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Examples Of Totalitarianism In 1984 By George Orwell

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Totalitarianism, the type of government used in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four , could be considered the most controlling type of government. Orwell intended to expose the corruption caused by totalitarianism in the real world, through his creation of “the Party” in Nineteen Eighty-Four. The main purpose of the Party was to control the people of Oceania through propaganda, surveillance, and mind control. The most prominent symbol of power was Big Brother. Big Brother and the Party used their power to control every aspect of the people of Oceanias lives, including who and how they love. In Orwells, Nineteen Eighty-Four the effects of overly powerful, totalitarian governments are tested and it is ultimately proven that the people of Oceania …show more content…

Not all citizens of Oceania agreed with the policies of Big Brother and the Party, but because of the intense control they were placed under, it was nearly impossible to express any negative feeling towards them without being taken in for investigation. One example of a citizen with a distaste for Big Brother is Winston. Throughout Nineteen Eighty-Four, Winston grows to recognize the immorality of the Party and its control. To protect his life, Winston could not let anyone know he had any sort of doubt in the Party and its power. “This subhuman chanting of “B-B…B-B!” always filled him with horror. Of course he chanted with the rest: it was impossible to do otherwise” (Orwell 17). Winston feels as if he is the only one that recognizes the feeling of being inhuman due to the lack of freedom. He also recognizes the danger that revolting could be. To feel any sense of freedom, Winston has to find ways to challenge Big Brother and his power while staying off the radar of the Party. One way he does this is by keeping a secret and illegal diary, where he expresses his distaste for Big Brother. His doing this is considered a “thought crime”, described as resulting in “inevitable arrest”. In this …show more content…

After they can no longer resist each other, Julia get the two of them a room above Mr. Charringtons second hand shop outside of the city, where there are supposedly no telescreens, meaning they cannot be watched. In this room, Julia and Winson have a conversation about Julias impurity, and Winston expresses his attraction to it because it goes against everything the party wants. “Listen. The more men you've had, the more I love you…I hate purity, I hate goodness. I don't want any virtue to exist anywhere.” (Orwell 125). This proves how Julia and Winston are meant for each other because they have and don't have exactly what the other wants, a distaste for the party, and a lack of purity. Eventually, Julia and Winstons affair is revealed after a secret telecreen is discovered in the room they are staying in, and they are taken away by the Thought Police. In the hands of the Party, Winstons love for Julia is tested and he untimely fails in order to save himself, proving that the control over the people of Oceania

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993 Words | 4 Pages

From start to finish it constantly reminds the reader of the war and Big Brother, the face of Oceania and the party, similar to a dictator, but is never seen in person. Big Brother is first introduced on page 5, “there seemed to be no colour in anything, except the posters that were plastered everywhere. The blackmoustachio’d face gazed down from every commanding corner. There was one on the house-front immediately opposite. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into Winston’s own.”

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1481 Words | 6 Pages

At the beginning of the novel, Winston made it prominent that he dissented Big Brother and his party’s idea. He wrote in his diary, in Book 1 Chapter 1, “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER…” (Orwell 18). This shows that Winston dissented his country’s government and was willing to rebel for he knew deep inside that

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432 Words | 2 Pages

He was brutally tortured in the guts of the Ministry of Love, akin to modern day North Korea, Winston was lobotomised. The physical altercations and stigma were even proclaimed as such, “the pain was so great… no one could ask for more, he wanted it to stop.”. Whether or not the subsequent love for Big Brother was authentic, it became second nature. Winston is collective in his resolve for the party, even if one wants to indulge in pleasure and protests, morality and consequence are ingrained into one's mind.

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576 Words | 3 Pages

Yet, at this moment we see just that, as Winston repeatedly tells O’Brien to “[d]o it to Julia! , do it to Julia” (Orwell 300). Despite Winston’s love for Julia and his extreme mental strength to rebel against the thoughts that the party

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607 Words | 3 Pages

Winston eventually meets a woman named Julia who he is both enamored and repulsed by. His feelings of lust come from her striking and unusual beauty, while the feelings of disgust stem from the abolition of sex within Oceania.

