Totalitarianism is a word that has many definitions that are true to their own time and their own society. One of the most common definitions used world wide is very complex, but very understandable when you are done reading the book 1984 by George Orwell. Totalitarianism is a system of government and ideology in which all social, political, economic, intellectual, cultural and spiritual activities are subordinated to the purpose of the rules of the rulers of a state. Several important features distinguish totalitarianism, a form of autocracy peculiar to the 20th century, from suck order forms as despotism, absolutism, and tyranny. In the older forms of totalitarianism, people could work and live on their own as long as they didn't try to enter the political state of the society in any way. In the newer forms of totalitarianism, the people of the society are dependent on other people that are higher then them in every thing they do in everyday life. In Oceania, the world or society in the book 1984, the life of the state was very different from everything that we are used to in everyday life in this time. In Oceania the state life was all by a man that they called "Big Brother" that everyone worked for, lived for, and did all of their everyday things just to make him happy. The sate would say just what and when they could do. In the form of the society, the people really didn't get to live in any true type of society. They weren't a loud to talk to others about what was Knight 2
really on their minds, they couldn't thing about the past or what is really the history, and they couldn't have any kind of love life or sexual activity with anyone. In the form of daily life, the people had to go to work and do whatever the "Big Brother" said they had to do. In many instances they had to go around and change the newspapers so that the true history of the world wouldn't be revealed to anyone but the top people of the society. No personal life was a loud to take place. The thought police had to know and did know everything that the people did or even thought of doing. Oceania compares to the totalitarian state of the 20th century very well. They have several thins in common. For many of the societies the main goal of the government was to get the people to forget the past, and for all normal people to be known as equal. They have their jobs mapped out for them, and they will do, without any problems, whatever their boss says, and they will just try to get the normal people to forget about what life could be like instead of what life is really like. If Maoism would have become full blown in the first half of the 20th century, I really believe that it would have been very comparable to the society of Oceania. For example, Mao tried to get rid of all traces of history by having his Red Guard Group go around and destroy all books, unless they went outside the town of Oceania. If anyone went outside the town and tried to get anything from the past they would be punished. No one in the society of Oceania could talk bad of the "Big Brother" or else they would be put to death or punished very harshly. In Mao's time, he gave authors one time to
Knight 3
write anything they wanted to, with the promise of no punishment, and if he found out that anyone wrote anything bad about him, he had them put to death. When looking at the differences in Maoism and Oceania, I think it is not the right thing to do. In my eyes, I really think that the society of Mao would have turned into the exact society of Oceania if only Mao would have had the time to perfect his society. This makes me very happy that Mao never had the time to develop his society based around the book 1984, Wich appears to be proven but its not that Mao had read, and I believe he had tried to base his entire society around his book.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
In a totalitarian government, the people are not living in a reality, but rather the inverse, they are living in a reality made for them. 1984 by George Orwell is a story of Winston Smith's struggle against a totalitarian government that controls the ideas and thoughts of its citizens. In the mythical setting of Oceania, the Party is the ruling, and Big Brother is the fictitious leader that controls all the thoughts and actions of human life. The people's rebellious thoughts and actions are most likely suppressed, but that can only go so far for a totalitarian government. In the novel 1984, Oceania is controlled by a totalitarian government, which is similar to the government systems of Nazi Germany and North Korea because they used torture and food shortage.…
- 968 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In the novel, 1984, the protagonist, Winston Smith, live in a world full of thought policies, telescreens and proletarian. In Oceania, proletarian are under watch within 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, which mean they are being watched without any privacy. Also, they are not allowed to have any other thought other than what the party told them to have. For the people who do have the thought will being vaporized; never exist in the world, nobody will remember who they are anymore. The party slogan is "War is peace, Freedom is slavery, Ignorance is strength." It's apparently the opposite of reality, and it showed Oceania have a psychological control over their people. Every proletarian is required to be as orthodoxy as they can, but Winston still attempted to "stay human" by having thought on "Down With Big Brother."…
- 729 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The next historical parallel between Nazi Germany and Oceania is the totalitarian governments, more specifically, dictatorships. In 1984, the dictator, Big Brother, was feared, respected, and loved. Throughout the story, Winston was a skeptic of Big Brother and the Party’s actions; however, by the end he conformed, and he admitted his love for the enigmatic leader. “He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what…
- 1596 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
What is a totalitarian government? Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to it’s authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private live wherever feasible. Totalitarian government is run by a sort of dictator that has immense power over the state and the people who are under him. “A totalitarian society is usually ruled by a dictator, and there is very little or no freedom. In totalitarianism, the government controls almost every aspect of life.” (Wintrobe) Totalitarian government is the strictest most dictated form of government there is. We often identify totalitarian government with communism. Communism has been a topic of issue in the U.S. for quite some time now. Hannah Arendt experienced a totalitarian government first hand when she was…
- 800 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The government in the novel 1984 by George Orwell, forces its citizens to repress all of their natural impulses which leads to rebellious behavior by some of the citizens and a brainwashed state by others. The government in Orwell’s novel is a totalitarian style government with the ultimate leader being Big Brother and the enforcers of Big Brother being the party. The party has banned almost everything from the citizens of Oceania including but not limited to writing, thinking, showing feelings, and having sex. They banned all of these natural impulses because of the belief that acting upon all of these will lead to the citizens thinking which could potentially result in a revolution. Many of the citizens followed all of the party’s rules but some did not, 1984 focuses on Winston who did not follow the rules of the party and rebelled against them.…
