Tyranny In 1984

The threat of tyrannical governments is real. This is the future that Timothy Snyder warns us against in his guide to living like a critical citizen in the 20th century. We see directly how a tyrannical authority can take over a society in George Orwell’s 1984. There are many correlations between Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century to George Orwell’s political novel 1984. Some of the underlying themes of 1984 have connections that are captured in Snyder’s writing. Snyder warns us against the use of language, falsifying the truth, and stripping individuality as tools used by tyrannical powers. It is these same tools that are used in Orwell’s text, 1984.

The Party uses phrases and text to hold control over

The party hides the truth to “starve the public of the concepts needed to think about the present, remember the past, and consider the future” (Snyder 61). Truth is a needed continuous element that shouldn’t succumb to control. However, when the truth itself is not consistent because it is always being changed and falsified, it is hard to make sense of reality. At Winston’s job, he rewrote history to fit the agenda of the party, so his concept of the truth is twisted. Winston grapples with his understanding of the truth many times. O’Brien is an embodiment of Smith's internal fight against truth, he continuously bombards him with the idea that his memories are false. O’Brien says “The truth, please, Winston. Your Truth. Tell me what you think you remember” (130). The implication of what Obrien says is very clear he compels Winston to remember “his” truth. The dangerous thing about this prompt is that he is reinforcing the idea that what he feels like what is right is the undeniable truth. This is not true; the concept of truth is based on fact. The Party uses this ploy on their people, they make them believe what is happening is true. This understanding is furthered through continuous alteration of media, if one cannot ever be proven wrong then ultimately you are led to believe that this figure is always right. These texts

Enforcing community thus strips away individual freedom. With individual freedom comes unique revolutionary ideas. This is the exact opposite of what tyrannical governments want. To destroy individualism at its core you must never let one be alone. Enforcing being public all the time is the best way to do this. For instance, the party members are constantly under surveillance due to the two-way telescreens in 1984. It’s important to understand that this mindset that someone is watching continuously will submit you to following orders. This is because of the worry that someone is always watching. When Julia and Winston first met at a rendezvous point, they had to abandon their community work and find spots in which there was no chance of being caught (Orwell 62). This escape from the indoctrinated routine of constantly being hyper-aware of “getting caught” is what’s kept so many people in line. We see here explicit examples of one’s identity as nonexistent, outside the party activities there is no member. The freedom to have a private life is essential to the power of a citizen, both texts uniquely show the importance of this