Essay In 1984 as in many other dystopian novels, the ruling powers must take into account the inherent tendencies of human nature as they formulate a strategy for social control. In 1984 the ruling elite (The Inner Party) channels human nature to their own advantages through various methods and organizations. These methods/organizations are known as Doublethink, the Spies, constant warfare, Thought Police, forgery of documents (the past), 2 minutes of hate, etc. The Party overall is dependent on collective power without it the Party cannot survive. As a result, the Party manipulates human nature/instincts in order to acquire absolute power and to control the population. However, in order to have complete control over the population the Party …show more content…
This is where the Spies come in. The Spies is an organization created by the Party which main purpose is to destroy the bonds between parents and children. The way they do this is by inducting children at a very young age in the organization teaching them and influencing how to monitor parents on a constant basis and adore the Party and Big Brother. The Spies encourages children to denounce their parents to the Thought Police becoming a “child hero” as state on pg 25 in the first paragraph. At the same time, they influence the children to grow up with undeniable love for the Party and Big Brother. Through this method they are able to eliminate the bonds between parent and child, having the child monitor the parent 24/7 for any unusual behaviors or remarks under constant fear. Another way the Party channels human nature and eliminates individualism is through the use of doublethink. Doublethink is the act of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously accepting both them as stated on pg 36 first and second paragraph. Doublethink was used on a daily basis in the Party. The purpose of doublethink is to reject truth (rationality) and accept nothing but the Party’s rule. This is where forgery of document and altering(destruction) of past come …show more content…
Some examples of this would be the poor living conditions citizens must endure, poor food, prohibition of sexual desire and long hours worked. Due to the constant altercations of the past citizens believe that life before the revolution was horrible and are thankful for the new life the Party has given them. The Party does this because as long as the citizens think they are happy the is no chance of rebellion. The Party also channels emotions through the daily practice known as two minutes of hate. In this exercise, the citizens sit in a room and watch a video depicting the Party’s enemies and Big Brother. The purpose of this is for the citizens to lash out all their anger at the enemies of the Party and worship Big Brother. Through this exercise the citizen is reminded on a daily basis that they must forever hate the enemies (Eurasian/Eastasian armies and Goldstein) and adore Big Brother. Another way the Party channels human nature to its own advantages is through use of constant warfare. The main purpose of constant warfare is to exhaust physical labor and materials for a patriotic cause while controlling the population through propaganda. Without constant warfare Oceania would have a surplus of supplies. This will cause citizens to be and find no need for Big Brother. Eventually causing citizens to
Topic #1: The party controls the citizen’s actions and thoughts with false information, in order to manipulate them into believing that society is normal.
Throughout History our world has seen societies which have risen to power and publicity through pure hatred and suffering of others. Our past could yet, reveal the answer to the question, “Can a society based on hate and suffering survive?”. The most powerful and controversial of these societies will be mentioned and with hope, put an end to our uncertainty. The German Reich, modern day North Korea, Al-Qaeda, and the Ku Klux Klan. These listed had based their societies on hate, suffering, or both, which they have marked themselves forever in history.
Leaders with this attitude treat the public office and nation as personal property and deploy the state resources at their disposal for selfish use. Their behavior takes the form of frivolous “surveillances, monitoring, and other control structures founded on lies and ambiguities” (Dean and Orwell 23). The same scenario is exactly what happens in Oceania. The nation is governed by the party headed by the big brother (“Gordon State College” n.p.). He shaped the society into a pyramid, with him at the top.
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
The dynamic of a typical Oceanian family is seen in the Parson’s children, who display no affection towards their parents. The children participate in activities condoning the mentality of the Party, such as watching the public executions of Thought Criminals and dressing up as spies, which, according to Winston is “not altogether a game” (24-25), which is seen when Parsons daughter eventually turns him in as a Thought Criminal. Instead of being a connection that nurtured family relationships, children born into the party have no learned loyalties to their parents, but instead have devotion to the Party. Orwell states that the purpose of a family ‘system’ “had become in effect an extension of the Thought Police” (136). In Big Brothers mission to eliminate all sense of love from the mentality of the Party members, the family is no longer a source of interpersonal love, but instead its purpose is to further enhance the Party’s
Invasion of privacy is shown in the “Youth League”. Children who are young and persuading are being brainwashed into believing every single word Big Brother has to say. They are told to spy on their own family to assure their loyalty to the party. While the inner party is busy making propaganda and re-writing history, the proles are left like animals. Free.
