Examples Of Propaganda In 1984 By George Orwell

In this current age, people are given many freedoms and options from where they want to work, to the clothing they can wear. However, with the rapid advancements in technology, privacy is becoming more and more scarce and of concern as many companies track the searching data of users of the internet. In the same way, this is very much one of the ideas that 1984, a dystopian novel written by George Orwell wanted to address. Within the dystopian, totalitarianistic society featured in the novel, critical thought and the individual identities of citizens are suppressed through the alteration of history, lack of nutrition provided to the citizens of the society, and limitations placed on the family unit. Consequently, this quest for total power

has happened before in Communist Russia, when it was led by a dictator named Joseph Stalin. During his rule, citizens were encouraged to spy on each other, similar to the way children told on their parents in 1984, and the increased power of the secret police, which operated similarly to the Thought Police in 1984 (History.com Staff). As a result, methods of government control in Communist Russia, under the rule of Joseph Stalin, are similar to those found in 1984 as both societies deprive citizens of their fundamental rights and freedoms. This deprivation is done by the use of misleading propaganda, control through fear, and lack of adequate supplies.

First, methods of government control in Stalin’s Russia are similar to 1984 through misleading propaganda.

This is done in 1984 by replacing one’s individual thoughts with the Party’s ideals. Moreover, this was demonstrated thoroughly by the Two Minutes Hate that occur daily. During this time, a video was played out of Goldstein and Eurasian soldiers who were at war. By usage of this war-mongering image and a subtle, calm image of Big Brother right after, the citizens could be easily influenced by this usage of propaganda which idolizes the head of the party, Big Brother(Orwell 17). Another point which demonstrates the removal of freedoms and rights through propaganda are posters which reinforce the strict rules of the party. An example of this is the poster saying “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”. Winston explains it as the “blackmoustachio'd face” which “gazed down from every commanding corner”, as the poster’s “dark eyes looked deep into Winston's own”(Orwell ). Effectively, this removes the freedom of thought from a person viewing this poster by installing the fear that the government is watching every action the citizens take and of the serious consequences that could occur by those

actions.

Correspondingly, misleading propaganda was also used in Stalin’s Communist Russia as a method of government control. Moreover, Joseph Stalin was also idolized as a hero as Big Brother in 1984 was. Evidently, an example of this is a poster known as “Thank you beloved Stalin for the joyful childhood”. In this poster, Stalin is shown in a white uniform, tending for children. The poster portrays Stalin as a “caring”, “comforting”, and “divine” individual via the usage of bright colours in this piece of art, so the viewer experiences a calm and soothing feeling. Furthermore, the use of children in the poster also builds pathos by the smiles of the children of the children, similar to how in 1984, the hate week uses rage to enforce the ideas of the party in control. Additionally, propaganda which strictly detail the ideas of the government which were present in 1984, are also present in Communist Russia. This is proven by a poster called “Keep your mouth shut” by N. Vatolina and N. Denisov in 1941. The poster depicts the same idea as the “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” poster in 1984 in that the citizens are warned that they shouldn’t say things which are against the government’s ideals, which could put the speaker in grave consequence. Thus, the way that misleading propaganda was used proves how both Communist Russia and 1984 deprived their citizens of their freedom of thought.

Alternatively, the way the government in Communist Russia deprived people of their freedoms and rights through fear are similar to 1984. In 1984 this can be seen through show trials held once a month in front of the citizens of Oceania where prisoners from other countries and members of the Party who have committed thoughtcrime confess their acts. An example of this is when a convoy of Eurasian soldiers were moving through a crowd, who were tormenting them and “the eyes of the aged prisoner stared mournfully at Winston out of nests of hair” (Orwell 122). This explains how show trials deprive people of their freedom of thought as the “honest” confessions of the accused, and show people an example of what the party does not want the citizens to be. These constant trials also prove to be a reminder for people with such rebellious intentions that resistance is futile. Fear is also used in 1984 in the form of torture, which were a way to fabricate the confessions in show trials and also erase one’s self until only a hollow shell is left. This can be proven by the existence of Room 101, which is where the Party forces the prisoner to encounter their “greatest fear”. When Winston was tortured, rats were used to make him betray Julia and to break him completely as his greatest fear was rats (Orwell ).

By the same token, fear was also a method government control used by Stalin to remove citizens of their freedoms. Show trials were a frequent of way of instilling the party’s ideals by having people confess their crimes. However, most of these confessions are fabricated by the secret police, who acted similarly to the Thought Police in 1984(Encyclopædia Britannica). Consequently, torture was also used as a method of fear to control people in Communist Russia. Brenda Haugen, in her book about Joseph Stalin, writes that “police threatened the lives of the defendants’ loved ones”(64). If the defendant still refused to confess, their families would be executed. Hence, this shows how innocent citizens were used as pawns without any freedom to be in denial and say the truth to control the rest of the population, all through the use of fear.

Another reason why methods of government control in Stalin’s Russia are similar to 1984 were the inadequate supplies and living conditions offered to the citizens of both societies.

In 1984, food is severely limited and a lot of people are left with one meal a day. Winston demonstrates that when he becomes “aware that there was no food in the kitchen except a hunk of dark-coloured bread which had got to be saved for tomorrow’s breakfast”(Orwell 7). This severely limits citizens’ rights to proper nutrition and also to pick what they want to eat. In addition, essential items needed to maintain an average lifestyle are also limited. An example of this in 1984 is the limitation of razors and clothing. “Sometimes it was buttons, sometimes it was darning wool, sometimes it was shoelaces; at present it was razor blades”(Orwell 51). The citizen’s freedom of using these items are severely limited by the lack of supplies provided by the Party and are instead used up by the Inner

Party.

Likewise to 1984, the citizens’ freedoms were also deprived in Communist Russia through inadequate supplies offered to the citizens. Similar to 1984, food was also limited and scarce in Communist Russia as it was believed to be “a reward for hard work” (Evans 93). Specifically, meat and fish had to be queued for since not enough food was produced (Evans 94). Again, this reduced the freedom of the citizens to pick what they want to eat and when they wanted to due to shortages and the work, reward policy placed by Stalin. Even if the citizens issued complaints, it often resulted in their rations reduced (Evans 94). Essential items such as razor blades and clothing were also scarce in Communist Russia. In particular, clothing was “uniform-like” and were made in poor condition by “unskilled workers employed in the textile industry” (Evans 94). Most of the clothing were also not sustainable and had to be constantly repaired(Evans 94). Citizens, as a result, did not have the freedom to express their tastes and their sense of style. They also did not have the choice to wear proper, sustainable clothing. In short, a lack of inadequate supplies demonstrate how methods of government control in Communist Russia are similar to 1984.

In summary, through the use of misleading propaganda, which replace individual ideas with the government’s, usage of fear, which enforce the ideas of the government having by having lives on the line, and the lack of inadequate supplies, which limit the freedom of choice, methods of government control in Communist Russia, under the rule of Joseph Stalin, are similar to those found in 1984. In particular, this is because both societies deprive citizens of their fundamental rights and freedoms. While 1984 was based on what George Orwell saw in the past during his lifetime, being years of what happened in Communist Russia and more and more democratic societies are rising, current day events such as President Trump’s ban of immigrants on six Muslim-majority countries demonstrate how the rights and freedoms of people could be still easily taken (Ritchie). To conclude, this proves to be a reminder how no matter the present situation, people need to be aware of how secure their rights, freedoms, and privacy are, a prime example being history such as events that happened in Communist Russia and fictional criticisms of such governments such as George Orwell’s 1984.