Abuse Of Power In 1984 By George Orwell

Abuse of power has proven to be a cause for disputes and wars all around the world. Today, Capitalists are beginning to exert economic and social enslavement on the lives of Americans. “Communism and Nazism controlled people with fear. We control people with economic bondage…”(Dewar 1). Those who are running for office in the government present stances that include exorbitant taxes and governmental takeover of industries (“The Editorial” 1). Some have tried to make the action of abortion illegal claiming, “Abortion restrictions protect the lives of unborn children” (“State Abortion Laws” 1). Many argue that this is an abuse of power, believing this takes away a woman’s right to privacy and control of her body, taking away her individuality

Orwell presents Big Brother as a man who is always present in the lives of citizens in Oceania. Big Brother is presented as the dictator of this society. In the first part of the novel Orwell writes, “The black-mustachio’d face gazed down from every commanding corner…BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into Winston’s own” (Orwell 2). This device is used to illustrate the level of power that Big Brother has. Every member of society feels as though this man is constantly watching him or her and that nothing in his or her life is private. In Oceania, the government decides everything from whom a citizen may marry, how long these people are to be married, what job he or she will take, and what the socioeconomic class of that person will be. In reality, Big Brother represents the government and the fact that life in this dystopian society has no true meaning. If a man or woman has no power to select their own spouse or job, not much is left to their own choice. In today’s society love and freedom to love whomever someone chooses is a great gift. This idea and freedom creates individuality not felt all around the world. When Winston was placed with his wife, he became a monotonous being, one who ceased to feel a connection with human beings. Orwell uses this device of symbolism through Big Brother to bring forward a warning to society. Big Brother was modeled

During Orwell’s time, both communism and totalitarianism were on the rise. Many critics have “hailed it (the novel) as an attack on a specific political system: Stalinist communism” (“Critical Reception” 12). In this sense, Big Brother was modeled after Stalin with aspects of Adolf Hitler to highlight the horrors that would await America should the amount of control allocated to the government continue to increase. As seen in 1984, the Party used telescreens to conduct constant surveillance. “The telescreens received and transmitted simultaneously…so long as he remained within the field of vision…he could be seen as well as heard” (Orwell 3). While that idea may haunt citizens of today’s society, governments are already one step ahead. Officials from countries all around the world have the power to record and collect surveillance at any number of business places or dwellings. “There are a lot of cities in the world…that are filming you all the time…and it’s perfectly legal” (Kirby 6). With this constant surveillance, the citizens of such countries do not have privacy. It begins to feel as though every corner of society has a camera recording every movement or motion. “The communists conditioned people from birth to be good communists…we condition people…that what they have defines how important they are”(Dewar 4). In this sense, Americans can be