A Comparison Of Totalitarianism In 1984 By George Orwell

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Recommended: Totalitarianism in Orwell's 1984

Sam Johnson
Mrs. Franz
English 10 P.6
7 March 2016

Sophomore Research Paper (Rough Draft)

In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, a character known as Winston lives in a complete Totalitarianism community in London. A Totalitarianism community is one that a ruler, or group of rulers, controls all aspects of people 's personal and public lives. In 1984, Winston struggles to follow and obey the government’s orders and is constantly afraid that the ministry of truth (like a police department) will come and bust down his door in the middle of the night. Until one day they do. They take him away to a special place and when he comes back he is a different person. Ironically, while Orwell wrote the book, he lived in a time when a totalitarianism
George Orwell published 1984 “during the reign of Russian leader Joseph Stalin...who was proving to be a cruel and violent dictator” (Stanley 245). Joseph Stalin can be easily distinguished as the Big Brother in 1984, “Big Brother seemed to tower up, an invincible, fearless protector, standing like a rock against the hordes of Asia...the hostile figure melted into the face of Big Brother, black-haired, black-moustachio 'd, full of power and mysterious calm, and so vast that it almost filled up the screen” (Orwell 16). Big Brother, in this case, is the ruler of the party, the leader of the totalitarian community Winston lives in. It is unbelievably similar to Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union which George Orwell was witnessing the horrors of everyday. Another similar aspect of the Soviet Union and the Party in 1984, was Independence or the feeling of being free because it didn 't exist. In the Soviet Union, absolutely “No one, of course, at this time thought of independence. The nationalists demanded respect for the economic interests of the nation, and above all promotion of the national culture and language” (Kenez 231). This is an important part of the Soviet Union’s history. The future looked so dark, so morbid, that people saw no future. This fact was accepted as life in the Union, as it was accepted in 1984. One of the most famous quotes in 1984 refers to
All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always—do not forget this, Winston—always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face … forever” (Orwell

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