Throughout George Orwell’s 1984, the phrases “ War is peace.” “Freedom is slavery.” and Ignorance is strength.” are often repeated and have become the Mantra of Oceania, the country formerly known as England. These statements seem contradictory and ridiculous to readers, so how can they make so much sense to the people of Oceania? How can a country push such backwards ideas on millions of people, making them dependent droids? It appears ludacris yet, humans have used psychological manipulation throughout history to gain control. James McTeigue’s V for Vendetta has the same manipulative aspects throughout its own story as well, creating parallels in not only these two fictional worlds, but also our own. The NorseFire government of V for Vendetta and the Party of 1984 are inarguably born of the same notion of total control. Take, for example, the use of mass media deployed by both governments to manipulate the thought patterns of their respective citizens. The “2 minute hate” of 1984, consisting solely of animalistic rage and hatred towards Goldstein, was designed to influence not only the thoughts of Oceania’s citizens, but in turn to also influence their actions. The Party planted a daily seed in the minds of it’s people. Day by day that seed, that idea, grew and grew, constantly compounding on itself to deliver a false reality. This is psychological manipulation at it’s very core. Yet it is only a means to achieve a goal, and in this instance as in many others, the goal is totalitarian control. Totalitarian control in itself is completely unachievable without the use of psychological manipulation. This is observable at various points in history, most notably during Nazi era Germany and Soviet era Russia. The tremendous low that was experienced by the German people coupled with the unflinching promises and charismatic ways of Adolf Hitler so warped German minds that they were capable of horrendous acts that to this day have left a bloody print on the entire world. Through the emotional propaganda of Joseph Goebbels and Hitler’s doctrine of Aryan superiority the Nazi government was able to manipulate the minds of the public and only through this manipulation was the holocaust possible(1). Walker 2 The
History reveals that when a totalitarian regime seizes a nation, violence and brutality are often utilized to take control of its citizens. 1984 depicts a world engulfed by the totalitarian ideology. George Orwell applies cruelty as a way to condition the people of Oceania to abide by the philosophies of the Party, Oceania's ruling body. Although the Party promotes ideas of welfare and diligence, their true intent is to accomplish complete dominance over every facet of humanity.
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
George Orwell’s 1984 establishes a paradox in order to display an ironic discovery of truth. The slogan “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength” used throughout Oceania is crazy, but it is also truthful. A quote from the book states “until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious” (Orwell 70). This quote suggests that the citizens are locked inside this slogan of the party, and have been brainwashed into following the rules that they have in place. Secondly, war is peace demonstrates that being in war constantly keeps Oceania under control. A summary on 1984 says “The reason for the war is to keep their economies productive without adding to the wealth of their citizens” (Celona). This evidence shows how the party believes war keeps their country away from rebellion. Lastly, the statement “Freedom is Slavery” is a paradox shown throughout the novel. An article says “the society he lives in strips its citizens not only of their freedom but of their very humanity” (Becnel). This passage suggests that without slavery and control in Oceania, we would not know of freedom. Orwell’s use of paradoxes helps the reader to understand the true meaning behind the slogan used in 1984.
The 20th century was marked by many unforgettable events such as World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. Some of these events occurred because of the birth of a government system called totalitarianism. A totalitarian regime is gained either through legal or illegal means and transforms the entire society into a single party regime with the sole purpose of conquering society (Zani, 2003). One of the founding fathers of totalitarianism, Joseph Stalin, ruined the lives of many by taking complete control over their lives through brainwashing techniques and destroying their rights to express their opinion.
In the book 1984 by George Orwell, a totalitarian government is emphasized. Throughout the story, it is revealed that all the government cares about is war and power within themselves. It is clearly shown that the intentions of the government in Oceania are self-serving and not benevolent. With the use of Newspeak and Doublethink, Orwell further shows that the intentions of the government are one sided and are only effective for themselves. The way in which the government runs its people expresses the idea of selfishness and that all benefits are only for the government. Through the use of surveillance, torture, and complete removal of people's privacy, the government is able to manipulate and scare people into obeying the government, which in turn only makes the government stronger.
