The Anti-Hero In 1984 And The Party

As much as we citizens want to deny it, government corruption exists everywhere, whether it be a small group of greedy politicians or the system entirely. Is it shouted at the top of the mountains? Of course not, because it defeats the whole purpose of being corrupt, which is to quietly sweep away one’s imperfections and present themselves as honourable people. An appalling level of corruption and political power is described in the book 1984 written by George Orwell. Ingsoc, a political party, runs a totalitarian society, and with no resistance from their citizens, the government deceives them by changing the past and announcing fake news. Ultimately, they limit the thoughts and emotions of their citizens. Although 1984 tells a fictional

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

The outer party is forced to take part in an “activity” of screaming and shouting at the face that stands for everything the party admonishes. The Two Minute Hate illustrates the extent of control. The totalitarian government manifest the ideas of hatred of Goldstein; to an extent of picking up the “Newspeak dictionary and flinging it at the telescreen.” Forcing them to take part of the Two Minute Hate will make them believe more and more in Big Brother; by oppressing their minds and thoughts.

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.

During Joseph Stalin’s regime of the Soviet Union, 1984, the Classic Dystopian novel by George Orwell, was burned and banned, because the book shone a negative light on communism. The book, 1984, follows the life of Winston Smith, who lives in a country called Oceania. Oceania is a totalitarian society, ruled by a government known as The Party, whose leader is called Big Brother. In Oceania, every movement and sound every person makes is constantly surveillanced, and one wrong facial expression, statement, or action can cause the ‘Thought Police’ to take the person away to never be seen again. A small percentage of the population questions The Party’s dictatorship, and the novel follows Winston’s struggles to keep his hatred of The Party

Orwell’s novel of 1984 depicts a dystopian society in which people are brainwashed with propaganda and bound to the chains of a strong dictatorship, also known as the Inner Party. Humanity has been filled with lies, as not a single person knows the truth that lies beneath the dictatorship. History is constantly being rewritten to mask their true identity. Any skeptical thoughts may make you disappear."Big Brother" is constantly observing you along with a telescreen watching every facial expression and recording any abnormal body language. However, two citizens called Winston and Julia rebel against "Big Brother's" totalitarian rule which triggers an astonishing warning towards future generations. Orwell is warning future generations of a society

A society that is run by hate can cause total chaos and destruction within its society causing its people to be untrusting of the government and also question its power and authority due to a belief of a conspiracy of the government. This so called hatred that exists in society consumes it people with remorse and anger against this totalitarian, corrupt government that seeks power and control over its people and society, which can cause a major revolt of its society against the government to try to seek the truth and their individual rights. In the classic novel, “1984”, written by George Orwell, he writes about a society in the city of London, called Oceania, in which Big Brother is in control of the society in every aspect of the people’s lives. Some examples of the governments power over society is the ideology of thought crimes, the creation of Newspeak, and telescreens that watch over and invade the privacy of their people. A society that is based on hate cannot survive and support its society because a society must depend upon happiness and its people in order to survive so it can achieve true happiness and tranquility.

In “1984”, lies, myths and false information controls the thinking of the citizens. The Party uses propaganda as the deadliest weapon of control. Propaganda increases the citizens’ morale and makes them think that what the party tells them to do is always right.

Propaganda was a big contributor to the chaos and destruction among citizens of 1984. “Two Minutes of Hate” is one of the methods used in the novel. It is a program that broadcasts on television screens where Goldstein, the main rebellious man against the Party, is seen as a despicable figure of the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is a resistance group against Big Brother. The program claims that “all subsequent crimes against the Party, all treacheries, acts of sabotage, heresies, and deviations, sprang directly out of his teaching.” (Orwell). This translates to all of these acts are not in the standards of the dystopian society in Oceania. Some citizens believe that Big Brother is good and bad at the same time. Which bring us to another type of propaganda; Double-think.

