Preview

Examples Of Censorship In 1984 By George Orwell

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1016 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Examples Of Censorship In 1984 By George Orwell
Domination through Limitation
In George Orwell’s 1984, the setting nation of Oceania is being governed by a totalitarian entity known as Big Brother. To exert his authority, Big Brother has placed censorship on nearly all aspects of society. Big Brother banned sexual activity, modifies all public news and programs, monitors the activities of the general public, and even goes so far as to censor an entire language by making people convert to a new speaking system. This is done as a precaution; a necessary measure taken to crush the rebellious nature of humanity by preventing them from being able to express their distaste for the party; even their thoughts are censored. Censorship has acted as Big Brother’s number one means of maintaining control throughout the course of Orwell’s work, and there exist countless examples of the effect it has throughout 1984.
…show more content…
This may not even be considered a ban, but as a discouragement towards the act of meaningless inercourse. Party members are permitted to make love only when it is done with the intention of creating children for the party. Any other act of intimacy is not permitted unless you happen to be a prole. Pornography is also a prole exclusive, and is distributed by the Party itself, further exemplifying the idea that Big Brother is censoring it or editing it to meet his own ends. By discouraging the idea of pleasure through sex, Big Brother is left with a more cooperative population to deal with. Controlling sex means controlling the citizens of the future, and censoring or discouraging sexual acts and pornography keeps a tight grip on the intimate relationships between individuals within structured

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    During the cold war era you couldn’t buy foreign commodities or criticize government action without fear of being arrested or accused of being a communist. Today the North Korean government prevents its citizens from hearing news or information from other countries and sentences those who oppose their rule to forced labor camps. In his works George Orwell uses foreshadowing, irony, and allegories to demonstrate the mechanisms of tyranny such as propaganda, fear, and the control and alteration of information, often accurately foreshadowing real events.…

    • 1580 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Imagine living in a world where politics are everything and all forms of individuality and personal identities are shattered. A world where everybody is stripped of their rights to talk, act, think, or even form their own opinions, simply because they do not agree with the government’s beliefs. These aspects are just a few of the examples of things dictators would have control over in a totalitarianism form of government. Aggressive leaders such as Hitler and Joseph Stalin are examples of such dictators. They used their power for terror and murder, and their motive is simply to maximize their own personal power. George Orwell had witnessed World War II, the fall of Hitler and Stalin’s dictatorships, and the fatal outcomes that have come from these governments. To warn future generations of the harsh effects of totalitarianism governments, he wrote the book Nineteen Eighty-Four. Published in 1946, Nineteen Eighty-Four describes life in a totalitarianism form of government, following the main character, Winston Smith, as he takes risks in discovering how he believes life should truly be. Literary critic Irving Howe states, “Were it possible, in the world of 1984, to show human character in anything resembling genuine freedom...it would not be the world of 1984” (62). In Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, the government uses its power to suppress individuality among the people.…

    • 1645 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • 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
  • Good Essays

    The length the government goes through to keep censorship on this city/world is far too much. The entertainment is limited, and what they want you to see, nothing more. The schools and workplaces are strict and allow no personal thought or ideas. And if you jeopardise any of their laws or thinking processes than you are considered an outlaw and are eliminated as soon as possible.…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Censorship and propaganda are both powerful tools used to manipulate citizens’ thoughts, actions, and feelings. Censorship is the deletion, blotting out, and editing of certain words and phrases in an effort to suppress the publics’ information. Propaganda can be described as advertising false or partially true information in an effort to win over certain peoples. The Party uses these two ideas as ways to brainwash its citizens.…

    • 2701 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Orwell did not change anything about Totalitarianism when interpreting into the novel. He put on worshipping country leaders, strong dislike, and war hysterics. Children are brought up in families to work for the government as spies. They watch their elders both day and night (Voorhes 88). Big Brother is supposed to represent a soft element from a children’s story to society. Yet to the readers, he represents a political monster to add to Orwell’s science fiction novel, with horror elements mixed in. 1984 may have been inspired by the super-weapons of the cold war. The technology used in the cold war made a ‘social demand’. These technological advancements all served for the purpose to spread mass murder or even to at least intimidating sheer elimination. This can be seen throughout the novel, like when Syme disappeared (Deutscher 119-120). “ He lunged out a huge filthy pipe which was already half full of charred tobacco. With the tobacco ration at a hundred grams a week, it was seldom possible to fill a pipe to the top. Winston was smoking a Victory Cigarette which he held carefully horizontal. The new ration will not start until tomorrow and he had only four cigarettes left” (Orwell 58). During World War II, the government rations out good and often lowers the ration size so small due to overpopulation.…

    • 223 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better 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
  • Good Essays

