1984 compared to cults

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In the book 1984, written by George Orwell, there is a group portrayed that is similar to what society would call a cult. A cult is defined as a religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader. Totalism is described as the principle of complete and unrestricted power in government.
The books main themes include language as mind control and psychological and physical intimidation and manipulation. In the book, the people live in a city which is very out of the ordinary and also overseen by a charismatic leader, Big Brother. This society, portrayed by George Orwell has all the elements of a cult-like and totalist society.
Oceania, which is the Americas, the Atlantic islands including the British Isles, Australasia, and the southern portion of Africa, is where Winston Smith lives in the book 1984. Ingsoc, newspeak for English Socialism, is the political ideology of Oceania. “War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength,” is the slogan of Oceania, which is displayed on the pyramid of the Ministry of Truth. The Ministry of Truth is where they change books to reflect the party’s ideology. “The language of the totalist environment is characterized by the thought-terminating cliché. The most far-reaching and complex of human problems are compressed into brief, highly reductive, definitive-sounding phrases, easily memorized and easily expressed. These become the start and finish of any ideological analysis” (Lifton). Big Brother used this method to break down the party’s complex theories and put them into one phrase. “War is peace” is the part that keeps all the people of Oceania united. Big Brother makes the people of Oceania think that they are in a state of constant war. By making the people think this, the people stay united against the other countries that “threaten” them. “Freedom is slavery” is used to scare people into remaining loyal to Big Brother. The party is saying that anyone who strays from Big Brother will surely fail. “Ignorance is strength” means that the inability of the people to realize how the party is keeping power is how the party stays in power.
This type of language puts people on a leash and the more they repeat the party’s sl...

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.... These men called him Christ, which translates into “Chosen One”. Another example of religions starting out as a cult is Buddhism. Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, also known as Buddha, who rejected the principles of Hinduism and found acceptance for his new ideas among a group of disciples. Big Brother never claimed to be the chosen one because he wasn’t taking power for religious purposes.
They called him Big Brother because the name sounds like he would be one to protect his people, but he is just brainwashing them. Big Brother uses the same methods of control that are used by every cult and totalist leader. He uses lies to convince the people that he is protecting them, but he is just putting them on a leash that gets smaller and smaller with each day. He prevents the flow of information within Oceania just like cults makes their own newspaper and books. Not one person has left Oceania and came back to tell about it because if anyone left, they wouldn’t even be able to realize that all they’ve known is false. Now I understand Orwell when he wrote, “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”

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