1984 Paper
The Effects of Totalitarianism on a Fictional Society In 1984 George Orwell shows how totalitarianism controls people's lives through propaganda and technology, history without any truth, and fear for their lives. Orwell's intention was to invoke resistance to the totalitarian society he was writing about. It is strange, however, that despite the unappealing control of that kind of society displayed in the book, Russia throughout history has tried that form of government. Critic Phillip Rahv states, "Big Brother, the supreme dictator of Oceania, is obviously modeled on Stalin, both in his physical features and in his literary style" (182). Orwell is recognizing the similarities between his fictional society and that of Russia when he compares Big Brother to Stalin. The essential point of 1984 according to Lionel Trilling is "...the danger of the ultimate and absolute power which mind can develop when it frees itself from conditions, from the bondage of things and history" (143). The way the totalitarian government shows power in this novel is extraordinary. In every part of the book dealing with totalitarianism Orwell gives explicit detail in how the Party controls every part of the peoples lives. In the book the charac
If the people of the society went against the Party or the rules of the Party they were in serious trouble and had to face the consequences of their actions which were usually pretty harsh. Truth is something they try to keep from the people so they do not have opinions. Phillip Rahv agrees that technology has a huge part in the novel "In Oceania technological development has reached so high a level that society could well satisfy all its material needs and establish equality in its midst" (183). whatever the Party holds to be the truth is truth. As for 'the control of the past,' of which so much is make in Oceania through the revision of all records and the manipulating of memory through force and fraud. They figure that living like that would be just as bad as any punishment the Party would give them, so they are not afraid to fall in love. Attachments make them harder to control from above because they would have something real and not a lie or deception. ] The black-mustachio'd face gazed down from every commanding corner. Since the people have absolutely no freedom from the Party they are not allowed to fall in love with whomever they like. They come to a point where it is useless for them to live in a controlled society, because they do have their own thoughts and feelings. (193)The totalitarian state does not tolerate emotional nor physical attachments between men and women of choice. The posters were not the only form of propaganda the Party forced on the people. He also shows how lying, in this case, to the people of society can altar their perceptions, ultimately in a negative way.
Common topics in this essay:
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Phillip Rahv,
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Erich Fromm,
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