Preview

The Societal Effects of Totalitarian Control in 1984

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1056 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Societal Effects of Totalitarian Control in 1984
The main goal of Totalitarian government is to limit and regulate every aspect of public and private life. George Orwell’s novel, 1984, illustrates a society lacking in freedom and expression. His fictional society in 1984 stands as a metaphor for a Totalitarian society. Communication, personal beliefs, and national loyalty are controlled by the inner party which governs the people of Oceania in order to keep society from rebelling. Oceania, where main character Winston Smith lives, is ruled by the INGSOC. The Inner Party, controlled by Big Brother, dictates several aspects of the people’s life. The Inner Party’s aim was to make any other alternative thinking a “thought crime” or “crime think” . The Inner Party only allows words that empower or respect the Inner Party and Big Brother. An example of the control the Inner Party has over the people is found in Syme’s dialogue on page 46, “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words…You haven’t a real appreciation for , Winston…Don’t you see the whole aim of is to narrow the range of thought?” As a society, Oceania has been brainwashed to use only words or phrases that empower and respect INGSOC . Syme, who rewrites the dictionary using and erases oldspeak, understands the purpose and follows the rules because he has been trained. The overall concept of is designed to control personal beliefs of the citizens by limiting their form of expression. Controlling the communication fits with the Totalitarian aspects of governing. During the Cold War, communication was stifled between America and the Soviet Union. George Orwell envisioned the lack of communication could possibly result to total dominance and control of the people. The concept of also controls the personal beliefs of the citizens and promotes Totalitarianism by limiting the form of expression. The citizens of Oceania were forced to work long days which limited self expression because they were too tired to do anything else. For example, the


Cited: Edgar R. Robert, Neil J. Hackett, George F. Jewsbury, Barbara Molony, and Mathew S. Gordon. Civilizations Past and Present. Vol. 2: from 1300. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008. Print. Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Harcourt Inc, 1950. Print. Seppala, Tuna. “War, Media, and International System: Propaganda and Censorship in the Image Wars- Constructing and Maintaining the Hierarhical International System” Presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Associations, Hilton Hawaiin Village, Honolulu, Hawaii. 5 March 2005 http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p70248_index.html.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Totalitarianism Thrives on the Exploitation of the Weak by the Strong
    • 1590 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Totalitarianism Thrives on the Exploitation of the Weak by the Strong

    Totalitarianism may be defined as a ‘system of highly centralized government in which one political party or group takes control and grants neither recognition nor tolerance to other political groups.’ [1] A totalitarian system of governance rules in a autocratic and dictatorial manner and uses weapons of suppression, fear, intolerance, oppression, and terror to ensure its continuity; not to mention its most important tool: propaganda.…

    • 1590 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    1984: Nineteen Eighty-four and People
    • 1645 Words
    • 7 Pages

    1984: Nineteen Eighty-four and People

    To begin, the author shows how the government abolishes individuality through the use of mind control. First of all, the creation of Newspeak restricts the individual from saying things that he/she wishes to say. More specifically, the task of the Party’s philologists is to regulate the vocabulary and language of Oceania to ultimately be able to control the actions and behaviors of the people. Literary critic Stephen Ingle argues, “The more vocabulary contracts, the more the Party will be…

    • 1645 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Dictatorship In 1984
    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Dictatorship In 1984

    Not only did the governments censor potentially threatening information from the media, they also censored information on world events from the citizens of their nation, too. In the novel, Oceania was constantly at war; however, the enemy is inconsistent. At the beginning, Eurasia is the enemy, and have been the enemy of Oceania for a long period of time; however, the enemy changes to Eastasia later on in the story. It states, “The very word ‘war’ has become misleading. It would probably be accurate to say that by becoming continuous war has ceased to exist,” (Orwell 199). The Germans were also reminded of their enemy, and just as in Oceania, it fluctuated. The only difference being the enemies of Germany changed between the Jews and the Allied Powers (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum).…

