George Orwell 's Dystopian Society

“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” (Orwell 4). These three seemingly contradictory statements are the national slogans of the Party, the totalitarian regime government in George Orwell’s classic novel, 1984. Through psychological manipulation, an authoritarian government can have many harmful effects on society. Orwell’s novel is a prime example of this, and the oversight and regulation the Party has over its citizens is evident throughout the course of the novel. Orwell shows the reader the dangers of a totalitarian government, and the ways in which it can completely manipulate its citizens.

Depending on the approach to the role of the individual in a dystopian society, there can be a few differences in the capabilities and limitations in their ability to enact change. You can have the capability to successfully be part of a group that all want change like Theodore Faron in The Children of Men. You can also be limited by having to work alone and in attempt to join a group, you are crushed similar to Winston Smith in George Orwell’s 1984. These differences also come hand in hand with the Dystopian features each society brings. The failed fertility of the human race in The Children of Men, weakens the morale of society to where those with power such as Xan can easily take over and run the government with a dictatorial style. In 1984, Society is under complete totalitarian rule with many more restrictions than the society Theo is in. Winston is very limited with what he can do because he is constantly monitored, knowledge is controlled and the population is essentially brainwashed. Theo is limited as an individual because he doesn’t have anything to offer to a dying society that could potentially save it.

A dystopian society is one with restricted freedom, whose values are worshipped by citizens who live in fear of surveillance or punishment. In 1984 by George Orwell, the protagonist lives in a futuristic world, controlled by big brother and the inner party over aspects of human life. In Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr, the fear of egalitarian policies, and the dangers of equality take over. In The Purge by James DeMonaco, the citizens relief to self-regulate violence and to protect themselves and their family from the protagonist. All dystopian literature shares similar characteristics, winston which is the protagonist in 1984, he lives in a society where the government takes over and tries to brainwash the citizens making them believe they live in a illusion of a perfect world. Winston is depicted and physically ill, but strong enough not to give in. “Who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.” (Orwell 12). George Bergeron is the protagonist in Harrison Bergeron, the government makes him wear a radio, which broadcasts noise over these radios to interrupt the thoughts of smart people like George. ‘’Screams and barking cries of consternation came from the television set’’ (Vonnegut 2). Sergeant was the protagonist in the purge, he risked his life by saving others life for a night of horror. The Purge, Harrison Bergeron, and 1984 were all based off government, society where there is limiting and controlling the population. ‘’We

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.

“He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.”

The dysfunctional, deranged society of George Orwell’s classic novel, 1984, is more relevant today to United States citizens than ever. In the book and in our country currently, the ruling governments both attempt to dominate their people through consistent force. The United States is constantly policing its citizens to maintain order, which is similar to the Party’s actions in 1984. As our present-day society continues to progress, certain aspects of citizens’ lives mirror those found in 1984, such as the overbearing control of the government, the limited language amongst the people, and the new security methods.

It has been said that literature and art reflect common beliefs and sentiments from the time period in which it was created, especially so for literature. Throughout history it has been observed that a person’s writing reveal historical moments and the gathered consciousness of a generation. George Orwell wrote “1984” in response to the impeding totalitarianism of the Soviet Union over Europe on the cusp of WWII after having experience the regime first hand in Spain. “1984” displays the fears of living under a totalitarian society along, warning readers not to become mindless followers to the government and to question authority figures along with the order of things. Similarly, “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley was written partially in

It is always amazing to think of living in a utopia but naturally, us as humans cannot create the perfect society as it will become a dystopia. A utopia is a society where everything is ideal and perfect for everyone in it (“Utopia”). But a dystopia is a society that is the opposite of perfection and characterized by human misery. A dystopia of gives an illusion of a utopia to its citizens (“Dystopia”). In George Orwell's 1984, creates a utopian society by brainwashing the citizens and removing those that are too smart for Oceania. They are constantly under surveillance to keep people from rebelling and to make it seem like a utopia. The KKK portrays a utopia by making racism, and the killing of other races or religions a positive thing to its members or those they are attempting to recruit. They believe in white-supremacy and other races should not exist. The illusion of a utopia is destroyed since everyone in the society is constantly under surveillance in Oceania. And the use of propaganda to gain more members for the KKK. The KKK and the city of Oceania both attempt to form utopias because they manipulate its people with propaganda to give off an illusion of a utopia.

