Human instinct is unconditional. Human instinct may come in various forms, but all of these forms share a similar goal: to ensure the wellbeing of the human race. In George Orwell’s 1984, the Party recognizes that natural human instinct is a powerful force which could threaten the power it holds over the citizens of Oceania. In response, the government of Oceania has found ways to not only limit instinct of various types, but to strategically use it for its own intentions. The Party utilizes natural human instinct against its citizens to help maintain power. The Party promotes orthodoxy, political excitement and governmental stability by manipulating the impulsivity of sex as an emotional outlet, the protectiveness of offspring, and the need …show more content…
for security. The Party channels political excitement as a psychological byproduct of chastity. One of the most powerful human instincts is sex drive. This is only because the intense amount of pleasure we receive from intercourse is unparalleled. This instinct helps promote reproduction, and thus the wellbeing of the human race. Furthermore, the pleasure we obtain from sex also serves as a type of emotional outlet for the human mind. This is reinforced by Winston when he recognizes the correlation between natural instinctive energy and sex (pg. 147). It is important to recognize that emotional outlets are crucial towards the stability of the human mind. The problem with this is that though intercourse can help citizens remain calm and stable, sex can also create feelings of comfort and security between men and women. According to The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, comfort and security tend to give rise to learning and liberalism, which could lead to a rebellion against the Party (pg. 255). With this in mind, the Party recognizes that the correlation between love and sex is a substantial threat to the government of Oceania and its hold on power. As a result, the Party attempts to eradicate the sex instinct by promoting celibacy through organizations such as the junior anti-sex league, as well as discouraging prostitution and eroticism in marriages (pg. 146 to 147). Furthermore, the Party acknowledges that another method of emotional release is required to keep its citizens stable, and as a result replaces sexual intercourse with hate week and other political events. With hate week as an emotional outlet, not only are liberal ideas less likely to occur, but political propaganda is accepted with enthusiasm because of the removal of the sex instinct. As Julia says, “All this marching up and down and cheering and waving flags is simply sex gone sour” (pg. 205). Although the pleasure received in sex and its correlation with comfort is a substantial threat to the Party, the results of intercourse give rise to just as powerful an instinct; the urge to have children. The Party uses the urge to have children as an extension of the thought police.
Reproduction is not merely an act of meaningless pleasure. The drive to pass on genes in the creation of offspring is also a legitimate instinct. For example, Katherine’s urge to procreate directly contradicts the rest of her orthodox personality (pg 148). This is because children bring overwhelming feelings of joy. The Party sees children quite differently: children are a force that brings people together. A parent’s love for their child is extremely powerful. For instance, though Winston was naive and greedy as a child, his mother, an impoverished widow, still loved him, and was extremely selfless in the face of his narcissistic personality (pg. 229-232). The Party views this as a potential threat, as the loyalty of a parent to its child can escalate into a type of assembly the Party cannot altogether control. In response, the government of Oceania has not only found a way to tackle this problem, but to further promote societal stability. It is important to note that children are very impressionable. The Party uses this notion to their advantage: by incorporating political propaganda into primary and secondary education systems, children will be under the impression that political excitement is a desirable trait. For instance, Mrs. Parson’s children adore Big Brother and everything that revolves around him (pg. 109 to 111). Furthermore, children learn to denounce suspicious activity, as shown when Mr. Parson’s daughter reports someone for wearing the wrong type of shoes (pg. 139 to 140). This forces party members to be completely orthodox in their homes as well as in public. The Party’s education system not only taints the relationship between parent and offspring, but they conveniently extend surveillance over its citizens. Though sex and children ensure emotional stability and joy, environmental stability is just as crucial to the human
psyche. The Party justifies its behavior by threatening environmental security. The citizens of Oceania recognize the poor living standards the Party has provided them with. For example, low maintenance levels of the Victory Mansions and quality of food reflect the Party’s care towards its citizens (pg. 91, 133-134). The reason behind this is that wealth is seen as a threat, as physical well being entails thought. Not wanting wealth to give rise to liberal ideologies, the Party impoverishes its citizens so concerns are focused more on physical well being and less so on liberty and freedom. As stated in The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, “... a hierarchical society [is] only possible on the basis of poverty and ignorance” (pg. 255). The Party also requires justification for the poor living standards it upholds, or else its citizens will blame the government for their scarcity in resources. The Party conceived a perfect reason to justify its anti-liberal and unjust behaviour: war. According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, safety and security are fundamental needs. When the government of Oceania allocates resources to the military instead of its citizens, people are torn between the privilege of excessive resources and the necessity of security. Since the need for security and safety is instinctive, people are willing to give up their wealth, privacy, and even morality in the name of protection. For example, Syme, Winston and Mr. Parsons believe that the denouncement of a man wearing odd shoes is acceptable only because of the war between Oceania and Eurasia (pg. 140). In conclusion, there are three notable ways in which the Party manipulates human instinct to maintain its hold on power. First, emotional outlets are necessary for the stability of the mind, and thus with the removal of instinctive sexual pleasure as an outlet, citizens become more politically excitable over hate week, hangings of foreign prisoners and other political events. Second, the integration of political propaganda into primary and secondary education systems turns children into extensions of the thought police, promoting orthodoxy and thus governmental stability. Third, the Party justifies poverty, surveillance and immoral behaviour by threatening the security and safety of its citizens, an instinctive need for all humans. These three evident claims prove that the Party does use human instinct against its citizens to help maintain power. Human instinct is unconditional, and when the party manipulates and alienates these exact instincts for its own intentions, orthodoxy, political excitement and governmental stability will always be prevalent. The government of Oceania will always remain in power. The Party itself is unconditional.
