Examples Of Totalitarianism In 1984

917 Words4 Pages

Sofia Navarro Mrs. Yarbrough English 10 Honors B5 30 April 2024 A Change of Perspective Fear is a powerful emotion that holds the capability to restrict the want for freedom. Fear tactics are used to control populations, this is seen in totalitarian regimes. Totalitarian governments control all aspects of a society, this includes the citizens actions. These controlling governments inspired George Orwell’s novel, 1984. 1984 captures the protagonist, Winston, and his struggles of living in an oppressive government. By captivating problems that are present in the real world, Orwell is able to demonstrate the horrors of totalitarianism to the audience. To further educate students on how totalitarianism controls every bit of their lives, a game …show more content…

Emotions are constantly manipulated by the present society. In the short story “The Lottery”, the townsfolk all have the same attitude and positive outlook on their yearly tradition of the lottery. This yearly ritual of murdering a townsfolk is so normalized that everyone becomes too fearful to speak out. After being chosen, Tessie Hutchinson, who was manipulated into thinking this tradition was normal, ultimately changed her mind and claimed that this ritual “isn’t right, [and] it isn’t fair” (Jackson 10). The townspeople’s reaction to this outburst illustrates how the tradition is able to manipulate their emotions, causing them to be fearful. This fear present in the community causes them to not end this murderous tradition, instead, it leads to the normalization of the violent ritual. During the game, actions and choices were also dictated by fear. The fear present in my classroom led to “more students. abid[ing] by the rules” (Navarro). My classmates completely changed out of the fear of having to write a longer essay. I felt obligated to follow the rules and to do the strange tasks that “Big Sister” requested me to …show more content…

This invasion of privacy can also be found in China. Through the use of artificial intelligence, China abuses the powers of modern technology by monitoring citizens' emotions. This misuse of power causes Chinese citizens to control their actions, therefore abiding by the controlling government. By surveilling Chinese citizens, the government is able to “judge how party members have accepted.political education” (Browne). Surveillance can also lead to serious repercussions. For example, if a party member has a negative opinion about the political state of China, the artificial intelligence may detect this, leading to serious repercussions like imprisonment or death. Manipulation and surveillance becomes embedded into these societies, making it more difficult to express true thoughts. Similarly, in the game, several students continued to follow the rules because of surveillance. Being monitored dictates peoples thoughts and decisions. Rebellions hold the power to change the present, but sometimes the quietest rebellions are the loudest. Previous to the game, the idea of rebellion did not fear