Absolute control over society is the central theme in the novel, 1984, by George Orwell. One method this power over society is exercised is use of language to manipulate and control people. The story features a society called Oceania, which is located in the European region. In Oceania, there is a form of totalitarian government called the Party which controls the entire society. The Party controls thoughts by making certain words or phrases illegal. In addition, any anti-party thoughts or motives are also deemed illegal. To control society, thoughts are monitored by telescreens which read reactions and record speech. A force, called the Thought Police, is also engaged to take power over and eliminate society’s individual beliefs. The Thought Police control peoples’ ideas because they know if they have any anti-party motives then they will be killed. This intimidation and control via the use of language is extremely effective in 1984.…
George Orwell’s 1984 cleverly illustrates the dangers of totalitarianism. The story’s central character, Winston Smith, is faced with several challenges set forth by the ruling government, referred to as the Party. In Orwell’s depiction of a totalitarian state, no individual is capable of having the courage and bravery to face danger. In other words, there is no room for a hero.…
One of the main questions of the novel 1984 is could Big Brother fall. There are many possibilities that contribute to the thought of the fall of Big Brother. Such as the way Big Brother pushes people around like Winston to make them want to rebel. One proven fact in history is that most totalitarian governments do not last such as Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union. The fact they are always at war with one of the other main super powers. "But the proles, if only they could somehow become conscious of their own strength, would have no need to conspire. They needed only to rise up and shake themselves like a horse shaking off flies. If they chose they could blow the Party to pieces tomorrow morning. Surely sooner or later it must occur to them to do it? The proles themselves if realized their power could overthrow the party.…
How did the party use control to maintain the society? George Orwell’s 1984 is a novel about a totalitarian dystopian society where the people have no freedom, always on constant surveillance by “Big Brother” and are constantly being brainwashed. Where “no one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky.” In the novel 1984, George Orwell shows how the party uses control to maintain society and place fear upon the society. In 1984 the party uses fear, torture, the control over sex instinct, propaganda to control and maintain order in the society.…
In the novel 1984, the author George Orwell uses diction and symbolism to convey the message that in order for a government to obtain absolute control over its people, it must demolish the past and human spirit. When Winston revisits Mr.Charrington’s shop, he finds himself searching through endless, insignificant items from before the Revolution. Rummaging through more meaningless items, Winston comes across an exquisite and precious item. The paperweight “[had] such depth of it, and yet it was almost as transparent as air. It was as though the surface of the glass had been the arch in the sky, enclosing a tiny world with its atmosphere complete…” (80,81). Orwell uses diction to describe how delicate and beautiful the coral paperweight was, and to accentuate the sentiment Winston felt towards it; it represented another world which was enclosed inside the coral. Through his description of the coral and his diction choices such as “enclosing” and “depth”, Orwell illustrates the idea that the coral not only represents the past, but is metaphorically trapping the past beneath the surface of the glass, “enclosing” it within its “depths”, concealing it from the outside world. Similarly, Orwell uses symbolism to show that the coral is a representation of the government and the Party; while the past is inside, the government is “enclosing” itself around it, creating a barrier so that it may not escape. Not only does the coral symbolize the government, but it also represents Winston’s and Julia’s life as well. The paperweight was not mesmerizing to Winston due to the appearance of it, but “What appealed to him about it was not so much its beauty as the air it seemed to possess the belonging to an age quite different from the present one” (80,81). Although he found the coral beautiful and delicate, the real attraction was what it symbolized. Being an object from the past, the coral represents the past Winston and Julia had dedicated…
‘Discuss how the citizens of Oceania are controlled and manipulated by the Party in Nineteen Eighty-Four’…
All societies are controlled by their government in many different ways. Many societies are controlled by a democratic government, while other societies are controlled by dictatorship. These styles of government both have pros and cons. The passage from "1984" by George Orwell distinctly shows that society is a horrible and harmful place to live in because there are certain rules that people have to follow. "It was Mrs. Parsons, the wife of a neighbor on the same floor (" Mrs was a word somewhat discountenanced by the Party- you were supposed to call everyone "comrade"- but with some women one used it instinctively)"( Orwell paragraph 2). In this part of the passage, it is told that there are rules that are needed to be followed in society,…
In the novel “1984” by George Orwell the theme of betrayal is reoccurring throughout. We see different elements of betrayal in each part of this book. From the reader’s introduction into the society of Oceania. To the events leading up to the ultimate betrayal. The character that we see this world through is Winston Smith. His experience is meant to be that of the average party member. What he goes through could be the same as many others, giving the sense of how deeply betrayal is engrained into the world of “1984.”…
Humanity helps us to gain new insights, understand the world we live in, and explore our clarity of the future. It’s an extremely important aspect of everyday life, so what would happen if humanity was completely controlled by one entity? 1984 is a novel that warns people about a life without any control over humanity. Power, control, surveillance and manipulation are all emulated throughout 1984 by Big Brother and the Party principles. Orwell advances his message of complete control over and manipulation are all emulated throughout 1984 by Big Brother and the Party principles. Orwell advances his message of complete control over society on them.…
While Winston strongly believes that the proles are the last hope for the prosperity of Oceania and that they will, one day, wake up and revolt, O’Brien argues that they will never rebel against the government because they are content with their daily life. I, however, side with O’Brien. Although, the proles are the only hope, as Winston states, and have the strength in numbers, O’Brien is right when he claims that the proles “are helpless, like the animals. Humanity is the party. The others are outside--irrelevant” (Orwell 269). When O’Brien says this, it conveys to the audience how little the percentage of the proles that are literate and how low their education skills are. The proles are not involved with the government what so ever, they hold no power. The idea of…
Throughout the novel "1984" written by George Orwell, the party is able to maintain power over the citizens through psychological manipulation. The party's strategies were very effective in keeping them in power. In the novel we see them deploy surveillance, doublethink, and newspeak as tactics to manipulate the population and eliminate the freedom to think for themselves.…
People never accept these Truths because many don’t know the difference between right and wrong. For example, “Ignorance is Strength”(Orwell 26). If you told someone who wasn’t educated what the quote means that person would believe you because that person hasn’t had any other form of education. The people of 1984 are controlled in every form most everyone expect for Winston believes what Big Brother says. In addition “War is Peace”(Orwell 26), is another example showing how you can manipulate people with words.…
Fear, confusion and intimidation are not just feelings. If they are used in the right way they can be used for control and power. A dictator in a totalitarian regime will use these emotions to control his people. The world that Winston Smith lives in has no personal rights, poor living conditions, and everything is controlled by hatred, even the people's history and language. The language Newspeak is being implemented by the government to limit the possibility of political rebellion by eliminating all words relating to it. The history is changed in a effort to confuse the population into believing the governments version . In 1984, fear, confusion and intimidation are used to control the society and to ensure that the totalitarian regime can maintain its power.…
The party is the ultimate power. Can that fact be any more established in 1984? There are several instances in the book that convey this, with a paragraph from page 104 being the most convincing. Winston had just arrived home, evading the “thought police agent” that was following home. Mulling over his options, he decided that it was too late to kill her, and that his best bet was to record his thoughts in his journal. In this excerpt, Winston weighs the pros and cons of writing. As the passage progresses, one can see that there is one “con” that is inevitable, which is torture and eventual death by the party. This undeniable result raises several questions to Winston, such as “Why did you have to endure it, since the end was always the same?”…
1984 The dystopian novel 1984 by George Orwell contains multiple themes. George Orwell wrote the book to show the dangers of totalitarianism. Through that main idea, many other ideas stemmed. The themes often relate directly back to settings and occurrences in 1984.…