Psychological Control In 1984

“Our minds have been poisoned and our accepted beliefs are unnatural and artificial” (McGill). Psychological control is one of the many methods totalitarian governments use to remain in power. However, this can only be achieved through widespread support and loyalty from the population. Therefore, it is important to learn how to prevent and stop totalitarian regimes in today’s society. Studying George Orwell’s novel 1984 can help identify how dictators take oppressive actions in order to achieve power and control. In 1984, the inner Party has complete psychological control over the entire population in Oceania. The Party utilizes a multitude of techniques, however, the unwavering loyalty from the citizens is by far the greatest influencing

To begin with, the Party eliminates any romance or passion involved in marriage to prevent loyalties between spouses. For example, “All marriages between Party members had to be approved by a committee appointed for the purpose, . . . permission was always refused if the couple concerned gave the impression of being physically attracted to one another” (Orwell 68). This means that no couple that truly loves each other could ever get married. This is due to the fact that, the intimate loyalty between two party members could overpower the loyalty for Big Brother. In order to keep the citizens under psychological control, loyalty can only belong to Big Brother. Every thought or action will be for Big Brother and no one else, if loyalty between two spouses were allowed to develop, then the Party would no longer be able to control the motivations behind their actions as they would act for each other instead of just Big Brother. Additionally, the repressed sexual frustration of the Party members creates an intense loyalty towards Big Brother. To illustrate, Julia knew, “. . . sexual privation induced hysteria, which was desirable because it could be transformed into war-fever and leader-worship” (Orwell 139). Since the act of sex provides no pleasure in a relationship absent of romance or passion, citizens are forced to find pleasure somewhere else. The Party purposely keeps

The Party ensures absolute loyalty to Big Brother by managing the family dynamics in Oceania. They accomplish this through the elimination of attachment, the never ending feeling of sexual frustration and by turning children against their parents. These methods of achieving control can be compared and analyzed to real life situations. For example, in North Korea, it would be blasphemy if the citizens were not loyal to the eternal leader Kim Il-Sung. Through the loyalty of the people, totalitarian regimes can and will exercise the full extent of their power through psychological manipulation as proven by history. If people can understand how totalitarian societies function, it is possible to overthrow even the toughest of governments. The ultimate goal is to not only destroy a dystopia but to create a