North Korea. Currently with television sets hardwired to only broadcast one channel and the private lives of people widely monitored, one cannot find a better example of surveillance in the modern world (North). This signifies the fact that even though life in the 21st century is perceived as a moderately peaceful and free beginning for humanity, authoritative surveillance will still find a way into our private lives, evolving as humanity grows. Another important trait of authoritarianism is perpetual war. In 1984, Eurasia, Eastasia and Oceania are at constant war at each other, instilling fear and submissive attitudes from the general public, whilst supporting the government and justifying their actions.
The government have physical and mental methods of controlling the population. The following shall be discussed further; the physical (external) and mental (internal) means of control inflicted on the people of Oceania, followed by the interrelationship between both mechanisms of control and if there is a chance for liberation/rebellion. The government uses many methods to control the people of Oceania. The people have no sense of privacy, freedom or independence. They have little say in their personal future.
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.
In Oceania, brainwashing is an effective method to dominate the society. Almost all of them have been brainwashed even children. Those children have been turned into spies. They have been taught and brainwashed to adore Big Brother, the party, or anything connected to it, such as the yelling of slogans, the songs, or whatever. It is not uncommon that those children watch over their parents day and night for symptoms of unorthodoxy and if their parents look suspicious, they will unhesitatingly denounce their parents to the Thought Police.
Language as a form of mind control in 1984 and Brave New World Although one 's idea of Utopianism is unique to one’s beliefs, the genre of Utopian and Dystopian fiction is commonly tackled in novels, from which the authors convey the idea of a depraved society through detailing inhumane characteristics which would be seen unacceptable to any world citizen. In Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and 1984 by George Orwell authors create tyrannical governments responsible for a set of callous actions such as the eradication of freedom of speech and ideological control over their population’s mentality. These wrongdoings are achieved through the application of methods that obligate people to act as machines, such as the ad campaigns in Brave New World and the implementation of the Newspeak dictionary in 1984. As Orwell creates the ministry of truth as a means to demonstrate the lack of ideological freedom in oceania, Huxley discusses the concept of World Controllers and the use of SOMA as examples of the alienated society of Brave New World. Winston Smith is the protagonist of Orwell’s dystopian novel and represents a non-activist oppressed citizen of Oceania who is unable to conform with the government’s inequitable principles.
Although these characteristics may shape up a human being, there are many different many experiences an individual may go through which may result in disputes. In the novel 1984, written by George Orwell and Never Let Me Go, written by Kazuo Ishiguro, readers are shown the ramifications of human nature and the many different ways human nature co-exists in both dystopian novels. 1984 is a well-known dystopian novel that revolves around the protagonist, Winston Smith. Smith faces oppression in Oceania, while being watched by Big Brother, the Ruler of The Party. In 1984, Smith is seen as daring and rebellious throughout.
From his parents, he barely gained the warmth of being in a complete family. As Ponyboy said, “His father was always beating him up, and his mother ignored him, except when she was hacked off at something, and then you could hear her yelling at him clearly down at our house. He hates that worse than getting whipped…If it hadn’t been for the gang, Johnny would never have known what love and affection are” (Hinton P.12), we can clearly known that Johnny’s parents were extraordinarily violent to Johnny. Due to the charac- teristic of Johnny’s father, the hereditary gene of violence affected fixed some of Johnny’s personal- ity. Also, Johnny was only the one who serves as a vent to his parents’ anger.
What if the destruction of language and the past can be used as tools to manipulate the minds of people? In the novel 1984, by George Orwell, this is exactly what is happening. Winston, who works in the ministry of truth in Oceania erases the past by rewriting it. It is a scary world in Oceania when even a movement on your face is enough to be vaporized. Winston must control his thoughts in order to stay alive.
The people in 1984 are terrified by their kids as they are exposed to images of war, chaos, and love for Big Brother to the point where they would be happy to serve and lay down their lives for him. The children have the ability to report their parents or any other adult of being against Big Brother and causing them to be erased from history. These children are rewarded and considered to be serving their country by doing these acts. The real world has a very similar situation as kids have the ability to phone up hotlines for child protection and utilize the power to have the parents stripped from them. These children are recognized as heroes as they expose the wrongdoings of the parents and even get away with false calls or overreacting from a small event.
1984 is a novel that shows the severity of totalitarian and communist rule by showing what London would be like in the future if it were under totalitarian rule. The novel shows the life of a low ranking member of the society, Winston Smith. Everywhere that Winston goes, he is watched by the government and forced to look at propaganda showing the government is watching him. The government, Big Brother, even watches Winston and others in their own homes. At the start of the novel, Winston feels frustrated by the oppressive rule of Big Brother which even prohibits free thought and expression of individuality.