Totalitarianism In George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four

In the current political state of the United States of America, signs of totalitarianism are making a comeback in the political spectrum again. For example, the government is taking liberties and justifying its stripping of rights from people. People of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds are being demeaned for whom they are. And most importantly, the government that is supposed to be protecting its citizens, is withholding the truth from them. One of the newest coined phrases of this year, “Alternative Facts,” has made many people weary of the government’s truthful intentions. This case is similar to events in author George Orwell’s lifetime, which caused him to pen his novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four. He had similar thoughts towards a totalitarian-style

Moreover, negative aspects of totalitarianism can be seen through the encouragement of hatred throughout the people. The most iconic symbol of hatred that the people demonstrate throughout this novel is the two minutes of hate. The entire process of it, shows just how much control the party has over the people. Winston details of that, “[t]he horrible thing about the two minutes of hate was not that one was obliged to act apart, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in … At those moments, [Winston’s] secret loathing of Big Brother changed into adoration” (Orwell 14-15). This in total shows how the people under the government 's control can unconsciously turn into puppets of hate for the rulers to use. People under the rule of totalitarian regimes are subject to becoming submissive to the government to the point that the government has extreme power over the all of the people (Zwerdling 75). This is true when Winston even finds himself joining in on the hate that the reader knows he does not condone. Therefore, further emphasizing in a reliable yet over dramatic view of totalitarianism’s negative attributes. In addition to the two minutes of hate, the people 's unknown hatred for both Eurasia and Eastasia further emphasizes the gripping control totalitarianism has on the people. The government has people assume false pretenses about the people of Eurasia and Eastasia, solely because of their eternal feud. It is shown that, “some Eurasian prisoners, guilty of war crimes, were to be hanged in the park that evening … this happened about once a month and was a popular spectacle” (Orwell 23). The people who are shouting about the prisoners coming from these civilizations are being told to hate. They have no preface as to why they hate them, but rather that it is what they have always known. In addition to the hate for both Eurasia and Eastasia, the people of Oceania also have an overwhelming amount of hatred for the people that are known enemies of Big Brother.