Psychological Suffering In Nineteen Eighty-Four And Anna Funder's Stasiland

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.

1984 examines a future under the rule of a totalitarian society. One of the unique notes about Orwell's 1984, is the views that Orwell presents on humanity, and human nature. Orwell presents humanity as divided into two sides- the dominant, and the submissive, with few quickly-eradicated anomalies in between. Human nature, however, is universal, and all humans

George Orwell uses his novel 1984 to convey that human beings, as a species, are extremely susceptible to dehumanization and oppression in society. Orwell demonstrates how a government’s manipulation of technology, language, media, and history can oppress and degrade its citizens.

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

In both texts, physical torture and murder are used to reinforce themes of inhumanity, specifically of characters being stripped of their humanity. First, physical torture is used to break down any semblance of protest in rebels in both works. Harrison Bergeron in 2081 is sentenced to continual torture to weaken and eventually break him, so that he might conform to the expectations of the government, and in 1984, Winston is captured by the Thought Police and pushed into a cycle of constant beatings and “re-education”, in which he is tortured until he accepts whatever O’Brien tells him (Orwell 263). The use of torture to recondition rebels is presented differently in each work, but the end result is the same. Torture, in this case, is used to wear down individuals until they are pacified and accepting of whatever the government wants them to believe. While Harrison resists and Winston is beaten, both stories use torture as a device to strip characters of their humanity. They are coerced into giving up free will, one of the

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.

George Orwell focuses his belief of the “[disbelief] in the existence of the objective truth because all the facts have to fit in with the words and prophecies of some infallible fuhrer”. He envisions the decay of future society and implements his ideas through his creation of “Nineteen Eighty-Four”. Indications of a psychological fear are examined initially through the progression and change of the human mind, which is built upon the oppression of the Party. Through the construction of a world with no freedom and individuality, the human mind adapts the change of truth and pay utter submission from the Party, to escape the presence of their ultimate weakness. With those who are rebellious of the rules of the Party gradually brings out the ugly nature of humanity. Through the fragility of the human mind, it reinforces Orwell’s idea of a corrupted society, as there no longer remains a variety of human emotions for the next generation to pass onwards. Thus conclusively portraying the defeat of human mind unable to withstand the physical and mental tortures from the Party.

‘Stasiland’ is a non-fiction text written by Anna Funder and follows the personal recounts and experiences of those who lived throughout the GDR prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall. While the book primarily revolves around the conversations and reflections which Funder holds in relation to these stories, it is the authors remarkable use of symbolism which enables her to go beyond mere conversation delve into the complexities of not just other’s but her own experience in Stasiland. The use of physical motifs such as Hagen Koch’s Stasi plate are representative of the unrelenting oppression and control

The world that is overrun with tyranny creates the capacity for people to be forced to live in inhumane conditions. This often involves a leader who silences people by restricting their power and limiting them to a lifestyle that is unsatisfactory compared to the elite in society. Through the novel 1984 and short story 2081, authors George Orwell and Kurt Vonnegut introduce readers to the idea of inhumanity by means of mentally incapacitating citizens and holding them at equal rankings through means of oppression.

In the novel 1984, Orwell produced a social critique on totalitarianism and a future dystopia that made the world pause and think about our past, present and future. When reading this novel we all must take the time to think of the possibility that Orwell's world could come to pass. Orwell presents the concepts of power, marginalization, and resistance through physical, psychological, sexual and political control of the people of Oceania. The reader experiences the emotional ride through the eyes of Winston Smith, who was born into the oppressive life under the rule of Ingsoc. Readers are encouraged through Winston to adopt a negative opinion on the idea of communist rule and the inherent dangers of totalitarianism. The psychological

1984, Orwell’s last and perhaps greatest work, deals with drastically heavy themes that still terrify his audience after 65 years. George Orwell’s story exemplifies excessive power, repression, surveillance, and manipulation in his strange, troubling dystopia full of alarming secrets that point the finger at totalitarian governments and mankind as a whole. What is even more disquieting is that 1984, previously considered science fiction, has in so many ways become a recognizable reality.

In 1984, George Orwell depicts a totalitarianism society where violence is common place. Early in the book Orwell renders a depiction of graphic film, wherein “a ship full of refugees [is] being bombed,” as well as the crowds of the theater roaring with laughter at the sight of a lifeboat full of children being annihilated (Orwell 11). This graphic description can be traced to Orwell’s own history in the Spanish Civil war, where he saw combat and fought against Franco’s party. Those who suffer from PTSD are forced to search for means of releasing the stress of their memories and consistent flashbacks. Modern patients, who are able to take advantage of advanced medicine, still find it essential to leading a normal human life to discover medians of release. Orwell found his in 1984.

Not only does Orwell show that the government controls its subjects mentally but they also do physically. When convicted of Thought Crime, these criminals endure

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.

Love is the foundation and the weakness of a totalitarian regime. For a stable totalitarian society, love between two individuals is eliminated because only a relationship between the person and the party and a love for its leader can exist. The totalitarian society depicted throughout the Orwell’s novel 1984 has created a concept of an Orwellian society. Stalin’s Soviet state can be considered Orwellian because it draws close parallels to the imaginary world of Oceania in 1984. During the twentieth century, Soviet Russia lived under Stalin’s brutal and oppressive governments, which was necessary for Stalin to retain power. In both cases, brutality and oppression led to an absence of relationships and love. This love was directed towards