The totalitarian government loathes freedoms and deplores rebellion, and by combining these ideas they create the perfect conglomeration of ideas which pushes the people of Airstrip One even further down the ideologies that Big Brother approves of.  Because of all this hate and rage being directed at Goldenstein, Eastasia, freedoms, and the rebellion, the people still are not aware of their own status as individuals creating an endless cycle ignorance.  Another way the The Party exhibits control is through the use of the Two Minutes Hate.  As it is described by Winston, it is “A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledgehammer…” (Orwell 14).  The Two Minutes Hate activity utilizes some of the pent up frustrations the people have accumulated  through not being able to exercise their freedoms and turns it into pure rage.  Hate and anger course through the crowd as they are unable to form a single coherent thought that isn’t what the government wants them to think.  The Party, for these two minutes, is able to create a stranglehold on the emotions of the people and can steer them in any direction they choose.  Orwell demonstrates here how the themes of rage and loathing are going to play a big part in his novel as well as how government decreases unique thinking by playing up emotions rather than critical thinking.  And the key part about the Hate period is that “...

Having the ability to think independently is a vital aspect of a human mindset. In “1984,” the Party makes propaganda, such as falsified history, catchy slogans, and glorified figures, a constant in the Oceania lifestyle, preventing citizens from having thoughts that differ from what the media tells them to think. The unsilenceable telescreens installed in every space not only invade citizens’ minds with ceaseless propaganda, but are also used by the the Thought Police to spy on unique individuals who may disrupt the submissive behavior necessary to keep the public in line. The omnipresence of the Thought Police and invasive telescreens are a constant reminder of the morbid consequences of independent thought. As a result of this fear, as well as expertly designed propaganda, the public is driven into an easily

The authors of 1984 and The Crucible show the use of fabricated fear of the other by the respective states in order to unite the people in their common fear, strengthening the position of the State. Often the State creates a false enemy for the citizens to rally against. Such is the case of the party in 1984. Orwell writes that the book by Emmanuel Goldstein, Theory and practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, was fabricated by the party. Orwell does not specifically clarify the existence of Goldstein, although he implies that Goldstein is not alive. The party uses the fabricated existence of the Goldstein and the brotherhood to rally the collective anger of the citizens through the Two Minutes Hate. The Two Minutes Hate was used to direct the population’s frustration from leading a life with a lack of control over their circumstances away from the party and

Much like the society of Denmark, corruption crept its way into Big Brother’s society in 1984. Big Brother has absolute control over every aspect of its citizens from physical to emotional. The fear that it brings upon its people emphasizes the control and constant reminder that “Big Brother is always watching you” (Orwell, 4). Winston barely survives these emotional roller coasters that the totalitarian government has put them in and straddles along in a government job, trying to piece together how he feels and what he should do with his life. The society influence can be seen in hate week, hate rallies, and the two-minute hate. Winston finds himself conforming to the crowds chants and people having no control over their own minds as they would drop there own beliefs just as an assigned speaker changes sides. To the extreme, the government is turning kids into these mindless spies, robbing them of their innocence. Madness, again, drives citizens in these rallies that “[were] not that one was

George Orwell’s 1984 explores many different themes, all which present a clear warning against totalitarianism. However, upon further inspection, an equally strong theme can be found in the methods used to sustain this type of government. Throughout the story, the reader notices the methods used by the government system named “The Party”. Although media manipulation and social conditioning are established forms of maintaining control over the public, alienating those who are nonconforming is perhaps the least known but most effective.

Last semester my class was introduced to the famous novel by George Orwell, 1984. To quickly sum it up, the novel is about a man named Winston who lives in a totalitarian society and makes constant rebellious acts. In this society there is an Inner Party and an Outer Party. The inner party consists of the Thought Police, Big Brother and the Party, who control the Outer Party and every move they make. Winston is constantly facing situations where he commits crimes and acts of rebellion against Big Brother and the Party, which is the form of government in the society.