Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Dystopian fiction analysis
The dangers of totalitarianism in 1984
Essay on totalitarianism
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Dystopian fiction analysis
Do you feel like your government is watching you? Do you believe the word Dystopia applies to your society? If you answered yes you could be living in Nazi Germany or you are a citizen of Oceania in the book 1984. The reign of a totalitarian government usually leads to a society with a description exactly like that of a dystopia. Throughout history there have been many powerful governments that have forced citizens to conform to certain standards. Even today we have governments with a power over its citizens so strong it's almost like a prison. Yet probably the most notable of these totalitarian regimes was Nazi Germany. The dystopian book 1984 by George Orwell centers around Winston, a skittish and rebellious comrade. Who has constant thoughts of insurgents against his country's totalitarian government known as “Big Brother”. Nazi Germany and the fictional …show more content…
There are many similarities in 1984 to Germany during the Nazi reign but these three were the main characteristics that stood out to me. A dehumanized state is seen throughout the novel and throughout history, especially during the years of 1933-1945. Propaganda is the most well known tactic used in Nazi Germany and 1984. Putting fear, ideas, and thoughts into the heads of citizens. And the constant restriction of personal freedom causes many problems and is actually quite a horrifying concept. Seen in 1984 the Party was overly determined to rip away all freedom from citizens. In Germany the Nazis wanted to use the policy Gleichschaltung to take away freedom. Given these points we can clearly see how real a totalitarian ruled society has been and it is way more than a piece of fiction. And even now we see these small characteristics around the world. So ask yourself; Could I be living in a dystopian society one
Between the poem, ¨ No one died in Tiananmen Square¨ by William Lutz and the novel, 1984 by George Orwell there are multiple similarities. Subjects such as their government, their denial of history, and the use of doublethink and re-education are all parallel between the novel and the poem. For instance, both the governments have a highly strict government. Their governments are so controlling of their people that they use brute force in order to help re-educate them. For example, in 1984 the main character, Winston Smith was trying to go against their government, The Party, and because he tries to do so, he is placed in The Ministry of Love and brutally beaten by the man whom he assumed was a part of the Brotherhood, O'Brien. O'Brien claimed
Imagine being watched by your own government every single second of the day with not even the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and all the above to yourself. George Orwell’s 1984 is based on a totalitarian government where the party has complete access over the citizens thoughts to the point where anything they think they can access it, and control over the citizens actions, in a sense that they cannot perform what they really want to or else Big Brother, which is the name of the government in the book 1984, will “take matters into their own hands.” No one acts the same when they are being watched, as they do when they are completely alone.
Even though there are many reasons why people disagree with the statement that 1984 is like society today, I obviously agree. We may not be to that point yet, but there are many similarities between our societies. The slogan, War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength, shows how frightening the dystopian society in 1984 is. Hopefully conditions do not ever reach the same level.
North Korea, China, and even Cuba are similar to 1984. They try to control their people just the same as in 1984, and just like in Jonestown. The only people who were free in 1984 were the Proles. The community in Jonestown began as everyone wanting to be there, and then as conditions worsened the people wanted to leave. They were not allowed to, much like 1984. The people in both situations are similar, in that they are oppressed by their governments, but only the people in Jonestown are given the ability to think they are even able to
Similarities between Nazis and the Party of 1984 The government of Nazi Germany greatly resembled the Party, the government in 1984. Both operated similarly and had similar aims. Anything either government did was an action for maintaining power. Both the Nazis and the Party maintained similar ideologies, controlled mass media, educated children in their beliefs, had a secret police force, and had forced labor camps.
Totalitarianism is one of the main themes in 1984. In WWII Europe, Oceania became the ruling power with the so called “Party” ruling everybody and have the “Big Brother” at its head. Some examples of totalitarianism is how they make people workout, they put tele-screens everywhere to monitor the peoples actions, also they refuse to allow any sexual intercourse outside of marriage. “Winston kept his back turned to the tele-screen. It was safer, though, as he well knew, even a back can be revealing” (Book 1, Chapter 1). This quote represents how fearful Winston is that he ...
1984, a novel by George Orwell, represents a dystopian society in which the people of Oceania are surveilled by the government almost all the time and have no freedoms. Today, citizens of the United States and other countries are watched in a similar way. Though different technological and personal ways of keeping watch on society than 1984, today’s government is also able to monitor most aspects of the people’s life. 1984 might be a dystopian society, but today’s condition seems to be moving towards that controlling state, where the citizens are surveilled by the government at all times.