Knowing this information, Orwell makes creating a new language, Newspeak, one of the top priorities of the Party. This newly created language not only holds implications for the people of Oceania but also symbolizes the struggles and power grabs of the Party. Newspeak is the primary vehicle for the Party to gain control over its people throughout the novel, and in doing so, the Party is not only symbolizing the power of their organization but also expressing the struggle of the citizens of Oceania to push back against them (Berkes). The Party, however, unlike most other regimes which try to control their citizens by expanding language with political jargon, begins by making Newspeak less complex and including fewer words stating, “We’re destroying words…hundreds of them, every day.” (Orwell 51). This simplifying of the language serves multiple purposes. First, it serves to symbolize the empowerment of the Party as it gives them greater control over their population’s thought processes. Second, this simplification of the language serves to make the population’s thought process, not only simpler but shorter and with less deep, critical thinking. This short-term thinking serves to make the people compliant to follow the Party’s rhetoric and in the end

“No one man should have all that power/The clocks ticking, I just count the hours/Stop tripping, I’m tripping off the power/Till then, fuck that, the world’s ours.”

Throughout time numerous individuals have attempted to predict what the future holds for our society. If one was to narrow their focus on the past century they would see the works and predictions of Aldous Huxley and George Orwell. Both Huxley and Orwell, as one could infer, composed novels that describe future societies and their inner workings. Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World, where members of society originate from a lab and who’s lives are pre-determined by the controllers. The controllers of Huxley’s futuristic society’s fundamental goal is to create an ideal community where every member achieves optimal happiness through the lives that are chosen for them and through the use of a euphoria inducing drug named Soma. The main

Throughout history there have been societies known to base their political and moral structure based on hate towards a certain group that they find to be unfitting within their preset standards. Various groups whom have based their entire campaign on hate have managed to maintain power and a presence through long periods of time and some are still present today yet they no longer posses the same amount of influence which they once had through their uprising. Although there have been several occasions in which these societies have demonstrated their passionate hate towards societies they tend to not withstand power and stability during a long period of time doing so because they hold no actual tangible power. In the novel 1984, George Orwell depicts a dystopian society where every source of reliability has been altered by the government. Within the society they've constructed a Ministry of Truth, a department specifically dedicated to modify and rewrite the content of all books, newspapers, articles, and documents for its own benefits."changes in political alignment, or mistaken prophecies uttered by Big Brother, have been rewritten a dozen times still stood on the files bearing its original data, and no

In George Orwell’s 1984, lies, cover-ups and false information control the thinking of the citizens of Oceania. The Party uses propaganda as the deadliest and most efficient method of control. Propaganda increases the citizens’ morale and makes them believe that no matter what they are told, the Party is always right. There are two main types of propaganda; changing the truth, doublethink, and another by creating fear within citizens. “Doublespeak” is a major aspect of everyday life in Oceania. The Party’s central slogans are “WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.” is a good example (Orwell 4). The idea of the slogans is to convince the citizens that what they want is what they already possess. “War is peace”, it is a false sense of peace that citizens are led to believe that they are living peacefully in comparison to the warzone in Africa. Secondly, “freedom is slavery”, if a person has freedom, they becomes a slave to their own desires. Lastly, “Ignorance is strength” means if citizens are oblivious to the Party’s secrets and activities within Oceania, they will not rebel. This ignorance strengthens the Party’s power and total control over citizens. The slogan changes truth and makes the citizens believe that anything they want other than what their government wants can only make them unhappy. Therefore, no citizen will consider rebelling, as they believe the Party’s way of governing is the best and only way. “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”, another core

George Orwell’s novel 1984 created a controversy between society and the government. In his book the government robs society of free will, privacy and truth. It caused the people to think that our society is similar to 1984. Public speakers continue to stress the government, pointing out that they are violating our civil rights; speakers such as Glenn Greenwald, and Noam Chomsky,. People are left to wonder if they really do have civil liberties.

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.