1984 Totalitarianism

Governments are the powerhouse of a country. However, when they contain too much power, they not only run the country, but the lives of every citizen. In other words, governments like those are considered totalitarian, They control all parts of society, including the daily life of their inhabitants. Total submissiveness is required, and opposition is punished severely. In 1984 by George Orwell, the reader can infer that the government is totalitarian based on their ideals and values. Especially in aspects surrounding society and everyday life, Big Brother’s party is evidently a totalitarian regime. As stated before, when a government has complete control over a group of people, they can be considered totalitarian, or tyrannical. In the novel
1984, Big Brother is always watching over his citizens. With posters of his daunting face plastered all over the city walls, his presence is well known. There is no privacy in this society, especially with telescreens everywhere. When speaking of the technology for invading privacy, Winston said, “It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were … within range of a telescreen” (Orwell 64). Because of this, everyone was forced to act a certain way, or face the consequences. The only thoughts a person was allowed to enter their minds was either of Big Brother, the party, or their work. Any independent thought that strayed away from the Party’s could implicate anyone in a crime of thought, also known as thoughtcrime. Though crimes formed in one’s inner thoughts seems hard to capture, Big Brother’s Party uses many saboteurs, or spies to arrest those guilty of thoughtcrime. They teach and brainwash the children into thinking that they have to watch over their parents in order to protect the well being of the country. These actions show the obsession Big Brother and his party have over making sure no one goes against their views. They want total control over all aspects of one’s life including, their personal life. Overall, the way Big Brother surveils over his people shows the power and control they strive to have, which classifies them as a totalitarian government. Another example of how Big Brother and his party are tyrannical is through their censorship.
The citizens of Oceania are sheltered from what is real. This affirms the government’s power because they are able to mod the minds of their citizens without difficulty. With things like the Ministry of Truth, whose job is to change the past in a way that coincides with the government ideals, Big Brother is able to easily indoctrinate false information in the minds of every citizens. Even contradictory statements like “war is peace”, “freedom is slavery” and “ignorance is strength” (27). could so easily be embedded in the hearts and thoughts of the people. Big Brother and his party brainwash their citizens, not giving them the freedom, or opportunity to think for themselves. They even trick their people into thinking this freedom is actually a bad thing (“freedom is slavery”). This deception is known as doublethink, which is the ability to accept two different beliefs simultaneously. Big Brother has trained all people to accept the flaws in his ideals and make them believe they are not flaws at all. By censoring and even altering the truth, Oceania has characteristics that resembles those of any other totalitarian
society. Finally, keeping their population in a constant struggle in order to maintain power and control show that they only care about themselves rather than their people. Despite this, their citizens are forced to be dependent on the government. If they are not, their chance of survival is minimal. The proletarian population is the main example of Big Brother’s Party using their struggle as an advantage. Since the proletarians, also known as the proles, are the majority of the population, in theory, rebellion is in their hands. Like Winston wrote in his diary, “If there is hope …, it lies in the proles” (71). However, due to their continual strife, rebellion is the least of their worries. This is all part of Big Brother’s plan to reserve his superiority. He keeps the masses in oppression to stray their minds from the thought of defiance. This forced oppression gives the proletarians the ability to fully accept all of his views. Therefore, a successful rebellion is impossible in this society, giving Big Brother the upper hand. In effect, he happily takes advantage of this to keep his party totalitarian. Overall, the constant surveillance, censorship, and forced oppression Big Brother puts upon his people classify his party as totalitarian.
His goals are to only maintain status and power, and do anything to keep himself and the party in total control. Like Adolf Hitler, Big Brother is only concerned about his own well being. They both use certain strategies to keep everyone low enough so that their dependence on their parties are absolutely necessary. Also, if anyone were to disagree with their tactics, they would be punished accordingly. This leaves no room for rebellion and all room for tyranny. In short, totalitarian governments including Big Brother’s party have the same goal: keep control and
power.