Tyrants have existed throughout history and each of them go through similar phases before their reign ends or they die. Hitler, Stalin, Xerxes, Saddam Hussein, and Antoninus Caracalla are all examples of tyrants who have consolidated or inherited absolute power and eventually lost it all. In the book “1984” we are not given much information about Big Brother, the leader of the party, but by comparing his methods and actions for ruling with tyrants of the past, we can speculate on the future of the party. Betty Glad, author of “Why Tyrants Go Too Far: Malignant Narcissism and Absolute Power”, defines a tyrant as “one who seeks and exercises powers for his own rather than the general interest, does it outside the law, and creates a political order based on extreme cruelties and mistrust” (Glad 2). There have been many …show more content…
Does Big Brother, the leader of the party, and Oceania’s ruler rule as tyrants? Everyone who has read “1984” would agree that Big Brother is a tyrant, and their reasoning would just be that he rules like a typical tyrant. This paragraph provides definitive proof that Big Brother is a tyrant by comparing his actions with those of past tyrants. Starting with the secretive eyes and ears of the party, the police thought. In Nazi Germany, “Hitler's secret police network. blankets Germany with thousands of informers, spying on the opponents of the Nazis as well as members and leaders of the Nazi party itself” (Glad 11). Both Hitler and Big Brother ruled over their people by instilling fear in them, which is a very tyrant-like thing to do. According to Glad, tyrants normally rule without laws, do things for their own gain rather than that of their people, and use extremely cruel tactics against their enemies (Glad 2). Big Brother recently took over power, so he “must act as cruelly as necessary to secure himself, and establish a reputation for harshness,” (Glad
In the book “1984” by George Orwell, Big Brother has the power to decide what is real and what is not. The citizens of Oceania are told not to use their own knowledge to gather facts or information, but to get their information from Big Brother, and the party. This show that the party has great control over its citizens. Big Brother’s power can decide what is real and what is not.
Big Brother - Big Brother is the enigmatic dictator of Oceania. In the society that Orwell describes, everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities. The people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase "Big Brother is watching you", which is the core "truth" of the propaganda system in this state. In the novel, it is unclear if Big Brother is a man or an image crafted by the Party. In a book supposedly written by the rebel Emmanuel Goldstein, it is stated that nobody has ever seen Big Brother. His function is to act as a focusing point for love, fear, and reverence.
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.
The Party and its leader Big Brother play the role of authority in 1984. The Party is always watching the citizens of the Republic of Oceania. This is exemplified in the fact that the government has telescreens through which they can watch you wherever you are set up almost everywhere. Even in the countryside where there are no telescreens, the Party can monitor its citizens through hidden microphones disguised as flowers. The Thought Police are capable of spying on your thoughts at anytime, and can arrest or even kill you on a whim. Not only does the Thought Police find and hunt down felons, but it also scares others into being good citizens. The Party strives to eliminate more and more words from people’s vocabularies. Thus, the Party can destroy any possibilities of revolutions and conspiracies against itself. Its ultimate goal is to reduce the language to only one word, eliminating thought of any kind. The Party makes people believe that it is good and right in its actions through the Ministry of Truth and through the slogans printed on the Ministry of Truth:...
While government as an institution can be used for benevolent purposes, George Orwell’s novel 1984 contends that when taken to an excess in the form of totalitarianism, government becomes dangerously self-serving.
In 1984 Big Brother keeps the people of Oceania in a perpetual state of war and poverty and consequently oppression so they have neither the will nor ability to rebel. This perpetual state is initially framed in Oceania’s architecture of repression: “Vistas of rotting nineteenth-century houses” juxtaposed with “The Ministry of Truth…towered vast and white above the grimy landscape”. The poverty and oppression of the citizens of Oceania is crucial in order for the oligarchy to perpetuate their power as “an all-round increase in wealth threatened the destruction of a hierarchical society” as those “who are normally stupefied by poverty would become literate and would learn to think for themselves”.
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 ...
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.
1984 is about a totalitarian form of government that has taken over the country of Oceania. In this country, Big Brother controls all. He is the leader of The Party, which is the only form of leadership present in Oceania. A mystery that presents itself throughout the book, is whether or not Big Brother, the person, does or ever actually existed. Everything The Party does, ...
Although Hitler was responsible for the lives of many people and was a real human being, him and Big Brother have many similarities. A few examples of how they are similar include their security, power, and leadership. The party in 1984 kept surveillance of their people and everything they did. Meanwhile, Hitler used guards to keep an eye on the Jews. Even though the Jews had direct supervision, both the Jews and the citizens of Oceania were closely being watched. Both Big Brother and Adolf Hitler used their power to control the people. On page (??) “Always eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or bed- no escape. Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters in your skull.” This quote refers to the eyes of Big Brother watching you. However, people of Oceania feared Big Brother more than the people of Germany feared Adolf. This is because of the fact that, despite Hitler’s violence, people still looked up to him because he tried to gain back their pride and cooperation following Germany's defeat in World War 1. Many German people felt that other nations were treating them badly. Therefore, they looked to Hitler to gain their pride and power back. “Some days in the camp you prayed to live; some days you prayed to die quick. Some days you didn't bother praying, knowing there was no sense
The fictional world of 1984 is best described as bleak. In the aftermath of the fall of capitalism and nuclear war, the world has been divided among three practically identical totalitarian nation-states. The novel takes place in London, which has become a part of Oceania, the nation state comprising the Americas and western Europe. A state of perpetual war and poverty is the rule in Oceania. However, this is merely a backdrop, far from the most terrifying aspect of life in 1984. Oceania is governed by a totalitarian bureaucracy, personified in the image of Big Brother, the all-knowing/ all-seeing godlike figure that represents the government. Big Brother is best described as a "totalitarian socialist dictator, a political demagogue and religious cult leader all rolled into one." So great is the power of Big Brother that the reader is unsure whether he actually exists or is simply a propaganda tool of the government. The party of Big Brother, Ingsoc (English Social...
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.
George Orwell, 1984, represents a totalitarian ruler that tries to seek power beyond its citizens. To maintain this high power, Big Brother has established different manipulations on the citizens of Oceania. All these manipulations, including language, technology, and altering past historical events. By manipulating Oceania, it can continue to provide change. In addition to these manipulations, there were additional ministries: Ministry of Truth, Love and War.
At first, we do not think, nor contemplate the effects that come as a result of our actions. In 1984, we get a sense of a greater authority in Big Brother. Although we never know if Big Brother actually exists, the power and authority that this idol holds over the people is unimaginable. The people of Oceania are divided into two classes, the members of the Party and the proletariat. The Party members are like machines that do the jobs of the government.
In George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, a malevolent force known only as “Big Brother” looms over humanity, particularly one nation, Oceania. Big Brother was/is never referred to by any other name. We are not given any hint as to who he is, if he was ever even a real person to begin with. Several theories suggest Big Brother is merely an image. Others say he was an active dictator, or was one long ago and that they are keeping his memory alive through Big Brother.