The Role Of Totalitarianism In 1984 George Orwell

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

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’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.

Famous theoretical physicist Albert Einstein once said, “Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth” ( ). Winston Smith, main character in 1984, would agree wholeheartedly. Living in a world entirely controlled by Big Brother, Winston and all other citizens of Oceania must live their lives in the confines of totalitarianism, specifically Ingsoc. This authoritarian rule is so strict, that these inhabitants are constantly subject to patrol by the Though Police. Winston even boldly states that: “Nothing is yours except the few cubic centimeters in your skull” (Orwell 26).

In George Orwell’s Oceania, every person is shaped into what Big Brother believes is a model citizen. A model citizen follows all of the countless strict rules and worships their leader, Big Brother. By not following the rules, citizens will be vaporized, which means that they will be killed and never spoken of again. The slightest mistake could ruin one’s life; even thinking the wrong thought. The Thought Police essentially kidnaps all those who commit thought crime and reshape them to worship Big Brother. In 1984 Winston Smith is reshaped into a model citizen after hating the Party and Big Brother. This is an example of one’s thoughts and feelings being suppressed by the government. In George Orwell’s 1984, totalitarianism negatively affects the citizens of Oceania by destroying relationships and suppressing thoughts, feelings and relationships between the people.

In the book 1984 by George Orwell, Orwell describes a society based on totalitarianism throughout the life of Winston Smith, a guy who believed that the party would not be able to brainwash him and would be able to rebel against them. When Winston was taken by the party, O'Brien and Winston had a discussion about the society and how Winston believed that eventually somebody would overthrow the power. O'Brien proved to him that getting overpowered would not happen as he put Winston through the suffering. O'Brien implies that a society based on hate and suffering could exist for a long time as long as the ruler knows how to play the cards correctly.

There's a small a part of the population that believes that the elite are pushing our society to a state of control. 1984 does a good job of showing us the path if that were to happen in our time. The idea of this may sound crazy to others but there is always truth to some parts of it. In the book 1984 George orwell depicts a path in which our world could gone down. Although some people may argue that our society is not going down a path of totalitarian state there is evidence that it could happen.

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.

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.

Total governmental control is what countries have been seeking since the beginning of civilization. With the complete control over governmental affairs a totalitarian government can function to an exemplary degree of efficiency. The people are left out of the decisions and they are not to be worried about worldly affairs because the government makes all the decisions and gets objectives completed quickly and without hesitation. In George Orwell’s “1984” the dangers of a corrupted totalitarian government are illustrated through the plot of Winston Smith, the main character whom decides to challenge The Party’s power and authority after he commits a thoughtcrime. Also when Orwell published his novel he released this statement to protect his

The governments in today’s society have brainwashed their citizens into believing everything their leader says and thinks is correct and everything else is wrong. This can sometimes be known as a totalitarian government. George Orwell’s novel 1984 revolves around totalitarianism. The members of the party in Oceania are taught and required to worship their leader Big Brother whether they believe in him or not. In the novel 1984, George Orwell shows the problems and the hatred with a totalitarian government through his use of symbolism, situational irony, and indirect characterization.

Winston Smith lived in a world of lies, chaos, and disorder. His uniform was shabby and living space cold and dirty. Changing the past to suit the present was his job where he worked, the Ministry of Truth. One day, he encountered a beautiful young woman of about 26 years of age and instantly fell in love. Little did he know that she would be the one who would end his life. He dreams of sleeping with her but fears that he would be captured by the Thought Police because sex is illegal. During the Two Minutes Hate - a time when members of Ingsoc come together to despise Emmanuel Goldstein, a man who supported freedom and rights - the woman passes a note to Winston. It says for

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.