Throughout our history, the government has used spying to control humans, therefore dehumanizing them in order to get and keep power. In 1984 by George Orwell, The Party controls the past, the present, and the future through the records in the Ministry of Love. The Ministry of Love burns all accounts of the past, therefore the citizens of Oceania don’t know anything different about the present than what the Party tells them. The Party keeps the people in Oceania clueless about everything in their society. If the Party says something is the way it is, then that is what it is. The Party is ultimate truth. The government just wants their citizens to love Big Brother, so they can have power over them. The Party does this by making sex only about
In 1984 many government issues take place, for instance propaganda, secret police, brainwashing, and a wide manner of other devices to oppress their populations. The idea is to illustrate the dangers of totalitarian government whether it be Communist, Fascist, or otherwise. Totalitarianism is an imposing form of government which the political authority exercises control over all aspects of life such as their sex life, and health in general. “If you can feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can't have any result whatever, you've beaten them” (George Orwell, 1984). Also psychological manipulation and mind control are a big controversy in 1984. Psychological manipulation is a social influence that moves towards the behavior of others through deceptive, or even abusive tactics. “And so it was with every class of recorded fact, great or small. Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which, finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain” (book 1, chapter 4). The author, Orwell wants the readers to think that the government monitors and controls everything that the humans do, and that basically everything that people do are against the law.
Noah Miller English Honors: D Ms. Hiller 13 December 2013 1984 Major Essay Assignment. Individualism is the one side versus its opposite, collectivism, that is the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. When put into a collective whole, one might do for the whole more than one does for oneself.
In the novel 1984, Orwell produced a social critique on totalitarianism and a future dystopia that made the world pause and think about our past, present and future. When reading this novel we all must take the time to think of the possibility that Orwell's world could come to pass. Orwell presents the concepts of power, marginalization, and resistance through physical, psychological, sexual and political control of the people of Oceania. The reader experiences the emotional ride through the eyes of Winston Smith, who was born into the oppressive life under the rule of Ingsoc. Readers are encouraged through Winston to adopt a negative opinion on the idea of communist rule and the inherent dangers of totalitarianism. The psychological manipulation and physical control are explored through Winston's journey, and with Winston's resistance and ultimate downfall, the reader is able to fully appreciate O'Briens reasoning, "Power is not a means, it is an end."
Love is an emotion affecting people's everyday lives. In the book “1984,”, George Orwell introduces his readers to this idea, with a compelling portrayal of this important feeling. In Orwell’s totalitarian society of Oceania, the ruling party attempts to demolish all love for anyone except Big Brother who controls them. The affection that normally exists between individuals, in Oceania, warps to exist between individuals tortured and those torturing them. This is demonstrated by familial bonds and affection between siblings, wives, mothers, fathers and children, changing and creating an opportunity for the government to monitor its citizens. In contrast the interactions between the main character, Winston and his oppressor, O'Brien exhibit true love. Real connections between regular human beings in Oceania are virtually non existent due to actions taken by the government to destroy these bonds.
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell, is a superb novel with outstanding themes. One of the most prominent themes found in this novel is psychological manipulation. Citizens in this society are subject to ever present signs declaring “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” (Orwell 1). Along with psychological manipulation, physical control takes place. The Party not only controls what people in Oceania think, but what they do as well.
Love is the foundation and the weakness of a totalitarian regime. For a stable totalitarian society, love between two individuals is eliminated because only a relationship between the person and the party and a love for its leader can exist. The totalitarian society depicted throughout the Orwell’s novel 1984 has created a concept of an Orwellian society. Stalin’s Soviet state can be considered Orwellian because it draws close parallels to the imaginary world of Oceania in 1984. During the twentieth century, Soviet Russia lived under Stalin’s brutal and oppressive governments, which was necessary for Stalin to retain power. In both cases, brutality and oppression led to an absence of relationships and love. This love was directed towards Stalin and Big Brother, and human beings became willing servants of their leader. The biggest threat to any totalitarian regime is love, or the lack of it. As Orwell said, they key danger to the system is “the growth of liberalism and skepticism in their own ranks” (Orwell 171). For example, in the novel it was the desire of the Party to eliminate love and sex, in order to channel this pent-up passion towards the love of Big Brother. Similarly, Stalin used propaganda and extreme nationalism to brainwash the peoples of Russia. He channeled their beliefs into a passion for Soviet ideals and a love of Stalin. In both cases, love for anything but the Party is the biggest threat to the regime. The stability of the Party and Stalin’s regime directly depended upon loyalty to the government above all else. By drawing upon the close relationships between the two Orwellian societies, we can examine just how dangerous love is to the Party.