“The totalitarian, to me, is the enemy - the one that's absolute, the one that wants control over the inside of your head, not just your actions and your taxes” Christopher Hitchens states. He describes how a totalitarianistic government has the capability to control almost every aspect of a person’s life, including more than just governmental matters. In 1984, George Orwell states how a totalitarianistic government can control most aspects and beliefs of a society, such as love and religion, because they have so much more authority over citizens to maintain order and peace. He warns how because the government has that control, people all over the world will lose their most human qualities, such as personal beliefs and emotion.
Typically everyone acts in a way that will politically benefit themselves whether with power or wealth. The book 1984 George Orwell clearly demonstrates a dictating dystopia that wants nothing less than pure power and will do anything to obtain it. To control someone’s mental state of mind by regulating their emotions and feelings it will allow for more room to concentrate on what they want to fill their minds with. Also if one has control of the past they control the future because you can either make yourself look superior or inferior.
After capturing Winston Smith for thought crime, O’Brien describes real power as “tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your choosing” (Orwell 266). By this he explains that true power is being able to choose what people minds think. In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, Winston, a Ministry of Truth worker who hates the Party, slowly starts to disobey the Party rules such as having freedom of thought and individuality. He entrusts a Party member, O’Brien, with his secret for the hatred of the Party. O’Brien reveals that he is a high Party leader who will fix Winston’s corrupt mind. Throughout this novel, it demonstrates that government is controlling people’s minds and
The novel 1984 and movie Divergent share the dystopian characteristics of an oppressive government, prevailing conformity and strict divisions. The oppressive government in 1984 is known as the Party. The Party expects full loyalty; families, free thought, individuality and many more natural rights are prohibited, in fear that the Party will lose power. It insures this by monitoring all the actions of people through “telescreens” and “thought police”. It also instills guilt and fear with endless propaganda. Everywhere Winston, the protagonist in 1984, went he saw nothing “except the posters that were plastered everywhere...”(Page 2, 1984). The people of Oceania are brainwashed into believing that this
Throughout Orwell's novel, he conveys many different themes and motives to get his ultimate point across. From the dangers of Totalitarianism, to the powerful effects of psychological manipulation, he seems to cover them all. But the theme I do not agree with would be Orwell's argument that physical abuse and torture controls all other functions of the body. I do not agree that physical torture is the strongest method of manipulation. The strongest method has to be on a psychological level, because that is what controls our whole life.
Eric Blair wrote the novel 1984 under the pseudonym George Orwell. The original title of 1984 was The Last Man in Europe, however, the title was changed for unknown purposes. It has been speculated that the change in title was done because it was a mere reversal of the last two digits of the year in which it was written. The novel was first received with conflicting acclamations and criticisms. Those who provided acclamation for the novel believed that it portrayed the impending possibility of the future and what it might bring. Some reviewers, however, disliked its dystopian satire of the class system, the power struggles of world leaders, nationalism, totalitarian regimes, and bureaucracy. Others panned it as nihilistic prophesy on the
The Communist Party is considered as a bad government. The Party which Big Brother, a head figure, leader is even worse than Communism. One of the huge differences between the two parties is the idea of torturing the people. A kind of brutal torture, not physical torture, but psychological torture and causing people live in crisis. Through psychological manipulation, the Party is able to make everything it lies become the truth that it desires. When psychological is instability, thinking about a regime overthrown is almost not possible. In 1984 by George Orwell, the Inner Party manipulates the population through torture since birth. The lives of the people are being deprived of freedoms, became a docile slave, serving an anonymous inhuman
In Orwell’s 1984, he displays psychological manipulation through Oceania’s government which it uses to control its citizens. This includes the use of propaganda, control of content, and ethnocentrism. The Party’s methods of control relates to real life events repeated in history such as the Nazi Regime from 1933 to 1945 headed by Adolf Hitler and common patterns in cultural history.
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.
The psychological purpose of two minutes hate is so that the people of Oceania could express their feelings. In this book 1984, the government tries to control how you feel towards something like a person or thing. In this instent they try to direct all the hatred towards the enemy there at war with (Eurasia) along with Goldstein and his followers. During the first two minutes of the video where they show all the hate that occurs. When Winston walks into the room where the telescreen is present he does agree with the video and he could see what the government is trying to accomplish, but yet he joins in to watch the video to not be look like a outcast waste of time and pretends to be a part of the hate. As he’s going with the flow and just