George Orwell’s, 1984, is a mere representation of government control over a society. This dystopian fiction novel demonstrates how a totalitarian government can indoctrinate an entire population. Orwell envisions a government, labeled “The Party” that spreads propaganda to keep control over the state of Oceania. The Party, led by “Big Brother,” punish those who do not conform to their ideas, representing a socialist government against the innate weaknesses of human nature. Orwell demonstrates what it is like when the desire for power consumes government control. Through technological advancements such as telescreens and microphones, The Party is able to compromise the well-being of the people of Oceania and create destruction in the civilization. …show more content…
Similar to the society we live in today, technology was being used as a tool to spy on citizens. Microphones and telescreens are positioned in every public outing, on every corner of the street, in bathrooms, and even in the homes of the citizens; A home that is supposed to be a safe haven and a comfort zone. There was no privacy in Oceania. Every step taken, every word spoken, and every action made traveled directly to the government. As a totalism government, The Party feared those conspiring against them. In order to confirm their loyalty, it was imperative that they had access to their thoughts as well as actions. This was the only way The Party could control its citizens. They had to be everywhere at once, and through technology, they were able …show more content…
A prime example of this is when Orwell writes, “In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it” (Orwell 53). Even when they were provided with incorrect information, the people of Oceania were forced to accept everything as it was. There was no other choice. History was being rewritten, facts were being changed, and people were taught new “norms,” all for the sake of the government feeling in control. If the government could persuade citizens to believe whatever they said to be true, it was possible to get them to follow their every
Governments can also collect data from its citizens though several methods, like the Internet and security cameras, and they can use that information for practically whatever they please. In 1984, the Party uses that information to maintain order. "Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed
By becoming a substitute for family, friendship, and any sort of relationship or conversation, the TV poses as an enemy to society. The brainwashed individuals lose their freedom through a dominant influence (television). Those in power controls all the news and entertainment channels, and as a result, these citizens only view the things the regime wants them to see. This becomes one of the main reasons why few people attempt to change the status quo of society, since they are being “witness[ed] move by move” (pg. 104). Due to the fact that nobody knows what is actually happening, the public develops the custom of being perfectly content to live in a world filled with conformity, suppression, and death.
Oceania’s government takes control to such an extreme, that if a citizen is caught doing anything against Big Brother they will be vaporized. Oceania’s government in 1984 is an example for government officials today on how not to run a government. A government this controlling will cause many problems. Citizens will not like the government controlling their every move, possibly creating uproars and fighting between the citizens and those with political power.
Orwell manipulates the basic theme of truth and manipulation to convey the power of the Party. In 1984 by George Orwell, the Party of the dystopian world uses power to gain power. The Parties power and control is maintained by the idea of Big Brother. Big Brother is the face of the Party, many think of him as a trustworthy figure, but to criminals, Big Brother acts as an enemy.
In George Orwell’s 1984, the government regulates the information that citizens have access to, as well as ensuring that the citizens have no knowledge of the true history or condition of the world or their own personal past. This ties into Frederick Douglass’s book, where slave owners deprive slaves of both personal knowledge and the knowledge to read and learn to ensure that slaves remain undoubtedly loyal to them, as the government did with the citizens of 1984. Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave covers his life and experiences as a slave in in the South, decades before the Civil War, including his encounters with slave owners and their attitude about educating slaves. Slave owners intentionally kept
Proles accustomed themselves to what the government wanted and with that they became mindless creatures who were puppets of the party. But even without a totalitarian government, that is the reality of some people today; citizens are being careless and ignorant of many issues
Another way they validated their power was by limiting speech and thoughts to make the people conform to them. One of the many tactics that the Party uses is surveillance. Telescreens and
The Party takes totalitarianism to an extreme level similar to Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Not only does the Party have telescreens to monitor residents, but they also have helicopters that “skimmed down between the roofs… It was the police patrol, snooping into people’s windows” (4). Oceania is accustomed to living in a constant state of surveillance through technology and the patrol by the government. The Party brainwashes them into thinking Big Brother does this for their own protection. People of today's world would not accept this because it is an extreme invasion of privacy: something we take for granted.
In the book, 1984, when being monitored 24/7 the society is being held captive of the Party. The society are the prisoners because the Party controls their movements and actions. The Party wants all of Oceania or at least the Outer Party, to be loyal to the Party and Big Brother. To do that, they have telescreens in every place except where the proles live. ” The great majority of proles did not even have telescreens in their homes.
The society in 1984 is very poor now compared to years past because the government is in total control of the people and their income levels. For the government to continue to run in a totalitarian manner, they must find a way to limit the resources that they give to the people; so that the people do not grow richer than the government. The people in 1984 are naive to the fact that the government is destroying their lives while only taking interest in government desire. For a man, in this controlling culture, cannot even think on his own terms but he must line his thoughts to please Big Brother. This idea, that the government controls literally everything, plays out in the society’s amount of wealth and prosperity.
The next set of people are not people at all but propaganda pieces. According to Ralph Casey “The propagandist tries to stimulate others to accept without challenge his own assertions, or to act as he wants them to do. The idea of using suggestion or stimulation as a propaganda device is that it will lead a public to accept a proposition even though there are not logical grounds for accepting it. ”(Casey, 1944) Many of Oceania’s well-known citizens are propaganda pieces made up by the Ministry of Truth.
For example, in the book, Legend, the government gave the poor people the plague because they wanted to save natural resources and protect their environment. They showed the people that they cared about their citizens by going around town and doing check ups. However, they were actually giving the plague instead of preventing it. This example shows that the government control is bad because they show they don’t care about their citizens. All because the government wanted to save and protect their natural resources, they were killing innocent people.
It is an invasion of privacy, which is almost completely gone in this society. This is one of the main themes of the book because it controls everyone, just like the Party wants to
The Harms of Allotting the Government Excessive Power As Winston Churchill famously stated, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. History is a cautionary tale regarding the consequences of one’s actions. Through studying the different governments from the past, one is able to observe their flaws and triumphs. Marjane Satrapi’s memoir Persepolis and George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm both inform the reader about the dangers of corrupt governments.
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.