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922 Words | 4 Pages

Because of the omnipresence of the Party and threat of the Thought Police, Winston believes his rebellious acts were discovered from the beginning. This feeling of pessimism leads Winston to subconsciously make the decision to be less careful with covering up his rebellious acts. He takes risks with renting the room and meeting O’Brien which eventually leads to the failure of his resistance towards the government. The culture that the Party forces twisted Winston’s morals and invokes artificial feelings. Winston claims he will never betray Julia to the Party.

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1202 Words | 5 Pages

George Orwell’s novel 1984 was written for the purpose of warning the world about the dangers of totalitarianism. A totalitarian government is one that attempts to totally control the lives of its citizens as a way to have full power over a community. Orwell used examples of totalitarian governments in his book, like Nazi Germany, to show the extent of control governments could want. The book was a close look into how a government used its power to control its people, while manipulating them into believing that everything was honest. The world of 1984 displays many examples of how a government uses manipulation to hold power over a body of people.

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989 Words | 4 Pages

In George Orwell’s 1984, it is explained how we are going into a society where we are being watched and being controlled by the government from the past to now. In 1984 George Orwell describes how surveillance technology used by “Big Brother”. 1984 's powerful Party is its ability to control its citizens and Oceanians live in

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1756 Words | 8 Pages

In the book 1984 by George Orwell (1949) , the government uses physical and mental methods to control the citizens of Oceania. Orwell portrays an undemocratic government, INGSOC (English Socialism), ruled by a dictator they call big brother. Who seems to have the power to control and the right to anything possible. All the people in Oceania have no freedom at all. The government have physical and mental methods of controlling the population.

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453 Words | 2 Pages

Winston is defiant and rebels against Big Brother and the Party through various illegal actions. After purchasing an empty diary, he continuously wrote “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” when the telescreens were out of view (Orwell 21). This simple thought is considered to be a severe crime where Winston lives because it is direct disapproval towards the Party. Winston feels as if Big Brother is controlling every aspect of his life, so this rebellious action allows for him to vent his frustration.

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825 Words | 4 Pages

The Party’s approach to life has not always been for everyone, including Winston who frequently gets angry at their actions. In the beginning of the book, Winston says he was writing, “as though by automatic action… DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (1.1.18). His thoughts and actions toward Big Brother and the Party have become so strong that he is involuntarily writing words against them. Winston also resents the rule that there can be no love in Oceania, and leaps at the chance to break it.

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951 Words | 4 Pages

In 1949, a man predicted the domination of citizens by the totalitarian government and their custom of technologies to dictate the society. His name is George Orwell, a well-known British author, who wrote one of the most famous dystopian novels, 1984. The novel 1984 illustrates the totalitarian society and the life of Winston Smith, who works at the Ministry of truth and his humiliation by the party of the country, Oceania. George Orwell’s exaggeration and mockery of the totalitarian governments in the novel 1984 is now turning out to be one of the nightmare come true in our modern society.

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973 Words | 4 Pages

Julia wasn’t much interested in reading, and Winston was surprised to discover that “the difference between truth and falsehood did not seem important to” (193) Julia. While Winston was greatly concerned about the party’s manipulation of truth, Julia was more interested in freedom of individuality. The clever thing was to break the rules and stay alive, whether it was a love affair, swearing, wearing makeup or obtaining luxuries on the black market. She took great pride in her ability to bring real sugar, real milk, and real coffee to her meetings with Winston (177). Julia’s desires to bring these prohibited items to their meetings, as well as her disinterest in exposing the part indicate that she rebels simply to undermine the party in her own small ways and gain individual freedom.

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1784 Words | 8 Pages

Totalitarianism in 1984 and the Real World The concept of a totalitarian society is a major theme throughout the novel 1984. This theme of totalitarianism can also be applied to the world today. The definition of totalitarianism, a concept used by some political scientists, is a state which holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life wherever possible. Totalitarianism can be related between the novel 1984 and current events in the real world. George Orwell incorporated the theme of totalitarianism into his novel 1984 to display the ever changing world around him during the time it was written.

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1684 Words | 7 Pages

In George Orwell’s novel 1984 Orwell gives the reader a preview of a negative utopia. Big Brother, being the Government of Oceania holds all the power. Orwell conveys Big Brother to the Governments today. Orwell also shows the reader to rethink how their government is being run and or if they 're having too much power. Orwell makes the reader realize that their government has power it should not be having.

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