The Party redirects society’s desire for sex to obsessive dedication to Big Brother. Two Minutes Hate, marches, constant propaganda and public executions pave a manipulative path for the government. In 1984, sex is not a pleasurable act but merely a means to reproduce more party members. Chastity and pent up desire also serve a purpose in that, “the Party attempts to sustain in its members a state that permanently anticipates pleasure and then channels that energy for its own purposes"(Trihol). In this society, passion is converted into love for Big Brother. Constant supervision and sex crimes help to maintain sexual activity as a political act. The natural human instinct is influenced by the government, for the government. Because sex produces private allegiances, the Party must regulate these public norms and use them as fuel for...
“"Propaganda is as powerful as heroin, it surreptitiously dissolves all capacity to think” by Gil Courtemanche connects to the sad fact of using propaganda as a deadly weapon to feed people with false information and stop them from thinking. George Orwell’s novel, 1984, describes a totalitarian dystopian society where the Party is constantly brainwashing its citizens with information that is beneficial to its own rights. On the opposite side, people are working for the party just like dominated slaves for their masters without knowing what’s going on. But, in order for the party to achieve this goal, they have to use different techniques of propaganda in Oceania to create fear for people so that they can obey the rules. The use of propaganda in the society of 1984 takes away freedom from individuals because of the absence of privacy, thinking and making decisions.
1984 is a novel written by George Orwell, the main theme of the novel is about how totalitarian society can control every aspect of a person thought, sexuality and action. Totalitarianism can be define as a repressive one-party that has total control over people thoughts and actions. In 1984, people are being control totally by the Party through device such as the telescreen. People are stripped away from their freedom to do things that they want. The Party wants people to only focus on improving the Party and set everything else aside. Love is nonexistent in this government and the Party’s policy strictly forbids sex. The Party restrains people from falling in love with one another. Consequently, people cannot display their love for each other out in public. Furthermore, sex for pleasure can be considered a crime in 1984’s totalitarian government unless it is “celibacy”. Goodsex is any kind of sex that is allowable by the Party with the intention to reproduce. Goodsex will increase the total population. The more people the Party has the stronger the Party will be. Repression helps the party and hurts the people who have to tolerate the Party’s policy. The Party’s repression of sexuality helps them eliminate people who are trying to corrupt the Party, ensuring the Party that they have control over what people can and cannot do. By repressing people thoughts and actions the Party is psychologically manipulating people and physically restraining them.
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is a science fiction book that captures both the benevolent and malevolent sides of cloning and mass production of human embryos through science. Huxley’s book, published in 1932, conveys his well-developed and disturbingly accurate ideas about human behavior in what was then the distant future. Some of Huxley’s predictions have been realized today, some to a greater degree than others. These specific predictions which are closely related to today are; our sexual practices, obsession with youth and beauty, abuse of drug and the declining practice of religion. For the people of the “World State”, life is based on immediate pleasure and constant happiness; lack of religion, fixation on beauty, sex and the use of
Have you ever questioned yourself if your children will ever turn their backs on you? Think no more, in George Orwell’s 1984, sexual acts are considered unmeasurably disgusting and rebelling against the Party’s main laws. The Party is represented as a group of security, to ensure that there’s no active rebellious acts to overthrow them. “The aim of the Party was not merely to prevent men and women from forming loyalties which it might not be able to control. Its real, undeclared purpose was to remove all pleasure from the sexual act” (Novel, page 83). Having sex, while the consequences can be death, under the law it’s accepted only to produce new members to the Party. The newborns are then taught from
What does it mean to be human? Is it the millions of cells that you’re composed of, or is it something more? In George Orwell’s book 1984, through the use of his protagonist, Orwell looks at what it really means to be human. In a world that is built on destruction and manipulation, Orwell takes a look at how a totalitarian government affects humankind and a person’s ability to stay “human”.
The family unit of Oceania in George Orwell’s book, 1984, plays an important part to society. These families are broken rather than households of affection and comfort. Oceania’s government, called the Party, controls the families in every aspect. With these non-existent families, there is a cycle of breaking down of family and a stronger Party as times passes until a there is force strong enough to end it. These families that lead to corruption in society should be avoided in order to prevent a totalitarian government from rising.
The party is constantly brainwashing the people of Oceania with propaganda spewing out every telescreen and slandered all over posters in the public. However, the media affects each demographic differently. The brainwashing starts out in the young children. The spies, the youth leagues, these are all ways for the party to get the little ones on their side. Their idea is to grab them while they’re young and gullible so they can fill them so full of propaganda that they’ll do everything they say. For example, Winston’s love, Julia. She has been exposed to the party’s propaganda her whole childhood and adulthood, she believes just what the party wants her to. When the party puts children into little groups, they are creating an organization of