- 1142 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
Totalitarianism is a political system with absolute and total rule over its people. The state has no limits to its authority and tries to regulate every aspect of public and private life. This is most evident when Orwell writes, “it was conceivable that they watched everybody all the time.” The danger of this form of government is that your life ceases to be your own.…
- 494 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In the Dystopian novel by George Orwell Oceania is a country which is a totalitarian state that controls each aspect of people`s lives using propaganda, language,and brain-washing as their manipulation methods. Even though its two main characters show a kind of acceptance as they follow their daily routine as party members. In spite of the fact that they are very courageous and both know that they way of thinking can lead them to be captured, and tortured; they are very different as regards outlook, temperament, age. and experience. However, these differences influence the nature of their rebellion.…
- 553 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler ruled in totalitarian governments. Totalitarian governments are defined by a government that stays in power through propaganda, media, restriction of speech, mass surveillance, and fear. In the early 1900s, totalitarian governments were on the rise. Examples of totalitarianism in Europe existed in fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and Soviet Russia. George Orwell, a British author, recognized the horrors of totalitarian governments and wrote 1984 as a warning against totalitarian rule. Orwell utilizes symbols such as Big Brother and Goldstein, telescreens, and the Glass Paperweight to illustrate the dangers of a totalitarian government.…
- 975 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
As stated before, when a government has complete control over a group of people, they can be considered totalitarian, or tyrannical. In the novel…
- 853 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In the eyes of a power hungry ruler, a totalitarian government would be paradise. It would be thought that if a leader is so happy with the way he rules his country, the grass would be greener on the other side. In this case, it is far from it. Citizens are forced to act upon the government’s rules, and failure to do so would only earn them a horrid session of torment and consequence. People are constantly under the government’s thumb, and practically have no say in what goes on around them. An American President once said, “ The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want. They spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife. They reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died” (Harry Truman). A totalitarian government’s goal is to see and ignore the peoples’ needs, then take that factor and use it against them by making threats of not making change if the people choose not to cooperate with them. They promise the society a better life, so long as the people do not cease to abide by the government’s orders. When everyone is a mere laborer for the government, looking forward to seeing no change and happiness in their surroundings, the government has then accomplished their goal, and continue to control its people like puppets in their hands. In the end, this comes to show that Truman was indeed theoretically correct, for every ruler who had claimed to be a totalitarian had oppressed their people of rights and freedom, and Truman took action to notice the effects. In 1984, the society of Oceania was overrun by a totalitarian government. During Josef Stalin’s reigning era, he also partook in a totalitarian government. The people were beaten to death, starved, and looked forward to nothing, but were forced to act as they were told.…
- 1399 Words
- 6 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Totalitarianism is a political system where the leader of a state or country has no limit to his or her power and tries to control every aspect of people’s lives. Today totalitarianism is present in many countries around the world especially the Middle East, Asia, and South America. Some specific examples are North Korea, Iraq, and Cuba. All of these counties have dictators that oppress their citizens. Totalitarian governments successfully reign and oppress their citizens through fear, denying basic necessities, and illuding people to think they are working for the common good.…
- 711 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Totalitarianism is form of government in which all societal resources are monopolized by the state in an effort to penetrate and control all aspects of public and private life, through the state's use of propaganda, terror, and technology. Fascism is a philosophy or system of government that advocates or exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business…
- 1959 Words
- 8 Pages
Better Essays -
Cellphones and technology have become a major part of todays’ society. A totalitarian government is centralized and has total control over its people. On the other hand a democratic government makes major decisions through majority vote. In George Orwell’s novel 1984, Winston’s perspective depicts his life living in Oceania under a totalitarian. In this age of cell phones and mobile devices equipped with recording capabilities, when anyone says or does could wind up on the “internet” within minutes, showing similar tactics as Big Brother, but not entirely. Oceania’s totalitarian government is different from contemporary Canada by eliminating independent rights, creating psychological control and allowing no freedom of any sort.…
- 789 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Totalitarian government is a government that has total control of its country. It is a domineering government with unlimited power that uses ruthless force to apply an absolute control over all the individuals that make up the society. A totalitarian government not only commands total obedience towards its powers, but also demands the individual's total support and very explicit legalization in controlling all others in the society. Also having a totalitarian government does not benefit the citizens because all they can think about is how to broaden the regimes and propagandas. Most of the time, dictators of totalitarian countries do not really care for the society, but only think about themselves.…
- 422 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Totalitarianism is a form of government that has total and absolute control over the people. Some people may believe that totalitarianism is the logical choice of government if the well being of a nation is at risk. However, I do not agree with this statement, I feel that totalitarianism should never be used under any circumstance.…
- 766 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays