Every human being is entitled to their civil liberties. However, society’s fundamental rights and freedoms need careful protection to ensure their continuation. Reg Whitaker, author of The Devil and Stephen Harper, is one of the many citizens concerned about Canada’s new defence policy, Bill C-51. This article vocalizes social unease in Canada due to individual liberties being overlooked in favour of national security. George Orwell furthers this notion through his novel 1984, where a corrupt and apathetic government impedes on human rights and violates their basic human dignity. However, the distinction between these two societies and the determinant of whether the State is able to abuse their power lies within the response of the people. In today’s society there is outrage at the deprival of liberties, whereas in Oceania there is utter acceptance. When citizens remain subservient to an oppressive government, it leaves individuals with invaded privacy, no freedom of expression, and without protection from the law, thus diminishing one’s human dignity. Respect for an individual is established through granting privacy. By removing the ability to have personal autonomy, one’s dignity is lost and government control expands. Although citizens in both texts are stripped of their right to discretion, it is their respective response that determines the outcome of society. Bill C-51 authorizes complete control over the personal information of any citizen, even those who are not
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
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.
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
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
George Orwell’s work of fiction 1984 is a futuristic, dystopian novel about citizens living in a totalitarian London. In this society, the government maintains power by controlling as many aspects of its citizens’ lives as it possibly can. The protagonist, Winston Smith, attempts to fight against the government’s controlling ways. For some time, critics have argued that this book was intended as a warning of the scenarios that could emerge if citizens traded freedom for security and allowed governments to take away too many of their rights. 1984 is a powerful warning against the risk of allowing governments to control too many aspects of the lives of their citizens through propaganda and the acquisition of personal information. These methods
As a Canadian in today’s society we believe we have a certain set of inalienable rights. One of those rights that seem to be at the forefront of the 2015 Canadian election is privacy. As Dr. Kent Roach and Dr. Craig Forcese state, “privacy is, in our society, the right to be left alone by the state.” The Conservative upbringing of Bill C-51 challenges the ideology around our right to be private, as well as our government’s role in the protection of Canada from threats of terrorism. The Harper government essentially, will increase their role in national security to keep a constant watchful eye on potentially harmful situations and end them before anyone is hurt or killed. If passed, the bill would allow the government to arrest anyone suspected of terrorism without that person even committing a crime. Furthermore, the language used in the bill is extremely vague and makes one question, where the line will be drawn? Will our basic rights to peaceful protest and free speech be affected? Unfortunately perhaps they will. One of the most concerning parts of the bill in regard to privacy is the fact that the government will now be able to access several sensitive documents about citizens from top agencies such as the Public Health Agency, Canadian Border Services Agency as well as the Canadian Border Services Agency. Privacy is changing in Canada. This is a landmark bill and as such it is creating quite a splash in the ongoing Canadian Election.
When George Orwell writes his dystopian novel ‘1984’ in 1949, he is extremely disturbed with the state of the world after witnessing the methods of the Soviet Union and other fascist regimes during World War Two. During this period, the Soviet Union famously burned books and controlled all media outlets in an attempt to assert dominance over the people of the USSR. In response to his emotional disquiet over these issues, Orwell writes a warning to the world of what he fears would come to pass should totalitarian governments continue to grow in power. In ‘1984’, Orwell writes of the government destroying all media that conflicts with the current political ideology, ‘thought-police’ arresting anybody who shows even the slightest signs of thinking
“No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky.” Bob Dylan said this probably not knowing its profound connection with George Orwell’s novel “1984”, but the as well could be in “1984”. Orwell depicts a totalitarian dystopian world where there is no freedom and citizens are being brainwashed constantly. Without any sense of individual fairness, people work for the party just like the gear wheels in a machine. In order to achieve this, the politicians in “1984” suppress people’s thinking and eliminate their freedom by creating fear through propaganda, strict laws and incessant surveillances.
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.
My written task is based on the book 1984 by George Orwell: “The Theory and practice of Oligarchical Collectivism” written by Emanuel Goldstein is a book introduced in Orwell’s novel. The book addresses the party’s slogans: War is peace, Ignorance is strength and Freedom is slavery. It explains their true inner party meanings to the protagonist Winston and essentially the reader.
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.
The term `freedom' is often associated with the notion of living free of restraint and having an unfettered liberty to engage in rational actions with a sense that that our actions will not be controlled or interfered with. Given the above definition of freedom and the principles of positive and negative freedom, this essay shall seek to demonstrate that while they do not experience freedom fully, the proles are more free than Winston in Nineteen Eighty-Four. This essay shall also discuss the reasons why we consider freedom to be important with a particular focus on our assumptions of human nature and its components.
The book 1984 depicts a society unimaginable to most; however, a further look shows us that we actually do live in an Orwellian society. Orwell describes a country called Oceania made of multiple continents which is ruled by the dictatorial “Big Brother” who uses different systems like the “thought police” and “telescreens” in order to have full control over the country. Our democratic government, through organizations such as the NSA and NGI, can look through our most private conversations and moments using spyware. Due to the secrecy of the government, citizens in 1984, as well as those in our society, fear the government.
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.