Examples Of Totalitarianism In 1984
Totalitarianism Destroys Humanity
Totalitarianism is a form of government that is ruled by a leader who possesses absolute power and
permits no privacy and freedom among its citizens. Countries that practice totalitarian government have
unhappy citizens because the government has complete control of their lives, like Oceania in Orwell’s
novel, 1984. Totalitarianism is harmful because it dehumanizes citizens in so many ways and as a result,
it only leads to human extinction. Living in a country like Oceania in 1984 without freedom of thought,
action and expression is horrible because these things are fragments of humanity and without these
freedoms, it makes people ignorant, unintelligent and unhappy. Moreover, …show more content…
a totalitarian government
invades peoples’ privacy to track everything they do in their lives even in their own homes to make sure
they obey the totalitarian government laws and rules and this is unfair because people need privacy to
preserve their anonymity and individuality. Additionally, totalitarian government uses torture to punish
and convert people so that people will obey the government without hesitation and this causes people
to become comparable with animals. Therefore, totalitarianism is a serious threat to humanity because
it makes human beings incapable of thinking and unable to do things on their own which causes them to
stop thinking and considered as mentally dead.
To begin, totalitarianism takes away people’s freedom, which is essential for humanity, and it gives
the government complete control over people’s lives. In 1984, Newspeak is enforced by the government
to limit the expression and thought of people; consequently, making the citizens of Oceania easily
controlled by the government. This is evident when Syme says, “Don’t you see that the whole aim of
Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible
because there will be no word to express it” (Orwell 55). This is important because the limitation of
words affects people’s mind because there will be not enough words to express their thoughts and
people might become illiterate. When people become illiterate, they will follow and believe anything the
government tells them and they cannot defend themselves because of their inability to put their
thoughts together and their inability to speak. Hence, lacking freedom of thought and expression makes
people become unconscious of reality and this is a problem because consciousness plays a vital role for
human beings.
Furthermore, totalitarian states restrict their citizens to act independently which causes
most people to become depressed because they can never reach eternal state of happiness without
freedom. A prisoner from Thailand says, “Without freedom, humans are not human” (Pruksakasemsuk
2011). The ability to act freely is important to human beings because it is the main factor of happiness.
Freedom permits human beings to do things that make them happy and taking this away from them is
basically like taking their happiness as well. For instance, in North Korea people are not allowed to leave
their country because it is one of their totalitarian rules. In 1984, Oceania citizens are also not allowed to
escape their country and they are separated from the rest of the world. They are completely clueless of
what is outside of their country aside from knowing there are Eastasia and Eurasia. If a person’s dream
from North Korea or Oceania is to travel the world, their dream is automatically crushed because they
are not allowed to leave their country. Therefore, lack of freedom makes people despair, unresponsive
and passive which cause human beings to become unable to think and
unknowing.
Also, privacy is important to human beings because this is where people express their true
emotions. A totalitarian state has completely no privacy and this causes people to restrict from showing
their true self because they are being watched all the time. In 1984, telescreens can be found
everywhere in Oceania even in their own homes so that the government can see everything they do.
This becomes clear when the narrator explains,
“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 plague commanded, he could be seen
as well as heard” (Orwell 4).
This is significant because it makes people to become self-conscious and afraid all the time and thus,
causes them to fake themselves into whatever the government wants them to be. In a place like this,
expressing one’s self is almost impossible and their emotions might build up inside them and it can lead
to self-destruction. Hence, emotions are important for human beings but the government’s invasion of
people’s privacy restricts its citizens to do so. In addition, privacy is also needed to preserve individuality
and to have our needs of respect and dignity because these are foundations of humanity. According to
Schneier, “Privacy is an inherent human right and a requirement for maintaining the human condition
with dignity and respect” (Schneier 2006). This is significant because living the way you want in a
totalitarian state is so unlikely to happen because the government technically tells people how to live
their lives. In 1984, telescreens are also found in people’s homes and the government literally sees
everything people do in their houses which means respect and dignity do not really apply to people
anymore because they have no privacy. People have things that they want to keep only for themselves
but things do not work like that in a totalitarian state and living the way you want is considered as
thoughtcrime. Therefore, totalitarianism destructs the necessities of human beings to have respect,
dignity and individuality and ultimately disturbs humanity which can lead to our extinction.
Finally, torture is practiced by totalitarian governments to control and reform people so that a
rebellion would be impossible. Continuous torture makes people believe in something they are totally
against with due to the unendurable pain that affects one’s mind. This is evident when Winston gets
tortured and says, “I don’t know. You will kill me if you do that again. Four, five, six, in all honesty I don’t
know” (Orwell 264). This brainwashing makes people ignore their knowledge and go with whatever the
government wants them to say or believe just to stop the pain. Torture causes people to change and
forget what they used to believe to survive. By being submissive and ignorant, people are incapable of
realizing the reality and they become incapable of thinking which is bad because thinking is the most
important thing for human beings. For that reason, torture shouldn’t be practiced by anyone because
they do not only physically hurt the person but the mentality of the person is also affected causes them
to become unconscious. Also, psychological torture such as using fear to torture people makes them
selfish and causes them to become isolated. This becomes clear when Winston says while he is being
tortured, “Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don’t care what you do to her….” (Orwell 300). This torture
causes betrayal to someone no matter how important or how much they love that person. Torture
makes people selfish because fear is something people cannot bear and thus, makes them become
isolated. Isolation is what exactly the government wants to establish but humans are not supposed to be
isolated because that causes them to their downfall. When people are alone, they die because they have
no one to share their problems with. Therefore, torture makes people depart away from humanity
because it makes them alienated and forces them to ignore their own knowledge and reality which
cause them to become like a sheep.
Human beings must be knowledgeable of what’s happening around them and they must also
not lose their ability to think because without thinking humans are mentally dead. Thinking is very
critical to all human beings because that is the only thing that differentiates us from animals.
Totalitarianism robs this ability from us, human beings, causing us to become unaware of reality and
believe in some things that are totally untrue. Freedom of thought, act and expression are essential for
humanity because they keep us conscious and do things that make us happy. Privacy is also important to
humanity because human beings need dignity, respect and individuality because these things make
humans live their own lives the way they want to and totalitarianism objects this idea. The use of torture
in totalitarian state is also against humanity because it does not only physically abuse human beings but
as well as psychologically and this is an issue because torture affects people’s brain that causes them to
become unknowledgeable and oblivious of their surroundings. That’s why people should fight for their
freedoms to live happily without the government controlling their own lives. No countries should
practice totalitarian government because they are useless and it will only cause human beings to
cease to exist in this world. Overall, totalitarian government should be ban in the world so we can save
humanity and keep people to exist on Earth as conscious and well aware human beings.
SOURCES: 1. Orwell, George. 1984: a novel. New York, N.Y.: Published by Signet Classic :, 1977. Print. (tags: none |edit tags) 2. "The Eternal Value of Privacy ." wired.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2013. <http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2006/05/70886>. (tags: none |edit tags) 3. "“Without freedom, humans are not human- I shall fight for freedom until my last breath”- Somyot Pruksakasemsuk from Holding cell, Crime Suppression Division, Bangkok 8.30 am, May 2, 2011 | Trinleychodron's Blog." Trinleychodron's Blog | Just another WordPress.com weblog. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2013. <http://trinleychodron.wordpress.com/2011/05/02/without-freedom-humans-are-not-human-i-shall-fight-for-freedom-until-my-last-breath/>. (tags: none | edit tags)
Totalitarianism is a form of government that is ruled by a leader who possesses absolute power and
permits no privacy and freedom among its citizens. Countries that practice totalitarian government have
unhappy citizens because the government has complete control of their lives, like Oceania in Orwell’s
novel, 1984. Totalitarianism is harmful because it dehumanizes citizens in so many ways and as a result,
it only leads to human extinction. Living in a country like Oceania in 1984 without freedom of thought,
action and expression is horrible because these things are fragments of humanity and without these
freedoms, it makes people ignorant, unintelligent and unhappy. Moreover, …show more content…
a totalitarian government
invades peoples’ privacy to track everything they do in their lives even in their own homes to make sure
they obey the totalitarian government laws and rules and this is unfair because people need privacy to
preserve their anonymity and individuality. Additionally, totalitarian government uses torture to punish
and convert people so that people will obey the government without hesitation and this causes people
to become comparable with animals. Therefore, totalitarianism is a serious threat to humanity because
it makes human beings incapable of thinking and unable to do things on their own which causes them to
stop thinking and considered as mentally dead.
To begin, totalitarianism takes away people’s freedom, which is essential for humanity, and it gives
the government complete control over people’s lives. In 1984, Newspeak is enforced by the government
to limit the expression and thought of people; consequently, making the citizens of Oceania easily
controlled by the government. This is evident when Syme says, “Don’t you see that the whole aim of
Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible
because there will be no word to express it” (Orwell 55). This is important because the limitation of
words affects people’s mind because there will be not enough words to express their thoughts and
people might become illiterate. When people become illiterate, they will follow and believe anything the
government tells them and they cannot defend themselves because of their inability to put their
thoughts together and their inability to speak. Hence, lacking freedom of thought and expression makes
people become unconscious of reality and this is a problem because consciousness plays a vital role for
human beings.
Furthermore, totalitarian states restrict their citizens to act independently which causes
most people to become depressed because they can never reach eternal state of happiness without
freedom. A prisoner from Thailand says, “Without freedom, humans are not human” (Pruksakasemsuk
2011). The ability to act freely is important to human beings because it is the main factor of happiness.
Freedom permits human beings to do things that make them happy and taking this away from them is
basically like taking their happiness as well. For instance, in North Korea people are not allowed to leave
their country because it is one of their totalitarian rules. In 1984, Oceania citizens are also not allowed to
escape their country and they are separated from the rest of the world. They are completely clueless of
what is outside of their country aside from knowing there are Eastasia and Eurasia. If a person’s dream
from North Korea or Oceania is to travel the world, their dream is automatically crushed because they
are not allowed to leave their country. Therefore, lack of freedom makes people despair, unresponsive
and passive which cause human beings to become unable to think and
unknowing.
