1984 and Brave New World

Through tactical approaches that target the lifestyles of the population, totalitarian governments break down an individual’s willpower, which leads to a sense of constant helplessness. The helpless population serves as fuel for making the government stronger because once people feel helpless, they are at the mercy of their government and thus cannot formulate their own thoughts and opinions to question authority Blind nationalism is an effective tool to control society because they are susceptible to conformity. Failure to conform to social norms may result in one's vaporization, as noted in 1984 when someone displays any irrelevant thoughts in front of a telescreen. They are constantly watched and expected to act angry during the Two Minutes Hate and to act neutral during any other meaningful social interaction. As people gather in a herd around a telescreen, Winston observes that “The horrible thing about the two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in” (Orwell 16).

In Ray Bradbury's award-winning novel, Fahrenheit 451, society feels the true weight of those who are powerful, the government, but the beauty of it is that the people do not realize it. The government works to destroy all books and knowledgeable material, and essentially eradicate all the individualism, the personal opinions of the people. Guy Montag, the main character and protagonist, makes an effort to resist the oppressiveness of the government, yet soon realizes that his sole efforts will never be sufficient to bring awareness to the oblivious people, as the government had removed all judgment and personal opinion, destroyed any evidence of their existence. The people had been lost to the power of the government. Hence, Fahrenheit society falls victim to the government because the people allow their minds to be overtaken and their individualism to be destroyed.

Throughout the book 1984, by George Orwell, society was constantly being monitored and limited in their freedom. Orwell wrote this book to depict the most absolute and powerful totalitarian government. It showed people of his time how this could all be a possibility in the near future and the risks of accepting this form of control. He was able to create an extreme portrayal of the extent rulers would go to, to obtain total power over everyone. In the book, the government had set up a world of lies and deception, which people had to believe or else their life was at risk.

Never shall I forget those moments whic... ... middle of paper ... ...y Him give great stories of their experiences through a change in government at the hands of corrupt and brutal regimes. They both tell how the regimes had no sense for the individual rights of the people in society. In the end, both regimes eventually fell, but not before millions of lives were taken. These stories shed light on how correct both Bastiat and Marx were about how government should be run. They show how a government that is too controlling and too forceful on its people will never have a long lasting existence.

In 1984, Orwell fears government control of media because it helped brainwash and control the citizens in Nazi Germany and the USSR and today it continues to inhibit free will and thought in areas such as China and Russia. Several times throughout 1984, Orwell emphasizes the dangers of the government having total control of the media. The government holds a tight rein over the large population of the proles by producing all of the media they have access to. When referring to the Party’s control over the media he says “the primary job was not to reconstruct the past but to supply the citizens of Oceania… with every conceivable kind of information (Orwell 43).” Orwell fears that this control over the supply of all information, which is announced and broadcasted through the media, leads to mindless citizens and brainwashed children. Winston’s work in the Ministry of Truth makes “it is now impossible for any human being to prove by documentary evidence that the war with Eurasia ever occurred (Orwell 183).” The governments control over history leads to citizens easily believing what they hear in the media and even if someone does not believe there is nothing they can do to disprove it.

In 1984, an Outer Party member, named Winston, had thoughts that went against what Big Brother wanted people to think. After an attempt to join the opposing party, the Brotherhood, Winston was caught and tortured until he cooperated with Big Brother’s demands. Behind every point in this novel is the idea that fear is an integral part of our lives and controls us in a way in which we can never escape. Whereas in Brave New World, the government allows its people to have all that they’ve ever desired and in effect controlling them through their wants. In the novel, a member of Brave New World’s society, Bernard, met and man,John, who came from the Savage Reservation, which reflects the values of today’s society.

These individuals look at the problems in society and show how to solve them with the use of control and power. Such a society is considered undesirable and has become known as dystopian society. In the books 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, both authors depict a dystopian society with some disturbing similarities. Orwell and Huxley each emphasize the use of power to control the masses. This power is always situated with a small group of individuals that uses it to control every aspect of the people’s lives.

We think this is crazy and could never happen, but George Orwell illustrates, throughout his novel 1984, the possible dangers of complete government control. Even though this exaggerated society seems farfetched, many of his fictional governmental qualities are starting to line up with our government today. Throughout the novel the totalitarian government, called Big Brother, is constantly attacking the people psychologically. One of the first things that strikes protagonist Winston Smith is a poster in the street, reading “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” (Orwell 5). From the very beginning of the book, the government is already shoving fear down on top of the citizens of Oceana.

A totali... ... middle of paper ... ...ion between the audiences because it makes it relatable; "If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say this or that even, it never happened—that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death”(1948, Orwell). This is a personification, giving it a figure of a monster. Justice is merely subjective and it’s represented with different perspectives in the novel, it depends on the context of the society and willingness of the citizens of Oceania to make their own justice against the laws set by the government. In 1984 by Orwell, he tries to warn the audience of what the world would be like if there was a totalitarian government. He depicts justice being served as something bad, because justice in this novel refers to the following of the laws and not moral justice.

In George Orwell’s dystopian novel, the government blocks almost all forms of self-expression in order to assert its authority over the people. Those within the society who show signs of defiance against the set rules, even those who act unwillingly, are seen as a threat to the success of the regime are wiped from existence. In Orwell’s 1984, the government uses different forms of propaganda and brainwashing to achieve complete control of society for their own personal benefit. The government in 1984 uses different forms of distraction to prevent the feeling of rebellion caused by the unjust form of governing. In the book supposedly written by Goldstein, it states, “In one combination or another, these three superstates are permanently at