Totalitarianism In 1984 By George Orwell

In his novel, “1984,” renowned author George Orwell expands on the extent to which an oppressive regime can affect the lives of people. Orwell's experiences with political turmoil during the Spanish Civil War would eventually evolve into a dislike for communists, fascists, and dishonest politicians. Orwell can be deemed a modern Democratic Socialist who urges people to be literate in language; he argued the mastery of language can reflect intelligence. Orwell warns the reader of the dangers of totalitarianism in 1984, through describing a dystopian future state of Oceania that has absolute control over the thoughts, language, and narratives of society and is characterized by perpetual warfare and government oppression. Orwell dictates the

Despite the description of a society that lacks sophistication, the party uses modern technology in the form of telescreens to control the masses. Through the telescreen, which is placed in every household and public place, the party can monitor the activities of every citizen. In this society, there is no privacy. The government, in it's attempt to create a uniform and obedient society, prevents any acts that may resemble heresy. Using the telescreen, the government instills fear into the people, making them aware of whether or not their actions may come across as rebellious. In addition to the telescreens, the people are reminded of their constant monitoring through posters with images that remind them of how Big Brother is omniscient. This further causes citizens to become hyper-aware, having to constantly reconsider what they say and

One's ability to speak affects the quality of the thought process. With this ideal in mind, the party is determined to limit vocabulary and speech. Words that may evoke certain thoughts and have different interpretations are removed and replaced with vocabulary that is more limited in number, but concrete in meaning.

Negative words such as “bad” are removed because they are considered superfluous when one can simply say “ungood”. Instead of developing a new language, Newspeak enables the government to reduce language to the point where it is only capable of expressing favorable ideas relating to the party. Newspeak, while limiting self expression, also limits the capacity of human thought; the spreading of ideas is eliminated and the developing of one's own ideas is severely limited because of the lack of means to develop knowledge. “1984” portrays a society where people have lost all personal freedom and unknowingly live in oppression. Through “1984,” Orwell argues that individuals should not give up their liberties in hopes that a government, through total control, can correct the issues of a society. Through describing how Big Brother utilizes telescreens, the Thought Police, Junior Spies, and other organizations, Orwell delineates the extremes to which totalitarian states will go in order to secure absolute uniformity and total