    Manipulation In 1984

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In 1984, George Orwell is quick to establish the totalitarian Big Brother as an omnipresent frontman to the oligarchy that is the Party. These figures are both constructed to be omnipotent; they demonstrate this power by distorting history, human nature, and the individual’s very singularity at a whim. This deception proves that manipulation is a powerful tool used in the assertion of dominance and for imposing conformity. "Everything faded into mist. The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth” (75).…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “We can't be confined to one way of thinking, and that terrifies our leaders. It means we can't be controlled. And it means that no matter what they do, we will always cause trouble for them.” (Roth, 2012) Victoria Roth describes the way people act in a society, individuals are different from one another, and therefore have different beliefs, ideas, and thoughts. When a ruler comes into power, he wants to make the whole community think as he does, but the real problem comes when he abuses of his power to take control. In this way totalitarian governments and rulers have arose, and have intended to influence in the society to achieve their goals. A totalitarian leader controls the behavior and actions of its people in order to become powerful. In the novels, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and 1984 by George Orwell, two futuristic dystopias are depicted. Both of them show totalitarian rule, where liberty has been deprived by different means of control. In Brave New World, the control of society is maintained through a peaceful way that consists in convincing people of loving their lack freedom. On the other side, in 1984, control is upheld by surveillance, the restriction of information, and torture. The absolute power of a totalitarian state leads to a total control of the society, causing it to be vapid, ignorant and oppressed.…

    • 1675 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the Dystopian novels 1984 and Brave New World, George Orwell and Aldous Huxley create atmospheres that consist of their prediction of the future. “1984” and Brave New World contain totalitarian governments that encompass distorted views on the way societies should behave. Although the two leaders in the novels, Big Brother and His Fordship, carry out their regulations differently, the idea of how to control a society remains consistent. The key to maintain and establish a successful totalitarian society is through controlling the ideology toward personal relations and correctly using the advancement of technology for the “common good”.…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    1984

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Niccolo Machiavelli once said that "Since it is difficult to join them together, it is safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be lacking." When it comes to the governance of human beings, communication and words outweigh violence. It is impossible to have one perfect society. There has yet to be a society in which there was not something wrong. Different attempts at a perfect society have come about but none has been proven to work without fault. Communism was a good thought but when put into action fails. Not far off from Communism comes the term Totalitarianism. A system of government where a class, group or party feel as though their authority has no bounds and strive to regulate every form of public or private life whatever way they see fit. Fighting in battles against totalitarian governments, such as the Nazi Party and the Soviet Union’s Joseph Stalin, was Eric Arthur Blair, better known as George Orwell. It is amongst the rise of dictators and the beginning of totalitarian societies that Orwell wrote and published the novel, 1984, a warning in disguise. Orwell’s predictions for what the future would look like if society continued its ways are seen through the eyes of Winston Smith. Winston’s life in the novel allows one to feel fear and concern toward Big Brother and his methods of power over civilization. Winston was able to experience dealing with three of Big Brother’s “tactics” of the government exploiting history, enforcing propaganda, and manipulating individuals’ thoughts at first hand. Winston lives in Oceania, a dystopia where the terrors of a totalitarian government are unavoidable. A totalitarian society is established through manipulation and control of one’s mind and body. It is maintained as a consequence of the threat of excessive abuse, propaganda, and force which can be seen in Winston’s everyday life.…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1984 Totalitarianism

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Governments are the powerhouse of a country. However, when they contain too much power, they not only run the country, but the lives of every citizen. In other words, governments like those are considered totalitarian, They control all parts of society, including the daily life of their inhabitants. Total submissiveness is required, and opposition is punished severely. In 1984 by George Orwell, the reader can infer that the government is totalitarian based on their ideals and values. Especially in aspects surrounding society and everyday life, Big Brother’s party is evidently a totalitarian regime.…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1984 - George Orwell

    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Throughout the evolution of man, power and control have been idealized. When power is attained by manipulative dictators, citizens may initially view them as a means to satisfy their need for structure and direction. An author's grim prophecy of mankind in a totalitarian society is depicted in George Orwell's, 1984. Citizens in Oceania are governed by the Party Big Brother, which succeeds in controlling their actions and minds. The concept of oppression is taken to a new level, until there is no sense of humanity within the society.…

    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good 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
  • Good Essays

    In the year of 1949, George Orwell saw a possible future from his reflection of the totalitarian regimes of World War II and experience in Spain as well as Russia, especially with Stalin. This would culminate into the novel known as 1984, in which the Party and their leader – Big Brother – have complete control of the nation known as Oceania, where everyone is under constant surveillance by the Thought Police. The story is set in London which has decayed just as much as the people’s souls and minds, shown as a “negative utopia”.…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays