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Examples Of Abuse Of Power In 1984 By George Orwell

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Abraham Lincoln once said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character give him power”. This quotation demonstrates that most people live with difficulties and that helps understand the struggles making it more plausible to feel empathy. However, understanding and feeling empathy when you have privilege is much harder. Thus, the normality of abuse and corruption in someone with a position of power because they lose a sense of humanity. This central idea is shared in George Orwell’s 1984, a dystopian novel about extreme tyranny. It teaches the reader that people will abuse power for selfish reasons as shown by the reduction of the Newspeak language, the advertising of the Party, and by Winston’s knowledge of Julia. The Party uses their authority to change the vocabulary …show more content…

In 1984 he is a person with high moral standards and values, the one to question the Party and how they rule. Despite this, he gives into the demands of power while being tortured, in this moment Winston is facing his “unendurable fear” of rats because the Party wants him to change the way he thinks. The text says, “ But he had suddenly understood that in the whole world there was only one person to whom he could transfer his punishment- one body that he could thrust between himself and the rats. And he was shouting frantically, over and over: ‘ Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not me! I don’t care what you do to her. Tear her face off, strip her to the bones. Not me! Julia! Not me!’”. This quotation establishes that though the torture he was put through by The Party was partially at fault for this exposure of information, Winston still was the one with the power of this knowledge and made the choice to hand over the punishment to Julia and free himself. This is a selfish act and even though it was provoked does not change the fact that what was done was used for his advantage and is morally

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Throughout the story, Winston commits various “thoughtcrimes”, which are punishable by death, against “Big Brother” in order to escape its tyranny. We see the things he commits these crimes with, specifically with his diary and Julia, to be what he cherishes most. At the start of the book, Winston’s first “thoughtcrime” was writing in his diary. In this society, expressing thought is against the law and

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In a book of many mysteries, surprises and assumptions there will always be one person or a group of people in charge. In "1984" a suspicious man called "Big Brother" is the man in charge. If he is even real. The more believable people in charge is "The Party. "

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Winston fails to stay true to his belief of staying loyal to Julia going against how a hero is someone who is idealized for being moral. As part of the Party’s plan to reintegrate those who have rebelled against them, the final step is going to room 101 that holds “the worst thing in the world” (283). Winston and Julia have fail to betray each other throughout their obscure time in the Ministry of Love until one of Winston’s greatest fears, rats are literally brought to the table. Winston fears rats more than anything and he did not want to interact with them in any negative way causing him to yell out “'Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia!

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By calculating every action perfectly, one has the means to get any living creature, human or not, to do anything he or she wants it to do. If someone adds other factors to the environment, it makes it even easier to control those around. In his novel, 1984, George Orwell exposes the easy manipulation of humanity through the use of specific language and technology.

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Winston is not a person someone can admire, but he does deserve sympathy and pity. His vulnerability makes him so very human. If anything is to go about, Winston is an anti-hero, but at the same time, he is nevertheless the protagonist of the story and an "Everyman" type all at the same time. Julia and Winston both believe that at first, that their minds and their hearts are inaccessible. O'Brien then shows them that they are both wrong at the end and that everything Winston did is the worst type of crime.

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A rebel is a person who rises in opposition against an established government, a person who refuses allegiance to and resists a ruling party. Every society’s set of rules and regulations evokes the inner insurgent of a minority; George Orwell’s dystopia demonstrates the execution of pursuing one’s rebellious tendencies and the unconscious destruction that follows. In George Orwell’s 1984, Orwell juxtaposes rebellion and conformity by using various techniques. The portrayal of London, the Golden Country and the Prole District, the contrast between the Parson’s family unit and Winston’s relationship with Julia along with the depiction of mind versus body are all ways in which Orwell chooses to analogize rebellion and conformity. Within

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In the novel “1984” by George Orwell, the Inner Party uses cruelty in a politically and socially effective way by using methods such as torture, starvation, imprisonment, and room 101 as crucial motivation for those being tortured to not only confess but repent of their sins against the party. Furthermore, the use of cruelty by the Inner Party unveils both the victim and perpetrator’s inner conscience. The use of cruelty throughout “1984” by the Inner Party and O’Brien reveals how cruelty functions in the work as a means of oppression and a catalyst of subservience.

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Psychological manipulation is a form of social manipulation which aims to change a person both behaviorally and mentally, through underhanded tactics such as violence, deception, or even exploitation. In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the tools the Party invokes in order to establish psychological manipulation would be things seen as common in the novel such as telescreens, posters, and even the false history spread throughout the citizens. In the novel there are many occasions in which those small things all around the characters are used as much more than just what they seem. The most common form of the psychological manipulation would be deception seeing as the Party instills such falsehoods into the citizens about the history, believing that doing so would entitle them to more power. The Party wishes to make power a priority above all by manipulating and belittling the people

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The torture destroys Winston's desire of justice, truth, and love. His core nature is totally changed. His "Slavery is Freedom" because he no longer possesses any awareness. Winston encounters Julia, they both admit that they have betrayed each other. They admit that they say whatever will save themselves.

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After meeting her, Winston realizes that he rebels because it is the only way to gain freedom. “The sexual act, successfully preformed, was rebellion. Desire was a thought crime” (Orwell, 68). In a way, Julia gives him the strength he needs to continue to fight for freedom. “I have not betrayed Julia” (Orwell, 273.)

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Government Manipulation in 1984 People generally rely on the government as a source of protection and stability. However, the government does not always have the citizens’ best interests in mind, as shown in 1984. The government has the power to distort realities and the ability to detect the truth. They can manipulate, or influence people’s minds without them even knowing. George Orwell’s 1984 uses a futuristic dystopia to show how the government is able to manipulate human values through the use of fear.

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William Shakespeare and George Orwell are two of the most iconic authors of all time. Although living in different conditions and time periods, both of their works show similarities in exploring human nature and defining humanity. Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Orwell’s 1984 both explore the human traits in different storylines and styles, but for a similar purpose. Not only do both pieces of literature deeply explore the themes of power and control, but also other aspects of human life such as fear and paranoia. By doing this in each author’s storyline, they connect with the values and beliefs of their readers.

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Living through the first half of the twentieth century, George Orwell watched the rise of totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Soviet Union. Fighting in Spain, he witnessed the brutalities of the fascists and Stalinists first hand. His experiences awakened him to the evils of a totalitarian government. In his novel 1984, Orwell paints a dark and pessimistic vision of the future where society is completely controlled by a totalitarian government. He uses symbolism and the character’s developments to show the nature of total power in a government and the extremes it will go through to retain that power by repressing individual freedom and the truth.

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In 1984, the party aims to control all of the citizens of Oceania. They figured out how to take away their citizens privacy by watching them through telescreens, brainwashing them to be aimlessly loyal, and even claiming control over their bodies and mind. The Party has limited language, so rebellious thoughts could not be expressed, and are working towards controlling the past. The Party wants to control the past because by controlling history and memories, they are able to control their citizens and gain power. However, the Party controlling the past ends up giving it power.

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From the dawn of humanity to the modern age of today, discrete generations of heroes have risen one after another in completely different time periods. Yet despite all the drastic changes throughout history, the definition of a hero has nevertheless managed to be preserved: an individual who exhibits exemplary courage and noble qualities for others to emulate. In the novel 1984, the protagonist, Winston Smith, embodies numerous characteristics that can be argued to be heroic as he pursues the perilous endeavor of undermining the totalitarian state of “The Party”. However, the fact Winston ultimately fails in providing any meaningful resistance to the Party’s dystopian society is what prevents his character from being elevated to the status

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