, he succumbed. “It was like swimming against a current that swept you backwards however hard you struggled, and then suddenly deciding to turn round and go with the current instead of opposing it” (Orwell 248). No one in this world is any different than Winston, they will follow his path like all of those before them, following the five stages of Kübler-Ross. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance make up the cycle that every feeble life will follow and that Winston grew to know all too well.