"1984" by George Orwell: Individualism: Preventing the Terror of Totalitarianism

1984, by George Orwell, is, on the surface, the story of one man's rebellion against the system in a futuristic totalitarian world. Every word and movement of the citizens is monitored and controlled; even their thoughts are not their own. They are manipulated by the insidious propaganda of the government, Big Brother, that serves to weaken the power of the people. This relates to what the dictator, Josef Stalin, once said: "Power is not in the hands of those who vote, but rather in the hands of those who count the votes." In other words, people may be led to believe they are in control when they, actually, are not. Winston Smith, the main character, realizes how dangerously ill society is becoming, and his beliefs lead him to rebel against the government. Orwell illustrates throughout the novel the value of individualism and the dangers of giving it up without a fight. Faced with the threat of such a totalitarian state, the only effective way to prevent the degradation of society is to never lose touch with reality, retaining a strong sense of self by holding onto individual thoughts, beliefs, and liberties.

Newspeak is used by Big Brother to coerce the population into communicating less and less with each other until, eventually, Big Brother is the citizens' only source of contact with the world. As Syme puts it, "Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought . . .has it ever occurred to you that by 2050, not a single human being will be alive who could understand the conversation we are having now?" (47). The ultimate goal of Newspeak is the loss of thought by the citizens. Syme illustrates this by saying, "By 2050 … In fact, there will be no thought, as we understand it now. Orthodoxy means not thinking - not needing to think. Orthodoxy means unconsciousness." (47). By not surrendering to the ideal of Newspeak and remaining objective, Winston will be cognizant of what is actually happening around him.

In true communism, individualism cannot be thoroughly realized because of communism's principal values. The government in 1984 fits the mold of communism, although not blatantly referred to as "communism" in the novel, in that communism's main ideal, as stated by Karl Marx, is, "By controlling the thoughts, beliefs and values of a population, one can control the population's actions." Big Brother uses this notion by forcing the population to believe in certain values, such as the three slogans, "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH." (7). These beliefs are pushed so relentlessly that they are just accepted by the public without questioning their validity. This all-encompassing power is fought by the citizens, although at a low level, as they rebel by shopping for personal goods. Winston explains, "Party members were supposed to not go into ordinary shops, but the rule was not strictly kept, because there were various things, such as shoelaces and razor blades, which it was impossible to get hold of in any other way." (8). Straying from the normal regimen allows citizens to be themselves while still remaining a part of the community.

Propaganda is further used throughout the novel by Big Brother in order to completely change the beliefs of the people. Telescreens are used to gain support and encouragement from the citizens of Oceania for a pointless war. They can transmit information at the same time they can receive information by spying on people, recording their every move and sound. Big Brother speaks to the people, ". . . drawing a deep sigh of relief from everybody, the hostile face turned into big brother . . ." (18). This propaganda effectively sways citizens' views by brainwashing them through constant repetition and blatant lies. The major goal of the party is to have the ability to boldly change a person's thoughts about anything. O'Brien forces Winston to eventually believe that, "2 + 2 = 5." (239). If Big Brother could convince all of the citizens to believe that, it would have complete and utter control over them. Individualism would be dead. That, of course, is the totalitarian ideal that must be prevented.

The strong, symbolic aspects of George Orwell's 1984, paralleling "Big Brother" in a fictional totalitarian world to Stalin's Russian state are all too real. He warns of the dangers of mindlessly accepting propaganda in its many forms as truth without questioning and giving in to intimidation and fear without fighting back. Unquestioned power just creates a greater sense of power, unleashing untold terror through abuses of that power. Even though this was written long before 1984 to warn about excesses of power then and in the future, and it is now long past 1984, it could not be more relevant today. We are living in a time in the United States where many leaders, both democratic and republican, are trying to consolidate power through whatever means possible, including redistricting and filibuster. The governor of California wants to hold a special election costing millions of dollars just to try to change the voting districts when there is not enough money in the budget for schools. Propaganda is also alive and well. The President controls who may ask questions at his press conferences. Journalists appear to have been paid to write stories promoting certain points of view. Many television and radio stations are partisan. There are still questions about recurring problems with electronic voting machines in the past presidential election. Also of great concern is that in the name of security since the September 11, 2001 attack, comes a loss of privacy. Large databases keeping track of citizens' personal information have already been tapped into by criminals, adding to the epidemic of identity theft. There may soon even be a national identification card for citizens. If these topics are not debated, continue to be ignored, or go unchallenged, "Big Brother" may truly have become a reality.