In doing this, the Political Party is in complete control over the citizens’ minds, blasting what they want each individual to think (Orwell, 6). They psychologically stimulate each individuals mind, limiting their ability to think and have a mind of their own. In a similar way, Stalin’s created “The Poster” and The Pravda (the Russian newspaper controlled by the government during Joseph Stalin’s regime) to twist and manipulate the minds of people into believing that what they were saying was absolutely right and true. Using this power, Stalin and his regime would get people to do anything for them. (Basgen, 2010).
Psychological manipulation the Party uses on the citizens is one of the first themes Orwell exposes in this dystopian society. The Party maintains this manipulation by constantly overwhelming citizens with useless information and propaganda.
Children are effectively converted into spies and trained to watch the actions of their parents with extreme suspicion. The fear Mrs. Parsons shows for her children foreshadows Winston's encounter in jail with her husband, who is turned in to the Party for committing thought crime by his own child. Orwell was inspired in his creation of the Junior Spies by a real organization called Hitler Youth that thrived in Nazi Germany. This group instilled a fanatic patriotism in children that led them to such behaviors as monitoring their parents for any sign of deviation from Nazi orthodoxy, in much the same manner that Orwell later ascribed to the Junior Spies. (2) "
The book “1984” by George Orwell is a fictional work that was penned as a discourse on Orwell’s views of what it would be like to live in a totalitarianism society. It is my belief that his views were based on his personal life experiences as he witnessed first hand many of the violent crimes perpetuated by those in positions of authority. Often, these crimes against one segment of society were carried out by other members of the same society in the name of political advancement or at other times out of fear for one’s life. Due to his experiences, Orwell began to write of his hatred of political power and the concept of a totalitarianism society. “1984” serves as a warning to readers of how a government can become abusive when seeking total control of it’s population. Furthermore, it showcases in great detail how a society can allow itself to be controlled through a series of psychological abuses and manipulation of historical information.
This is accomplished in three ways. The first is revisionism, or the act of changing facts such as history so that the Party is always made to look good and mobilize popular opinion against its enemies. The second way the party creates an artificial reality is through artificial scarcity. There is no need for the constant warfare, but if the need no longer existed for the construction of the tools of war, that productivity would instead be put towards the manufacture of goods which could actually raise the standard of living. Finally the Inner Party controls the masses by creating an all powerful omnipotent being whom they control and can say or order whatever it is they need.
People really think that the government is there to help them out from their enemies, they get happy with the increasing food rations announcement and really think the Big Brother exists. Therefore, the citizens of Oceania, especially the proles, prevent rebellion against the party because they admit that they have an ideal society.
George Orwell’s 1984 is a novel that explores the effects of totalitarianism. Totalitarianism is one political power ruling over all aspects of daily life. Orwell’s totalitarian government uses Big Brother, the Thought Police, the telescreen and Two-Minutes of Hate to show the control over the people of Oceania and their lack of independence.
In 1984 the Parties main goal is to control everything by brainwashing and controlling every source of information. As I read this story I could picture people with no emotions because they are afraid of cameras and the telescreens in their homes. I could not belive how the people in the story were forced to marry an an arraged spouse and give birth to children who are taught to spy on them. The main character Winston is anguished by the idea that soon, everyone will have no understanding of any true history, since the Party can cha...
Lack of hope, constant fear, torture, and no free time are what makes up the totalitarian regime in George Orwell’s 1984. Although people may try to go against “Big Brother” the government keeps a lock down on everyone, and if anyone is found or even thought to be a conspirator then they are done for. By eliminating all trouble makers, training everyone, including children to betray their parents, torturing suspects, and allowing no free time “Big Brother” and “The Party” are a perfect example of how to maintain a thriving totalitarian society.