    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Totalitarianism In 1984
    • 86 Words
    • 1 Page

    Totalitarianism In 1984

    A totalitarian government must be simultaneously admired and feared by its citizens in order to maintain absolute control. Oceania’s Inner Party in George Orwell’s 1984 takes extreme measures, such as putting its people through physical and mental torture, to ensure that they will always remain in power. Citizens are robbed of any personal rights and freedoms, bringing about their suffering and the Party’s success. Inequality between the social classes as well as unreasonable punishment for crime keeps the citizens in line and the Party in…

    • 86 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    1984 Totalitarianism Analysis
    • 223 Words
    • 1 Page

    1984 Totalitarianism Analysis

    Orwell did not change anything about Totalitarianism when interpreting into the novel. He put on worshipping country leaders, strong dislike, and war hysterics. Children are brought up in families to work for the government as spies. They watch their elders both day and night (Voorhes 88). Big Brother is supposed to represent a soft element from a children’s story to society. Yet to the readers, he represents a political monster to add to Orwell’s science fiction novel, with horror elements mixed in. 1984 may have been inspired by the super-weapons of the cold war. The technology used in the cold war made a ‘social demand’. These technological advancements all served for the purpose to spread mass murder or even to at least intimidating sheer elimination. This can be seen throughout the novel, like when Syme disappeared (Deutscher 119-120). “ He lunged out a huge filthy pipe which was already half full of charred tobacco. With the tobacco ration at a hundred grams a week, it was seldom possible to fill a pipe to the top. Winston was smoking a Victory Cigarette which he held carefully horizontal. The new ration will not start until tomorrow and he had only four cigarettes left” (Orwell 58). During World War II, the government rations out good and often lowers the ration size so small due to overpopulation.…

    • 223 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    1984
    • 1374 Words
    • 6 Pages

    1984

    Cited: Enteen, George M. "George Orwell and the Theory of Totalitarianism: A 1984 Retrospective." Journal of General Education 36.3 (n.d.): 206-15. Print.…

    • 1374 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Once And Future King Literary Analysis
    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Once And Future King Literary Analysis

    ‘Everything not forbidden is compulsory’ as wrote by the 20th-century writer, T.H. White in his Arthurian novel, The Once and Future King, displaying the authoritative rule of many totalitarian governments. Totalitarianism has been a central theme in many notable dystopian novels such as Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, Ray Bradbury’s, Fahrenheit 451, and John Wyndham’s, The Chrysalids. Perhaps the reason why totalitarianism is featured heavily throughout literature is perhaps because these novels are acting as a warning to mankind and - in a world rife with political change - we would do well to heed their advice. Possibly the most powerful warnings ever issued about the danger of totalitarian governments can be found in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four where the protagonist – Winston – despises the forced oppression of the Party on the otherwise oblivious citizens of Oceania, yet, by the climax of the novel Winston is punished for his disloyalty to Big Brother and is obliged to become the epitome of ignorance which he so strongly detested at the beginning of the…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Totalitarianism In Brave New World
    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Totalitarianism In Brave New World

    What is totalitarianism? Totalitarianism is a form of government in which the government completely reminisced one’s individuality and freedom. In Aldous Huxley’s novel, “Brave New World,” totalitarianism is perfectly demonstrated in which humans are scientifically made and have no control over their desired purpose on earth. Totalitarianism is also seen in George Orwell’s novel, “1984,” where the government has eyes on everything. This means there is no privacy what so ever. The uncontrolled power of the state will destroy a community and lead to total disaster.…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Benedick In Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing
    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Benedick In Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing

    “There, Leonato, take her back again. Give not this rotten orange to your friend.”(Shakespeare 152). Hero, Beatrice's cousin, and Claudio, Benedicks friend, fall in love, but Don John creates a scheme framing Hero for not being a virgin, even though she is. This ultimately resolves, with them all finding out the truth and Benedick and Beatrice falling in love. In Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, Beatrice provides as the foil character of Benedick, by which Benedick irrational decisions are balanced out by Beatrice's reasonable mind, therefore influencing the conflict within the plot.…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Essay On 1984 Power Of Government
    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Essay On 1984 Power Of Government

    The government in the novel 1984 by George Orwell, forces its citizens to repress all of their natural impulses which leads to rebellious behavior by some of the citizens and a brainwashed state by others. The government in Orwell’s novel is a totalitarian style government with the ultimate leader being Big Brother and the enforcers of Big Brother being the party. The party has banned almost everything from the citizens of Oceania including but not limited to writing, thinking, showing feelings, and having sex. They banned all of these natural impulses because of the belief that acting upon all of these will lead to the citizens thinking which could potentially result in a revolution. Many of the citizens followed all of the party’s rules but some did not, 1984 focuses on Winston who did not follow the rules of the party and rebelled against them.…

    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    1984
    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages

    1984

    In George Orwell’s 1984, Winston Smith wrestles with oppression in Oceania, a place where the party scrutinizes human actions with everwatchful Big Brother. Defying a ban on individuality, Winston dares to express his thoughts in a diary and pursues a relationship with Julia. These criminal deeds bring Winston into the eye of the opposition, who then must reform the nonconformist. George Orwell’s 1984 introduced the watch words for life without freedom: BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU. The themes I will introduce to you somehow will describe what Winston is going through and how his life and the lives of other are being controlled, through psychological manipulation and the dangers of Totalitarianism.…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Brave New World Vs 1984
    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Brave New World Vs 1984

    The Party, which is the governing body of Oceania, constantly attempts to limit words through “newspeak” where they shorten and completely erase words from existence so that the people of Oceania do not have the ability to truly express themselves. Syme, a coworker of Winston in the Ministry of Truth, states that the shortening and elimination of words is “‘a beautiful thing’”, adding that “‘in the final version of Newspeak there'll be nothing else. In the end the whole notion of goodness and badness will be covered by only six words – in reality, only one word. Don't you see the beauty of that, Winston?’” (Orwell 52). The Party strives to limit its citizens the opportunity to use language as a medium for individuality. Syme later adds 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 words in which to express it”, further reinforcing the Party’s beliefs (52). Also, when Winston begins writing in the journal he bought from Mr. Charrington’s shop, he understands the gravity of his actions, writing that “thoughtcrime does not entail death; thoughtcrime IS death” (28). The simple act of writing is considered a crime against the Party because it allows a person to truly express their thoughts and not what the Party wants them to think. In the…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Brave New World Technology Essay
    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Brave New World Technology Essay

    In the Dystopian novels 1984 and Brave New World, George Orwell and Aldous Huxley create atmospheres that consist of their prediction of the future. “1984” and Brave New World contain totalitarian governments that encompass distorted views on the way societies should behave. Although the two leaders in the novels, Big Brother and His Fordship, carry out their regulations differently, the idea of how to control a society remains consistent. The key to maintain and establish a successful totalitarian society is through controlling the ideology toward personal relations and correctly using the advancement of technology for the “common good”.…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    1984
    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages

    1984

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Totalitarianism In 1984
    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Examples Of Totalitarianism In 1984

    In a totalitarian government, the people are not living in a reality, but rather the inverse, they are living in a reality made for them. 1984 by George Orwell is a story of Winston Smith's struggle against a totalitarian government that controls the ideas and thoughts of its citizens. In the mythical setting of Oceania, the Party is the ruling, and Big Brother is the fictitious leader that controls all the thoughts and actions of human life. The people's rebellious thoughts and actions are most likely suppressed, but that can only go so far for a totalitarian government. In the novel 1984, Oceania is controlled by a totalitarian government, which is similar to the government systems of Nazi Germany and North Korea because they used torture and food shortage.…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics