Preview

1984 Totalitarianism Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
223 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
1984 Totalitarianism Analysis
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.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Those governments had come into being not so long before and they weren’t very well understood yet. What Orwell was trying to do with 1984, was to give his reader a clear picture of what it would be like for a free country, like England, to be under a totalitarian rule. 1984 is set in London; the London in the book however is a dreary place. There is never enough to eat, the food is disgusting, there aren’t enough shoes or clothes to go around and the city is pretty dilapidated. There is some sort of war going on but nobody really knows what it’s about. Rockets frequently explode in the streets that blow people to bits. The worst part is that the government is always watching everything people do. There are big posters that show Big Brother, who is supposedly the leader of the government, that say “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”. There are thought police, which have microphones and cameras literally everywhere. The government can watch you in your home trough your TV screen and your not allowed to turn your TV off, ever. There are a lot of things you are not allowed to do in this society and if you do them the…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A major theme for both of Orwell’s works is the idea that people, ignorantly, don’t care about what they say or think, and then because they don’t have minds of their own they are easier to manipulate. In his Politics and the English Language, Orwell says how people don’t think about what they are writing and how they have no control over their own mind as ready-made phrases fill their paper and their mind. Then in 1984, Orwell takes this idea a step further showing how easy a civilization of thoughtless ignorance can become one of mindless devotion towards the government. In the book the characters lose their sense family ties, lose sense of time, they lose emotions, they lose their individuality, they lose their ability to remember the past,…

    • 155 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Powerful Essays

    Dictatorship In 1984

    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Not only did the governments censor potentially threatening information from the media, they also censored information on world events from the citizens of their nation, too. In the novel, Oceania was constantly at war; however, the enemy is inconsistent. At the beginning, Eurasia is the enemy, and have been the enemy of Oceania for a long period of time; however, the enemy changes to Eastasia later on in the story. It states, “The very word ‘war’ has become misleading. It would probably be accurate to say that by becoming continuous war has ceased to exist,” (Orwell 199). The Germans were also reminded of their enemy, and just as in Oceania, it fluctuated. The only difference being the enemies of Germany changed between the Jews and the Allied Powers (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum).…

    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel 1984, author George Orwell makes many predictions as to what society would conform to in the year 1984. Although these predictions are jurassic and farfetched, many of Orwell's predictions are expressed in our modern day American society. 1984 showcases the empowerment of a totalitarian government. The main Character, Winston, lives in a society where the government controls every aspect of his life, ranging from his food to his razor portions, and even his thoughts.…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The world sixty years ago as seen by George Orwell was a different place than the one we live in and experience today. Technology was quickly developing and become a part of daily life. Atomic warfare was still a new threat, and the aftershock of its use in World War II was still raw in everyone’s minds. Totalitarianism was seen as a social experiment of sorts, and not having yet experienced the Cold War, some of America’s great minds were still looking at these governments with an open mind. Orwell thought that society needed to be forewarned about both the possible and real dangers of these issues, so his manifesto, 1984, was his call for social change, his call to respect the dangers that technology, war, and totalitarianism introduced.…

    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A totalitarian government must be simultaneously admired and feared by its citizens in order to maintain absolute control. Oceania’s Inner Party in George Orwell’s 1984 takes extreme measures, such as putting its people through physical and mental torture, to ensure that they will always remain in power. Citizens are robbed of any personal rights and freedoms, bringing about their suffering and the Party’s success. Inequality between the social classes as well as unreasonable punishment for crime keeps the citizens in line and the Party in…

    • 86 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Analysis on 1984

    • 1195 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Foreshadowing: the use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in a novel. Foreshadowing is often used to predict death or fortune and can be valuable for the reader 's comprehension. In the novel 1984, George Orwell depicts a utopian society and a totalitarian government. Society is at constant war and freedom is crumbling. Death is everywhere along with poverty, and censorship. One can neither write their thoughts nor talk criticize the government. In his novel, George Orwell foreshadows death and decay of society to illustrate the theme of fate.…

    • 1195 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful 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

    1984 Dystopia Analysis

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Dystopia. The idea is explored in a now, quite saturated, genre of novels, many of which predict propaganda integrated into daily life, “controlling” the minds of the masses. 1984 is no longer the future, and neither is the twenty-first century. Many would believe that we still have yet to live in such conditions, but the truth contrasts this more than they may be aware. Propaganda is more prevalent than ever, with the advent of the internet, a powerful tool that when wielded can instantly connect one to vast amounts of knowledge. The internet, however, has become a powerful medium for propaganda. This isn’t even necessarily limited to blatant spreading of opinions, but also to news articles, and companies that exist today. This is not…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Both novels are clearly trying to present a type of warning sign to future generations. They both show how the over use of power by the government, technology, and science can ruin a whole population. “In the end the party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it.” (Orwell p 80.) This quote strong portrays how controlling the government was in “1984.” Everything that the party said was true, according to the party, and people had to knife by it. This is a prime example of totalitarianism.…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good 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
  • Powerful Essays

    1984 has had such an impact because totalitarianism never changes. Totalitarian governments always do the same things to get their people to go along with what they want. Totalitarian governments who will do anything and everything to control its people and get the people to do what the government wants. One problem with totalitarian governments is that they can never destroy man’s inner desire for freedom. Winston admits in 1984 that The Party “could not alter your feelings; for that matter you could not alter them yourself, even if you wanted to. (Watt)” Winston Smith knows that humans were not meant to live in fear from their government. Winston Smith knows that there are things worth fighting and dying for and freedom is one of them. 1984 has become a symbol for freedom and it also become a classic amongst its readers and amazingly has “sold over eleven million copies and has been translated into 23 different languages. (Rehnquist,5)” Not only is 1984 a classic but, so is George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.” Both “Animal Farm” and 1984 “have translated into more than sixty languages and have sold more than 40 million copies. (Myers,6)” Not only has 1984 sold millions of copies Time Magazine ranked it as one of the “Top 100 All Time Best Novels.” Time Magazine said “When Smith is tempted by a beautiful resistance fighter into an act of rebellion, 1984 becomes something more: a strange, tragic, deeply sad love story. It is Orwell 's triumph, and the century 's misfortune, that 1984 is as prescient as it is pessimistic. (Time.com,1)” Overall 1984 is one of the greatest novels written by one of the greatest authors, who was a much better author than Hemingway or Fitzgerald, of the 20th century.…

    • 1711 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful 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
  • Powerful Essays

    George Orwell writes his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four not as a story of fiction but as a warning about the dangers of totalitarian control. The concepts of free enterprise and individual freedom no longer exist in 1984, all of the power is split into three groups Eastasia, Eurasia, and Oceania. In his novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell uses certain literary devices, introduces new linguistic concepts and uses propaganda techniques to suppress freedom, controlling the people and forming a totalitarian society. Orwell introduces two new linguistic concepts in 1984; newspeak, and doublespeak. Newspeak is used by the Party to reduce and limit thought, and simplify the english language to the bare minimum. Doublespeak, on the other hand, which is commonly used by Party members to distort the actually meaning of words, and use the words against those who do not understand what they mean. George Orwell uses the propaganda tactics of “plain folks,” as well as the use of the Big Brother posters to achieve the idea of suppressing freedom. By utilizing propaganda techniques, introducing new language concepts and using literary devices, Orwell successfully warns us about the potential dangers of totalitarian control in our society today.…

    • 1818 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays