Big Brother 1984

The recent surge of popularity of the far-right political parties in Europe interestingly contrasts with the democratic left-wing views present in North America. Different extremist governments have abridged citizens’ basic human rights such as freedom and privacy throughout the course of history. In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, Big Brother indirectly impacts the story through his reign over the Party, an extremist authoritarian regime. His symbolic omnipresence affects literary elements such as theme and the development of other characters.

Big Brother's character reflects various themes within the novel such as indoctrination. This concept aims to force the masses into fully accepting the beliefs of a particular group while neglecting other ideologies and “rejecting the evidence of your eyes and ears” (p.103). The population then relies on Big Brother in order to hold beliefs or think independently. Big Brother also puts forth various campaigns, such as repetitive posters that state "Big Brother is watching you" (p.3), to psychologically manipulate the population of Oceania into complete obedience while claiming that their “Ignorance is Strength” (p.6) To complete his indoctrination, Big Brother also puts into use fear to mold the population within his ideals. He establishes strict legislation all while threatening all those who dare disobey it with "the worst thing in the world" (p.357). By incorporating the element of fear within his indoctrination, Big Brother essentially frightens the population into complete submission which is "the price of sanity"(p.

It was their final, most essential command. His heart sank as he thought of the enormous power arrayed against him, the ease with which any Party intellectual would overthrow him in debate, the subtle arguments which he would not be able to understand, much less answer. And yet he was in the right! They were wrong and he was right.