Examples Of Totalitarianism In 1984

Having lived through the politically tumultuous years of both World War ll and the Spanish Civil War, George Orwell observed firsthand the evils of totalitarian government and made it his life’s work to oppose the rise of oppressive dictatorships. Orwell recognized the means by which leaders such as Hitler and Stalin came to establish complete control over every aspect of their subjects’ lives, crushing individuality, free expression and personal liberty. In 1984, Orwell uses satire to warn of the dangers associated with totalitarianism by creating a world in which citizens’ lives are completely controlled and manipulated through mind control and distortion of history. In the bleak, futuristic territory of Oceania, the character of Winston Smith is perpetually tortured by government systems put in place to monitor and constrain individual thoughts and perceptions. Propaganda is one tool used to convince citizens of the government’s crucial role in their lives, while at the same time assuring that they remain loyal, compliant subjects. For example, at the beginning of the novel, as Winston walks to his flat in a dismal apartment building, he views on each landing a giant poster featuring an enormous face of the ever-present ruler which is “one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. Winston reads the sign to

It is not necessarily that Orwell believes “thought police” or “newspeak” might actually exist in the future but that through exaggeration and satire he might draw attention to a societal threat. INGSOC incorporates elements of both Nazi Germany and communist Russia, leading the reader to recall and react to the worst of the recent past so as not to repeat it in the