Ultimately, common ideas found in the novel 1984, totalitarianism, surveillance, and lack of privacy are also ubiquitous in modern society and government. Big Brother and modern day government have been able to control its citizens through surveillance equipment, and fear all for a little more power. There is much to learn from such an undesirable form of society much like the one of Oceania in 1984. Examining Big Brother government closely, alarming connections can be made to real-world government actions in the United States and the cruel world within Orwell's book.
Many people today are fighters and make attempts to stand up for what they believe in. Another way 1984 impacted us today is that the novel was a prediction of a controlling government. “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever” (page 267). Just like in 1984 they had “telescreens”monitoring their every move, we know there are so many surveillance cameras used everywhere we go. There are also microphones and the government is able to tap their citizens’ phone to monitor what they say. This ties into the main theme
Throughout the history of time, we just have to fear a dictatorship or authoritarian system. We watch in complicated the possibly of dictatorships. Systems of government where they government control all, most of them set in a post-apocalypse future, after a world war , most of the time the society was destroyed, if not all the time, with only pieces of the truth of our history perverted by the government. Dystopian is a popular genre throughout our culture now it plays on our fears and makes us fear our future. Throughout English for the last book of the year, we are reading 1984 by George Orwell. “Big brother is watching”, this shows the idea of the government watching you controlling what you do, who you marry, how you live. This idea of the dystopia of government manipulation and control has reminded the giver and the society in it.
A dystopian society can be defined as “a society characterized by human misery”. 1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury both demonstrate dystopian societies. However, that does not mean they do not their differences. In each society the government has different ways of controlling and limiting its citizens for doing only what they want them to do. In 1984, violators are brainwashed into loving and following Big Brother as if they never knew the truth and return back to their everyday lives. Fahrenheit 451 also punishes violators in a way that makes them regret and scared to ever do it again instead of making them forget.
In 1984, George Orwell explores the many facets of a negative utopia. Orwell seems to focus on the measures that the government takes to maintain a public of plebeians who have no personality or identity and believe that they are not unique individuals, but instead are part of a greater senseless mob of people who constantly work for a hostile and oppressive government which is involved in incessant wars. These people are taught to love. They then learn to fear their government because they believe all of the propaganda that is constantly instilled into their minds. They willing follow their government without contest for the duration of their meaningless lives. The government controls all forms of the media (thus denying the people the basic right of free speech) and use it to personify the government (known as “big brother”) .The government therefore seems omnipotent, or all knowing and always correct. Forecasts are changed from one week to the next always proving the government was correct. As was mentioned before, many of the rights that present day Westerners take for gran...
In 1984, George Orwell presents an overly controlled society that is run by Big Brother. The protagonist, Winston, attempts to “stay human” in the face of a dehumanizing, totalitarian regime. Big Brother possesses so much control over these people that even the most natural thoughts such as love and sex are considered taboo and are punishable. Big Brother has taken this society and turned each individual against one another. Parents distrust their own offspring, husband and wife turn on one another, and some people turn on their own selves entirely. The people of Oceania become brainwashed by Big Brother. Punishment for any uprising rebellions is punishable harshly.
Dystopian novels are written to reflect the fears a population has about its government, and they are successful because they capture that fright and display what can happen if it is ignored. George Orwell wrote 1984 with this fear of government in mind and used it to portray his opinion of the current government discretely. Along with fear, dystopian novels have many other elements that make them characteristic of their genre. The dystopian society in Orwell’s novel became an achievement because he utilized a large devastated city, a shattered family system, life in fear, a theme of oppression, and a lone hero. Orwell’s novel begins with a horrid description of the living conditions of his main character, Winston.
The year 1984 has long passed, but the novel still illustrates a possibility for the future of society. It still remains a powerful influence in all sorts of literature, music, and social theory. George Orwell envisioned a nightmarish utopia that could have very easily become a possibility in 1949 ? the year the novel was written. He managed to create such a realistic view of humanity?s future, that this story has been deemed timeless. There will always be the threat of totalitarianism, and at some moments civilization is only a step away from it. Orwell hated the thought of it, and 1984 shows that. From his work, readers who live in prevailing democratic society have a chance to consider about these very different political systems, democracy and totalitarianism.