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Orwell's presentation of oppressive governmental forces in 1984
Orwell's presentation of oppressive governmental forces in 1984
Orwell's presentation of oppressive governmental forces in 1984
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Founding Father, James Madison once noted that “Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power.” Madison meant that liberty can actually grant those bestowed with its gift the ability to destroy it, whether by ignorantly entrusting our rights to the hands of a cruel oppressor, or by taking liberty to extreme and destroying it for all else. In the case of 1984, the masses allowed totalitarianism to absorb the world and because of this, forever the world would exist under its reign. The main character of 1984, Winston Smith, lives in Oceania, one of the three power-hungry superstates of the world where uniqueness and independent thoughts are punishable by torture and where Big Brother always watches and refines …show more content…
He abides as the sole man who dreams of freedom while the masses have willingly sold their liberties for “happiness” and “security” and for this reason, any rebellion against the Party is doomed to fail. Smith, forcibly taught to accept the Party rules and ideals, actually came to love Big Brother. By doing so, Winston committed suicide, not physically, but to everything that made him human internally. Through 1984, Orwell warned all of mankind to become aware of the possibility of assaults on liberty and personal freedoms, and to think before ceding these precious rights over to a higher power, as we come to realize by Orwell’s demonstration with the outcome of Winston and Julia’s relationship, Winston’s “false” memories, and the victorious outcome of the African …show more content…
At the end of the novel, all of Oceania sits on edge of their seats waiting to hear the outcome of a battle that could tear Oceania in half. However, the reader might question whether the war truly occurs and whether the outcome would be reported truthfully. The Party monitors everything to keep feelings of nationalism well instilled in its citizens, and for them to go as far as creating a battle which the future of Oceania depends on and allowing them to win victoriously to instill a pride for the country would not cause surprise. Winston once questioned the Party’s true intentions as well, but because of its cunning, the Party outsmarted Winston and remain on top. Orwell’s message to us through this demonstration is to ask ourselves to question in whom we put our trust for ruling, especially when it comes to totalitarianism. For, when we place our trust in someone to lead us, it must be in someone who ensures personal liberties, instead of stripping them away for more
Winston Smith from George Orwell’s 1984 is a creative thinker who starts off behaving like a common man, but in the end, he ends up rebelling against the ruling Party. Throughout the book, Winston revealed that he is an intelligent individual with interest in literature, he loses his fear in the Party over time, and is unable to control his emotions.
1984 tells the story of Winston Smith who lives in Oceania, a dystopian nation ruled by a strictly totalitarian government know only as ‘The Party’. The Party controls everything in Oceania, even people's history and language. It uses telescreens which are everywhere-you can’t speak, breathe or sneeze without the government knowing about it. The Party even enforces a new language to prevent political rebellion by eliminating all words related to it. Even thinking rebellious thoughts, known as thoughtcrime, is illegal: "Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime is death."
Things to know: 1984 was a book written about life under a totalitarian regime from an average citizen’s point of view. This book envisions the theme of an all knowing government with strong control over its citizens. This book tells the story of Winston Smith, a worker of the Ministry of Truth, who is in charge of editing the truth to fit the government’s policies and claims. It shows the future of a government bleeding with brute force and propaganda. This story begins and ends in the continent of Oceania one of the three supercontinents of the world. Oceania has three classes the Inner Party, the Outer Party and the lowest of all, the Proles (proletarian). Oceania’s government is the Party or Ingsoc (English Socialism
Rather, it contends that when government is unrestrained in the form of totalitarianism, as exemplified by the Party of Oceania, it can by nature exist only to serve itself. This argument serves as Orwell’s warning against the dangers of totalitarianism; it is so corrupting a force that it can hide behind claims of good intentions, but ultimately exists only to accumulate its own power. Furthermore, since a totalitarian drive for power constitutes a total control of its citizenry and a political structure that necessitates its existence, as shown by the military strategy of the Party, Orwell warns that once a truly totalitarian state is in place, there is no possible way to overthrow it or turn back from it. Ultimately, Orwell sees a government that is so distorted it has become completely self-serving as the largest threat, defining his view of totalitarianism and the themes of his
Totalitarianism is one of the main themes in 1984. In WWII Europe, Oceania became the ruling power with the so called “Party” ruling everybody and have the “Big Brother” at its head. Some examples of totalitarianism is how they make people workout, they put tele-screens everywhere to monitor the peoples actions, also they refuse to allow any sexual intercourse outside of marriage. “Winston kept his back turned to the tele-screen. It was safer, though, as he well knew, even a back can be revealing” (Book 1, Chapter 1). This quote represents how fearful Winston is that he ...
George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 follows the psychological journey of main character Winston. Winston lives in a utopian society called Oceania. There, the citizens are constantly monitored by their government coined “Big Brother” or “The Party”. In Oceania, there is no form of individuality or privacy. Citizens are also coerced to believe everything and anything the government tells them, even if it contradicts reality and memory. The goal of Big Brother is to destroy individual loyalties and make its citizenry only loyal to the government. In Orwell's novel 1984, he uses Winston's psychological journey to stress the dangers of individuality in a totalitarian regime because it can result in death. Winston’s overwhelming desire to rebel
Throughout the book 1984, by George Orwell, society was constantly being monitored and limited in their freedom. Orwell wrote this book to depict the most absolute and powerful totalitarian government. It showed people of his time how this could all be a possibility in the near future and the risks of accepting this form of control. He was able to create an extreme portrayal of the extent rulers would go to, to obtain total power over everyone. In the book, the government had set up a world of lies and deception, which people had to believe or else their life was at risk. However, there was Winston Smith, a unique man in this newly organized world that suppressed individualism. As the book progressed, the structure and plot of the story unveiled Orwells worry with the challenges Winston faced as he struggled to find the truth about the society he lived in.
By enforcing these simple laws and regulations, the government is able to keep a tight grip on its people, with few ever releasing themselves from its grasp. Winston Smith, on the other hand, seeks to know the truth behind the government, he is constantly questioning everything and repressing all the ideas forced upon him. Winston “seeks truth and sanity, his only resources being the long denied and repressed processes of selfhood” (Feder 398). All identity is gone in this place called Oceania, and for the sake of Big Brother and its continuous control of the people, it will never exist again. In 1984, the absence of identity strips the people of all creativity and diversity, as well as takes away any chance the society has to advance as a people or in the area of technology.
Orwell shows the Party has taken strict measures in order to maintain the established status quo that suppresses the majority of Oceania. They have shaped and constructed history so that children grow up as servants to the party. Propaganda stating how rich and prosperous Oceania is the news of the day even though real conditions show buildings are dilapidated and resources are sparse.
On the other hand, V and Evey’s relationship enhances the rebellion. The drastic alteration of Smith’s identity portrays the Party’s domineering control and manipulation over its citizens. A final quote concluding Winston’s futile determination is “He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother”. Orwell’s disturbing ending shows Winston falling into the hands of Big Brother and his absence of logical reasoning after the torture, is he to genuinely accept the Party’s political perspectives, which was Orwell’s intentions on Winston’s so called
Government in the novel has a control over it’s citizens dictating what they think and do on the surface, but Orwell shows what’s beyond the physical, but the mental. Orwell displays the morals of Winston sometimes taking over his being and choices, he states, “For a moment he was seized by a kind of hysteria. He began writing in a hurried untidy scrawl: theyll shoot me i dont care theyll shoot me in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother they always shoot you in the back of the neck i dont care down with big brother - He sat back in his chair, slightly ashamed of himself, and laid down his pen.” (Orwell 20). This journal entry of Smith’s shows his uncontrollable hatred towards the Party, articulating something he could never orally speak of or would lead to his own destruction. Feeling ashamed of his natural thought shows the constriction of Winston’s wants and needs. Smith wants to object with hierarchy but also wants to remain living, revealing one question of the novel, how far should or can he go? Within the way this governmental system is set up, the citizens are isolated in thought, if they have any, rendering it nearly impossible to oppose. Orwell
George Orwell’s haunting dystopian novel 1984 delves into the closely monitored lives of the citizens of Oceania as the Party tries to take control of society. In totalitarianism, propaganda and terrorism are ways of subjugation with a main goal: total obedience. He aimed to create a “what if” novel, what would happen if totalitarian regimes, such as the Nazis and Soviets, were to take over the world. If totalitarianism were to happen, the leader would be the brain of the whole system. Orwell emphasizes the theme of individualism versus collective identity through Winston, the protagonist, and his defiance to the Party and Big Brother, with a frightening tone, surreal imagery and a third person limited point of view.
The novel 1984, written by George Orwell in 1949, details the life of a one Winston Smith and his constant, life long battle to defeat Big Brother. This dystopian vision of the future serves as a reminder to the reader that anything can happen, but it is up to humanity to shape what kind of future is wanted in the end. Although Orwell’s novel is rather convincing to the people of this time, it serves only as a warning to one of many outcomes that the world could face. This book was Orwell’s idea of how life could have ended up; had people not realized that there is always a way to change what we do not like in life. Through the author’s many literary techniques, he was able to weave in meaning and importance to simple everyday objects
It is difficult for them to hope to succeed in an area where so many of them have failed. The constant theme of betrayal in 1984 is being used by George Orwell to show how hopeless Winston’s struggle against the Totalitarian system is, giving the reader an idea of how bad this type of government is. The reader is introduced to this dark time and given hope in the form of the rebellious protagonist, Winston. However, the reader soon realises how hopelessly alone Winston is in his silent battle when they see that the government is against him, he has no support or allies, and that even his own mind can be turned against him. The message is clear and makes readers who live in a democracy happier with what they have.
In the words of Bob Dylan, “No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky.” It is ironic how this saying profoundly explains the political satire of the novel, 1984. Living under a tyrannical system, no one is safe in the novel, including 39-year-old, Winston Smith who lives in a society where he is taken away of all his rights and freedoms, in which even a tiny facial gesture can be deemed a detriment to society. 1984, written by George Orwell, depicts a dystopian future, where freedom and individuality are lost to totalitarian government systems like “Big Brother” and “The Party” who brainwash society through inhuman tactics of psychological and physical control forcing its citizens into submission. Therefore, in a society where a totalitarian government exists, freedom is restricted through technology, psychology and history, and resistance is futile.