Totalitarianism in 1984 and the Real World The concept of a totalitarian society is a major theme throughout the novel 1984. This theme of totalitarianism can also be applied to the world today. The definition of totalitarianism, a concept used by some political scientists, is a state which holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life wherever possible. Totalitarianism can be related between the novel 1984 and current events in the real world. George Orwell incorporated the theme of totalitarianism into his novel 1984 to display the ever changing world around him during the time it was written.
The book "1984" by George Orwell depicts Great Britain in the year 1984 where Great Britain is now renamed Airstrip One. In Airstrip One a high entity known as Big Brother along with a group called The Party control the citizens of Airstrip one. Big Brother and The Party are the government of Airstrip One and they control the citizens of Airstrip One by controlling two things, the media what gets said written and broadcasted on any source of media and they control the people 's perception of reality. "1984" tells us that Big Brother and The Party are able to control what the people perceive as real by controlling the minds of the people as said by a character in "1984", the character says "we control matter because we control the mind"(O 'brien page 264). An article written in the year 1984 published in the New York Times stated that George Orwell 's "1984" was "A simple warning to mankind".
The 1984 is a political novel written by George Orwell. It is mainly about a futuristic totalitarian regime called Oceania which is under the absolute control of a single party. Winston Smith is a main character of the novel. He is
Orwell uses Winston Smith to project the utopian society he has made by showing how it affects the people. Both forms of life in the novel are shown progressively throughout the novel. In the novel 1984, George Orwell uses a dystopian society to show the progression of Winston Smith’s character and help create structure for his plot. Winston’s character is affected throughout the creation and expansion of the plot from both the utopian and dystopian society. In 1984, Oceania is supposed to be a perfect utopian in the mindset of the Party.
Hierarchy and class Robert Plank wrote in his psychological study on Nineteen Eighty-Four that Orwell describes a truly unbearable regime; which, as we assume, could be real someday. Yet he argues that that society will be inevitable. „As long as we are under the impression of the book, we are forced to believe, that this will be out future“. All dystopias have a strict division of the citizens by abilities and class. In Nineteen Eighty-Four there are capitalist and proles, Party and non-Party citizens, all controlled by Ingsoc - the Party and apparently ruled by the Big Brother.
The crux of all dystopian elements in 1984 is the political ideology practiced in Oceania called Ingsoc. Ingsoc is short for English Socialism and is called thus in the language of Oceania, Newspeak. Ingsoc as depicted in the novel is quite contrary to the political ideology of socialism; in fact it is quite the opposite. Ingsoc as propagated by the regime in Oceania is means of exercising totalitarianism and absolute power over the people. This paper attempts to trace the origins of Ingsoc and the impact it had on the lives of the citizens of Oceania.
The novel 1984 by George Orwell reveals the destruction of all aspects of the universe. Orwell envisioned how he believes life would be like if a country were taken over by a totalitarian figure. Nineteen eighty-four effectively portrays a totalitarian style government, in which elected representatives maintain the integrity of a nation with very little citizen participation in the decision-making process of the legislative body. Although the authors ideas are inherently and completely fictional, several concepts throughout his book have common links to today’s society which is somehow a realist perspective. Orwell integrates devices such as irony, satire, and motifs to illustrate the life unfulfilling life of Winston Smith.
During the 20th century, existentialism—a philosophical theory where people have total control of their lives—became prevalent due to World War I and World War II. Philosophers such as Jean Paul Sartre or Søren Kierkegaard are considered the fathers of existentialism, writing their thoughts through famous literary works. A former existentialist, Friedrich Nietzsche founded nihilism which states that humans are all insignificant in the universe therefore making everyone 's lives meaningless. Although nihilism may seem true, Albert Camus--a French philosopher--creates a philosophical theory called Absurdism, a doctrine that states that people should accept the universe as absurd and try to create meaning in their lives. In his famous literary work The Stranger, Camus incorporates and portrays absurdism through Meursault—an Algerian absurdist.
A common title that pops into one’s mind upon hearing the phrase ‘dystopian literature’ would be the classic work of fiction, 1984 by George Orwell. Through the employment of striking elements of conventional dystopias, accompanied by the deliberate characterization of an anti-hero named Winston Smith, Orwell effectively paints a picture of an oppressed society struggling to survive under the iron-fist rule of an oppressive, draconian, totalitarian government. However, the author also deviates from the regular standards of the genre, inserting aberrant components into the text, in order to give the novel distinctive qualities along with adding a unique voice to the battle of Winston Smith against the Party. The novel features a variety of common traits evident in dystopian societies which Orwell hyperbolizes to a high degree with the intention of highlighting the depths a civilization can sink under the wrong authority, particularly a totalitarian regime. For instance, returning to a rather primitive nature, the citizens of Oceania staunchly worship a physical manifestation of the Party known as Big Brother.
The historical context and textual form of Metropolis enrich the responders understanding of the dangers of total state control over the individual through propaganda, panoptical surveillance and loss of creativity in 1984. The devastating impact of industrialisation and its effect on the erosion of liberty and compassion is effectively explored in both Metropolis and 1984. Lang specifically examines the negative consequences of technological advancement with no due consideration for the welfare of the individual. This is clearly represented through the paradoxical heart machine and Maria’s doppelganger Maschinenmensch. The Maschinenmensch is a gynoid of Maria that was created by the irrational scientist, Rotwang who was building a replica of Hel, “Let 's all watch as the world goes to the devil!” The symbolism of Hel’s replica is linked to the devil by the large satanic