Preview

Control Of Power In 1984 By George Orwell

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1017 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Control Of Power In 1984 By George Orwell
1984 a novel by George Orwell is about a negative utopian society that portrays the story of what it is like to life in a world under authoritarian a dictator named Big Brother. It this story many of the people have the ability to rebel they just chose not to grasp the power that is in front of them. On the other hand the members of the inner party, the upper level of the government, have so much power that it has corrupted them. Within these and modern day events such as fake news lies the key to the lock of how to create a better future While taking no piece of information should be taken at face value is a great way to live by, the key principle for a citizen in a developing world is that life is a scale of power balanced on that people …show more content…
Case in point, According to Christopher Shea, a writer for the Smithsonian, it is great to control power if you don’t let the power control you. This control of power is based on that Absolute power corrupts absolutely by this meaning that if there is to much power for one person that will corrupt them. With no way to stop this person that has to much power, the scale of power is unbalanced and will lead to a unsuccessful future. Given that Christopher Shea is a writer for the Smithsonian his view on how to much power will tip the scales of power due to corruption should be taken with caution because as a writer for a company he wants to produce what his superiors want in order to get paid. Furthermore, George Orwell states “ It is a warfare of limited aims between combatants who are unable to destroy one another, have no material cause for fighting and are not divided by any genuine ideological difference”(186). George Orwell says this because is a society where people have the power to wage war, in doing so has corrupted leaders of power. Even if you have the power to wage war if there is no cause for fighting. On the whole the key idea moving forward is a scale of power is seen through 1984 and current events being leveled by not letting to much power corrupt

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    ‘Discuss how the citizens of Oceania are controlled and manipulated by the Party in Nineteen Eighty-Four’…

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Imagine living in a world where politics are everything and all forms of individuality and personal identities are shattered. A world where everybody is stripped of their rights to talk, act, think, or even form their own opinions, simply because they do not agree with the government’s beliefs. These aspects are just a few of the examples of things dictators would have control over in a totalitarianism form of government. Aggressive leaders such as Hitler and Joseph Stalin are examples of such dictators. They used their power for terror and murder, and their motive is simply to maximize their own personal power. George Orwell had witnessed World War II, the fall of Hitler and Stalin’s dictatorships, and the fatal outcomes that have come from these governments. To warn future generations of the harsh effects of totalitarianism governments, he wrote the book Nineteen Eighty-Four. Published in 1946, Nineteen Eighty-Four describes life in a totalitarianism form of government, following the main character, Winston Smith, as he takes risks in discovering how he believes life should truly be. Literary critic Irving Howe states, “Were it possible, in the world of 1984, to show human character in anything resembling genuine freedom...it would not be the world of 1984” (62). In Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, the government uses its power to suppress individuality among the people.…

    • 1645 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the main questions of the novel 1984 is could Big Brother fall. There are many possibilities that contribute to the thought of the fall of Big Brother. Such as the way Big Brother pushes people around like Winston to make them want to rebel. One proven fact in history is that most totalitarian governments do not last such as Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union. The fact they are always at war with one of the other main super powers. "But the proles, if only they could somehow become conscious of their own strength, would have no need to conspire. They needed only to rise up and shake themselves like a horse shaking off flies. If they chose they could blow the Party to pieces tomorrow morning. Surely sooner or later it must occur to them to do it? The proles themselves if realized their power could overthrow the party.…

    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The world sixty years ago as seen by George Orwell was a different place than the one we live in and experience today. Technology was quickly developing and become a part of daily life. Atomic warfare was still a new threat, and the aftershock of its use in World War II was still raw in everyone’s minds. Totalitarianism was seen as a social experiment of sorts, and not having yet experienced the Cold War, some of America’s great minds were still looking at these governments with an open mind. Orwell thought that society needed to be forewarned about both the possible and real dangers of these issues, so his manifesto, 1984, was his call for social change, his call to respect the dangers that technology, war, and totalitarianism introduced.…

    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    George Orwell writes his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four not as a story of fiction but as a warning about the dangers of totalitarian control. The concepts of free enterprise and individual freedom no longer exist in 1984, all of the power is split into three groups Eastasia, Eurasia, and Oceania. In his novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell uses certain literary devices, introduces new linguistic concepts and uses propaganda techniques to suppress freedom, controlling the people and forming a totalitarian society. Orwell introduces two new linguistic concepts in 1984; newspeak, and doublespeak. Newspeak is used by the Party to reduce and limit thought, and simplify the english language to the bare minimum. Doublespeak, on the other hand, which is commonly used by Party members to distort the actually meaning of words, and use the words against those who do not understand what they mean. George Orwell uses the propaganda tactics of “plain folks,” as well as the use of the Big Brother posters to achieve the idea of suppressing freedom. By utilizing propaganda techniques, introducing new language concepts and using literary devices, Orwell successfully warns us about the potential dangers of totalitarian control in our society today.…

    • 1818 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nineteen Eighty-Four is an American typical that probes the human mind in regards to control, corruption, power, and society. The author, George Orwell, suggests in an indirect matter that the regime will eventually become corrupted and attempt to use power which forces people to abide by the set rules. He portrays an imaginary dictatorial society in which citizens have no freedom and are being constantly brainwashed. Having no sense of fairness to individuals, the regime uses them for work. To attain this, the legislators in the story pacify individual's way of thinking and abolish their freedom by instituting fear through strict rules, commotion, and persistent surveillance.…

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Governments are exceptionally perplexing frameworks in present day society controlling numerous exercises for the duration of peoples lives. A couple of the many being straightforward or simple delights, for example, chocolate and sex. In Orwell's 1984, all kind of feelings are killed by the party. All through the book and even present day time nations, for example, North Korea have we seen the littlest of joys being disposed of for the nation. Control and power being the prime drive of the all administration's going ahead with the nation.…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    George Orwell’s novel, 1984, includes many power struggles throughout the book involving various characters. If you delve into the content of almost any novel, there’s usually always some sorts of struggle for power. The novel 1984 bases itself on the totalitarian power to control a nation. With Orwell publishing his novel in 1949, Hitler’s power over Germany during World War II shows itself significant in the story. Many parallels to 1984’s reality and actual reality exist in the novel. Goldstein symbolizes the internal enemies of Hitler that were portrayed to help control the population’s thoughts. Orwell’s use of diction, syntax, and narrative strategies show Winston’s struggle of freeing himself from Big Brother’s power, his secret freedom he feels through his sexual engagement with Julia, and his struggle to free himself from the mass torture of interrogation and false confessions during his sleep.…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Through punishment, denial of knowledge and the suppression of free thought the Party is able to maintain power in Oceania. The party’s all-seeing nature is the most effect form of control because it breeds a society that is afraid of revolt. Through the creation of print, radio, and television the Party is able to enforce “complete obedience to the will of the State” (Orwell 206). The people are now under complete surveillance and surrounded with propaganda, giving the Party the ability to see and dictate what the people do. By keeping the people in constant fear and ignorance the Party is able to maintain its power.…

    • 1161 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The party is the ultimate power. Can that fact be any more established in 1984? There are several instances in the book that convey this, with a paragraph from page 104 being the most convincing. Winston had just arrived home, evading the “thought police agent” that was following home. Mulling over his options, he decided that it was too late to kill her, and that his best bet was to record his thoughts in his journal. In this excerpt, Winston weighs the pros and cons of writing. As the passage progresses, one can see that there is one “con” that is inevitable, which is torture and eventual death by the party. This undeniable result raises several questions to Winston, such as “Why did you have to endure it, since the end was always the same?”…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “‘Who controls the past,’ ran the Party slogan,‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’”(page 63). The novel 1984 by George Orwell is about a totalitarian government that rules the people of a country called Oceania. One of these people is Winston, a government worker at the Ministry of Truth. The Ministry of Truth alters history, art, news, and literature to be more suitable for the government’s beliefs. In this society people are constantly watched by Big Brother, the head of the government. Also, the government controls the people through the Thought Police, a group that regulates the population’s thoughts. Additionally, there are telescreens in every house which keep track of dialogue and are constantly…

    • 956 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In 1984, Orwell asserts that knowledge of the truth grants power and thus must be both feared and valued. Whilst knowledge can be used to seize dominance over a population, which Orwell warns against, it can also be used to attain control over oneself; personal freedom. The threats to acquiring true knowledge, whether it be the control of information by the corrupt, the curtailment of independent thought, or apathy, must be fought against to avoid the surrender of liberty.…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In today’s society many people do not know how much power the United States government really has, but the constant addition of surveillance cameras may be a large contribution to this power. In the novel 1984 written by George Orwell, the author gives us an example of what would happen if an Oligarchy government were to become too powerful. Although the United States government has not come close to that of what George Orwell describes, it is possible for it to come close if the power is not controlled while it can.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1984

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Niccolo Machiavelli once said that "Since it is difficult to join them together, it is safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be lacking." When it comes to the governance of human beings, communication and words outweigh violence. It is impossible to have one perfect society. There has yet to be a society in which there was not something wrong. Different attempts at a perfect society have come about but none has been proven to work without fault. Communism was a good thought but when put into action fails. Not far off from Communism comes the term Totalitarianism. A system of government where a class, group or party feel as though their authority has no bounds and strive to regulate every form of public or private life whatever way they see fit. Fighting in battles against totalitarian governments, such as the Nazi Party and the Soviet Union’s Joseph Stalin, was Eric Arthur Blair, better known as George Orwell. It is amongst the rise of dictators and the beginning of totalitarian societies that Orwell wrote and published the novel, 1984, a warning in disguise. Orwell’s predictions for what the future would look like if society continued its ways are seen through the eyes of Winston Smith. Winston’s life in the novel allows one to feel fear and concern toward Big Brother and his methods of power over civilization. Winston was able to experience dealing with three of Big Brother’s “tactics” of the government exploiting history, enforcing propaganda, and manipulating individuals’ thoughts at first hand. Winston lives in Oceania, a dystopia where the terrors of a totalitarian government are unavoidable. A totalitarian society is established through manipulation and control of one’s mind and body. It is maintained as a consequence of the threat of excessive abuse, propaganda, and force which can be seen in Winston’s everyday life.…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Totalitarian Tyrant

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages

    George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 addresses the dangers of having an all powerful government by including propaganda, mind control, and physical force within the novel.…

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays