How the Party Maintains Control over Its People in the Novel 1984

How would you feel if you lived in a world where you could not talk, think, or go about your daily life with out your every move being watched? This is the world Winston Smith lives in. The novel nineteen-eighty four by George Orwell follows Winston’s life in a dystopian, post apocalyptic London. The book warns about the dangers of totalitarian rule. In this essay I plan to show how “The Party” maintains control over its citizens by making them suffer. The London in which Winston lives is derelict and rundown. Basic amenities such as electricity and plumbing are very poor. Winston’s flat is typical of the awful conditions in London: “Victory Mansions were old flats, built in 1930 or thereabouts, and were falling to pieces. The plaster flaked constantly from ceilings and walls, the pipes burst in every hard frost, the roof leaked whenever there was snow, the heating system was usually running at half steam when it was not closed down altogether from motives of economy.pg 16” This, coupled with the fact that The Party also failed to provide enough food for their people (rationing is in place), pulls the public into depression. Although it is never directly addressed it seems that London’s downfall is down to The Party’s deliberate disregard. They make sure the citizens suffer which goes with The Party’s aim of exerting complete power over the people and crushing every rebellious thought process. A totalitarian regime’s main aim is to exert its power over its people; The Party in 1984 does this by threatening the public, psychologically and physically. The Party constantly bombards the public with propaganda covering up their shortcomings and declaring them as “glorious victories. pg 20”. The telesceens are responsible for this .The telescreens are instruments that resemble a large television, but they are able to watch and listen to anything that anyone does or says. They are representative of The Party’s omnipresence in society and with the constant