Communism and Dictatorship

Communism and Dictatorship

Communism and Dictatorship are both examples of a government with full control. A government who can convince its people what it wants whether it is correct or not is a government with control. George Orwell's 1984, is a perfect example of a government's control over a society. In this novel, Winston Smith, a citizen of Oceania, questions his government's rule and purpose, but finds himself taught to accept and obey Big Brother, the government's rule. Big Brother has gained control of Oceania by controlling every citizen's daily life. Big Brother has obtained this control by influencing family life, re-writing and erasing history, and inflicting extreme laws.

Family life in the society of 1984 would not be considered family life in today's day in age. Family is supposed to be people you love and are affectionate with. Big Brother prevented either feeling in a family especially with two spouses. Marriages were arranged so you never really fall in love with your husband/wife. The government also prohibited sex unless it was to reproduce, it was considered a duty of the government not a pleasureful way of expressing your love. The government also controls family life by corrupting children to help the government. While Winston is having a conversation with Mr. Parsons, Parsons brings up his son being a spy and how he identified a foreign spy from Eurasia. "You're a traitor…You're a thoughtcriminal! You're a Eurasian spy! I'll shot you, I'll vaporize you, I'll send you to the salt mines!"(23) This quote from Parson's son shows how the children are trained to be spies. It also shows how influential and extreme the training is by the boy threatening to shoot the man. How can you have trust ...

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...Like a revolution for example. A final example of how the government controls history is how they erase people's identities. Any citizen who has been purged by the Party is known as an "unperson" because their existence is denied and identity erased. To the Party and society these people were never part of the population.

In conclusion, a government that attempts to have total control over its people must have as much influence in the peoples lives as possible. By Big Brother controlling family, law and history they have total control over their citizen's actions and thoughts. Controlling a person or group of people is having power over a person or group of people. People governed by a strong government should never confuse their government having things under control and their government having control. A Big Brother government may not be that far fetched.