1984 Totalitarianism Essay

Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler ruled in totalitarian governments. Totalitarian governments are defined by a government that stays in power through propaganda, media, restriction of speech, mass surveillance, and fear. In the early 1900s, totalitarian governments were on the rise. Examples of totalitarianism in Europe existed in fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and Soviet Russia. George Orwell, a British author, recognized the horrors of totalitarian governments and wrote 1984 as a warning against totalitarian rule. Orwell utilizes symbols such as Big Brother and Goldstein, telescreens, and the Glass Paperweight to illustrate the dangers of a totalitarian government. The government known as the Party creates two fictional characters, Big Brother
Telescreens are the key to the totalitarian rule in 1984 as they not only restrict citizens’ speech and actions, but they also spit out party propaganda of The Party. “The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard” (Orwell 2-3). By positioning telescreens everywhere, The Party in essence is able to control the actions and words of everyone. If one does something against Party rules, they disappear. Basically, telescreens are the puppet strings that The Party uses to control every action and word that one says. In addition, telescreens are able to spit out propaganda of The Party to further brainwash and influence their actions. The telescreens may have been pitched to the citizens as a safety measure in order to prevent terrorism, but they serve the government’s agenda of preventing the citizens from speaking or acting out against the government. By having telescreens everywhere, the Party effectively squashes any freedom that one naturally should