“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength” (Orwell). This may seem like a list of paradoxes, useless and arbitrary in the context of any government. But, these three statements help establish the foundation of the world in the novel 1984 by George Orwell. The novel is set in an alternate version of the year 1984, imagined by Orwell in the 1940s. The world had split into three superstates: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. The main character, Winston Smith, lives in Oceania where the entire superstate is run by an all powerful government, lead by the divine and immortal Big Brother. This is a government in which all love and individual thought is outlawed. This is reinforced by constant surveillance either by telescreen or the …show more content…
He explains that their intentions are the same as that of the Party, but they were unable to reach the same result. When torturing Winston during the second stage of reintegration called “understanding”, O’Brien answers Winston questions regarding the Party’s motives that he had written in his diary. He first explains that the Nazis and the Communists were unable to achieve what the Party had because they were too cowardly to admit their own motives. They believed they were only holding power until they turned the nonexistent corner into “paradise where humans beings would be free and equal” (Orwell 263). The novel is admitting its replications of the unsaid motives of totalitarian leaders. Orwell’s revelation, in this sense, establishes the last reasons of why such systematic and oppressive governments exist. Afterward, Orwell highlights the motives specifically of the Party in his novel through O’Brien. He writes, “We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end” (263). This urge for never ending power is a replication of what Orwell thought the true motives of past totalitarian governments were. With these political objectives to create an everlasting government, Orwell is left with the task of imagining effective methods of manipulating a mass amount of human minds.
Human companionship, whether it be in the form of a mother, father, sibling or
Granted the Party can warp laws and control knowledge, its greatest tool for taking away freedoms and controlling the public is its ability to revise history. This idea is displayed throughout the novel, and is fundamental to our understanding of how perfect the Party is. A prime example occurs when Winston is at his job at the Ministry of Truth, the manipulators of history and truth. He contemplates how he simply substitutes one lie for another in his daily work rewriting history, and explains, “And so it was with every class of recorded fact, great or small. Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which, finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain" (Orwell 36). This highlights the genius of the Party’s control; there is no history. As mentioned earlier, the Party controls all publications, and destroys all facts that are not helpful. Much of it is simply fake information that bolsters the Party. Thus, when Winston changes
Winston’s conflict against O’Brien, and virtually against the Party further displays the dangers of an omniscient government. All individuality is silenced and the only way to make your mark is to contribute to the party. This is shown through O’Brien’s statement “every human being is doomed to die, which is the greatest of all failures. But if he can make complete, utter submission, if he can escape from his identity, if he can merge himself in the Party so that he is the Party, then he is all-powerful and immortal” (Orwell, 1977, p. 264). O’Brien’s quote of ridding uniqueness essentially describes his motives: to eradicate individuality. But without individual thought people do not have opinions on political matters and give themselves up to the state as well as giving them absolute power. Therefore, individuality is freedom, and a government that knows everything and has no opposition can convince change in all people’s opinions, followed by personalities. This leads to
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.
George Orwell’s 1984 is a prime example of a deep dystopia with a totalitarian government. Totalitarian governments have full and total control. The Inner Party, which is the main form of government in Oceania, has total control over its people’s thoughts and actions. They use many forms of abuse in order to control them. The Inner Party controls the government and is the upper class. The middle class is called the Outer Party. These people are given jobs from the government and are more educated than the Proles, which make up the lower class. The Outer Party is in charge of executing the Inner Party’s policies, but they have no say in them. The government uses many forms of manipulation to control their people. The members of Oceania’s society do not misbehave out of fear of punishment. People who betray the government vanish. They disappear and there is no evidence that they even existed. The government also uses the threat of abuse to keep its people in line. People of Oceania know they can be tortured or killed for even the slightest misdemeanor. The middle class is led to believe that they are living a high quality life through a method of false prosperity. The government fools people by changing history so the only form of truth the people think they have is their own memory. Many people discard their own memories and believe whatever the Party tells them is truth. Winston Smith is the character in which the book is centered around. He has doubts
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.
