Absolute Control in the Novel 1984 by George Orwell

Thought crime occurs when someone does not fully agree and follow what the Party has said. People who commit crimes become unpersons; therefore, they stop existing, and any record of their existence is erased or they can be sent to the ministry of truth, where The Party will try to break them, and force them to love Big Brother. This is very relevant because in order to serve justice which according to them is having everyone love the Party and nothing else, everyone else must be eliminated or brainwashed. The use of technology in this novel is very important because it is the main way in which justice is carried out. Telescreens, microphones and cameras cover the whole nation.

Surveillance was so aggressive; that even children were to report their parents of any socially unaccepted activity. Children were trained to be devoted to the party, they were encouraged to eavesdrop and denounce their family. To frighten all citizens from disobeying or rebelling from the party, citizens were threatened to be vaporized or sent to room 101. It was the most frightening thought of the Oceania citizens. People simply disappeared during the night, their name was removed from the registers, and every record of them was wiped out (Orwell 22).

The party controls the telescreen by broadcasting propaganda about Oceania’s military victories, economic production figures, the nation anthem, and the Two Minute Hate Films. “Big Brother is Watching You” (3) is a slogan that is always shown or mentioned using telescreens. This itself is intimidating and dominating. It makes Oceanians second-guess their actions; therefore having no free will. Especially, since the consequences of betrayal towards Big Brother are extremely severe such as room 101.

had overheard some compromising remark and denounced his parents to the Thought Police” (24). By using the children of Oceania the Party is able to simultaneously find more people who could possibly try to rebel and create a new generation of citizens where the only alliance they feel is that towards Big Brother and the Party. The government has suppressed all basic human connections: “The terrible thing that the Party had done was to persuade you that mere impulses, mere feelings, were of no account, while at the same time robbing you of all power over the material world” (136). The government knows that human nature can overcome the influence of the Party, therefore they encourage the suppression of feelings so they have better control of the population. The bond Winston and Julia create evolves their disdain towards the regime gives them courage to fight against the government: “They can’t get inside you.

The role of violence is used by the totalitarian government of 1984 by George Orwell to gain complete control over their citizens by using violence physically, psychologically, and motivationally towards the people of Oceania. The Ministry of Love is quite ironically named. In the Ministry of Love, they use physical violence and torture to turn to captured rebels into obedient members of society and change their beliefs into what the party wants them to believe. Winston is captured by the thought police for thinking and behaving differently than what is accepted by the party. The ministry of love tortures him physically to the point where he looks old and frail.

In these two societies, the people acquiesced to the government and their corrupt beliefs. Especially in 1984, citizens have become extremely gullible and unsuspecting. During the annual Hate Week, Oceania decided to go to war with Eastasia verses Eurasia who they were currently at war with. During a speech, the Oceania government stopped the speaker mid-speech and had them changed allies. Everyone, even those carrying Anti-Eurasian propaganda fell for it and blamed it on the rebels who apparently sabotaged them.

Government systems are an essential role in maintaining a social environment, but enormous power from the elite can debilitate the majority population to a substandard way of living. Abuse of power is seen in George Orwell’s political fiction 1984 as well as in the Communist Party of China under chairman Mao Zedong. Both of these government systems use their superiority to control one’s way of living, whether it be a destiny of squalor or utter submissiveness. The main tactics shared between the Party and chairman Mao are their use of targeting children to fight for them, destruction of information that could lead society to an unwanted way of thinking, and forced unification of the population. 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.

This faceless but ubiquitous leadership – Big Brother – uses a range of techniques to suppress the people, including restrictive laws and incessant surveillance. However, the regime’s chief tool is propaganda, a perversion of language that denies residents the right to form their own ideas while at the same time altering the meanings of words to create a new language that reflects the values and aims of the government. In 1984, lies, myths and false information control the thinking of the residents. “Totalitarian regimes adopted a deliberate policy for infantizing their residents as a way of giving the ruler uncontested power over their lives” (Bryfonski 74). The Party uses propaganda as the deadliest weapon of power.

Throughout our history, the government has used spying to control humans, therefore dehumanizing them in order to get and keep power. In 1984 by George Orwell, The Party controls the past, the present, and the future through the records in the Ministry of Love. The Ministry of Love burns all accounts of the past, therefore the citizens of Oceania don’t know anything different about the present than what the Party tells them. The Party keeps the people in Oceania clueless about everything in their society. If the Party says something is the way it is, then that is what it is.

As you can see, the poster is relatively tilted in a way so it is looking at Winston. This was intentionally done as I wanted to point out the fact that Big Brother, or rather the Party, is constantly watching the people of Oceania. This is the main method of control the Party uses to not only spy the people, but to also make sure people don’t even think about rebelling against the party. Big Brother symbolizes fear, control and power, all things which contribute to the sense of hopelessness in Nineteen Eighty-Four. By being under constant surveillance by the Party, all your actions are being watched every day, restricting the things you can do in your daily life and depriving the sense of hope in Nineteen Eighty-Four.