Also, privacy is important to human beings because this is where people express their true
emotions. A totalitarian state has completely no privacy and this causes people to restrict from showing
their true self because they are being watched all the time. In 1984, telescreens can be found
everywhere in Oceania even in their own homes so that the government can see everything they do.
This becomes clear when the narrator explains,
“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 plague commanded, he could be seen
as well as heard” (Orwell 4).
This is significant because it makes people to become self-conscious and afraid all the time and thus,
causes them to fake themselves into whatever the government wants them to be. In a place like this,
expressing one’s self is almost impossible and their emotions might build up inside them and it can lead
to self-destruction. Hence, emotions are important for human beings but the government’s invasion of
people’s privacy restricts its citizens to do so. In addition, privacy is also needed to preserve individuality
and to have our needs of respect and dignity because these are foundations of humanity. According to
Schneier, “Privacy is an inherent human right and a requirement for maintaining the human condition
with dignity and respect” (Schneier 2006). This is significant because living the way you want in a
totalitarian state is so unlikely to happen because the government technically tells people how to live
their lives. In 1984, telescreens are also found in people’s homes and the government literally sees
everything people do in their houses which means respect and dignity do not really apply to people
anymore because they have no privacy. People have things that they want to keep only for themselves
but things do not work like that in a totalitarian state and living the way you want is considered as
thoughtcrime. Therefore, totalitarianism destructs the necessities of human beings to have respect,
dignity and individuality and ultimately disturbs humanity which can lead to our extinction.
Finally, torture is practiced by totalitarian governments to control and reform people so that a
rebellion would be impossible. Continuous torture makes people believe in something they are totally
against with due to the unendurable pain that affects one’s mind. This is evident when Winston gets
tortured and says, “I don’t know. You will kill me if you do that again. Four, five, six, in all honesty I don’t
know” (Orwell 264). This brainwashing makes people ignore their knowledge and go with whatever the
government wants them to say or believe just to stop the pain. Torture causes people to change and
forget what they used to believe to survive. By being submissive and ignorant, people are incapable of
realizing the reality and they become incapable of thinking which is bad because thinking is the most
important thing for human beings. For that reason, torture shouldn’t be practiced by anyone because
they do not only physically hurt the person but the mentality of the person is also affected causes them
to become unconscious. Also, psychological torture such as using fear to torture people makes them
selfish and causes them to become isolated. This becomes clear when Winston says while he is being
tortured, “Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don’t care what you do to her….” (Orwell 300). This torture
causes betrayal to someone no matter how important or how much they love that person. Torture
makes people selfish because fear is something people cannot bear and thus, makes them become
isolated. Isolation is what exactly the government wants to establish but humans are not supposed to be
isolated because that causes them to their downfall. When people are alone, they die because they have
no one to share their problems with. Therefore, torture makes people depart away from humanity
because it makes them alienated and forces them to ignore their own knowledge and reality which
cause them to become like a sheep.
Human beings must be knowledgeable of what’s happening around them and they must also
not lose their ability to think because without thinking humans are mentally dead. Thinking is very
critical to all human beings because that is the only thing that differentiates us from animals.
Totalitarianism robs this ability from us, human beings, causing us to become unaware of reality and
believe in some things that are totally untrue. Freedom of thought, act and expression are essential for
humanity because they keep us conscious and do things that make us happy. Privacy is also important to
humanity because human beings need dignity, respect and individuality because these things make
humans live their own lives the way they want to and totalitarianism objects this idea. The use of torture
in totalitarian state is also against humanity because it does not only physically abuse human beings but
as well as psychologically and this is an issue because torture affects people’s brain that causes them to
become unknowledgeable and oblivious of their surroundings. That’s why people should fight for their
freedoms to live happily without the government controlling their own lives. No countries should
practice totalitarian government because they are useless and it will only cause human beings to
cease to exist in this world. Overall, totalitarian government should be ban in the world so we can save
humanity and keep people to exist on Earth as conscious and well aware human beings.
SOURCES: 1. Orwell, George. 1984: a novel. New York, N.Y.: Published by Signet Classic :, 1977. Print. (tags: none |edit tags) 2. "The Eternal Value of Privacy ." wired.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2013. <http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2006/05/70886>. (tags: none |edit tags) 3. "“Without freedom, humans are not human- I shall fight for freedom until my last breath”- Somyot Pruksakasemsuk from Holding cell, Crime Suppression Division, Bangkok 8.30 am, May 2, 2011 | Trinleychodron's Blog." Trinleychodron's Blog | Just another WordPress.com weblog. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2013. <http://trinleychodron.wordpress.com/2011/05/02/without-freedom-humans-are-not-human-i-shall-fight-for-freedom-until-my-last-breath/>. (tags: none | edit tags)