A government enforces procedures in which a society must follow. Governments contrast by deciding to either be stringent, lenient or even moderate. The protagonist, Winston realizes that the government which he resides in maintains absolute control. Revolution results in extreme punishment that eventually leads to death. With the rest of the society brainwashed Winston tries to successfully find a way to revolt. Throughout the novel, 1984, George Orwell uses the paperweight, the telescreens and big brother to establish the theme of the dangers of totalitarianism.
Imagine a world where no one could live without fear. Given the thought of this, one might presume that the society is dangerous and is repleted with criminal activity. However, the reality is that the government is mentally holding their citizens captive by imprisoning them into a world that dissuades one from acting on impulse. Everywhere where interactions occur between citizens lay technology that monitors everyone 's actions which prevent many from expressing themselves. Even one’s children are taught to rebel against their parent’s if any “incriminating” action occurs. Essentially, people are trapped in a world where privacy doesn’t exist which forces many to be loyal to their government. While this scenario might be absurd and
Before the concept of government existed mankind still attempted to gain dominance over one another. Once the concept was developed governments remained consistent in their attempts to gain control of their people and world domination. Adolf Hitler and other dictators were prime examples of totalitarianism “attempting to control every aspect of its subjects, viewing any sign of independence as treasonous centralized party” ( Quinn 1). Along came “historical catastrophes which would lead them to create a false utopia vision of the just society” (Quinn 2). George Orwell noticed this tug of war for control and wrote about it in his novel. The novel’s protagonist, Winston Smith, would struggle to retain his
Torture: The Tool of Mind Control “By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as a paradise” (Adolf Hitler Quotes). Being the leader of one of the greatest superpowers in the world, this gave Adolf Hitler the upper hand in creating his own utopia where the average civilian would live under his rule, and anyone that did not fit the category of his preference or rebelled the government would be murdered or tortured until they shared the same mindset as their leader. Hitler persuaded many German’s to hate the Jewish population because - in his opinion - they didn’t qualify as “the perfect race”.
1984 by George Orwell is an extremely negative outlook on a futuristic, seemingly utopian society. People inhabiting the land of Oceania are enslaved to the government, most without even realizing it. The Party uses its many members to enforce its methods of control on the population. While a bit extreme, Orwell was attempting to warn people about the dangers of totalitarianism.
War is Peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. These are the beliefs that the citizens of Oceania, in the novel titled 1984, written by George Orwell, live by. In this novel, Oceania, one of the three remaining world super powers, is a totalitarian, a society headed by 'Big Brother' and his regime, known as the ministries of Truth, Love, and Peace. A totalitarian government is defined as a government characterized by a political authority which exercises absolute and centralized control, and in which the state regulates every realm of life. This is the type of world that the citizens of Oceania must live in, ruled by fear and under force every day. The names of the different ministries for example,
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.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” - Friedrich Nietzsche.
George Orwell’s novel “1984”is based on the dictatorship of the government called INGSOC. The novel takes place in 1984 where it starts off with Winston starting to think about rebelling against INSOC. The problem is that everyone has been taught to love “Big Brother”, the dictator of INGSOC, for a long period of time, so no one really has the idea of overthrowing the Party. But eventually he finds Julia a young woman that somewhat has the same idea as his. They both want to gain freedom from the Party but end up getting caught by O’Brien , an undercover agent for INGSOC, and get brutally tortured for what they have tried. In the process of being tortured, O’Brien forces the idea that the power of the Party is vigorous for society into Winston and Julia, slowly brainwashing them and ending with Winston's deep fondness for Big Brother. Since INGSOC had the support of
In “1984,” Orwell describes a terrible society where totalitarianism reaches the top. In this circumstance, personality and freedom are strangled and thought is controlled. The most frightening aspect is that citizens have no sense right and wrong. Without a doubt, the reason why these happen is the governing of the Party, which is controlling everything in the country, Oceania. Orwell uses the control of language to show the idea that the Party solidifies its dominant position.