Fear is an emotion, which is impossible for humans to not face in their lives. Some may experience that fear because of their government. When there is fear throughout the society, it keeps the people within that society obedient and reliant on the government. The constant sense of terror is what could keep people hopeless and scared to express their own thoughts and beliefs. 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. They use physical violence to gain that power that the party passionately desires. “The party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power.” (Orwell 275) O’Brian explains to Winston that party goes to the extent of physically torturing him only so they can gain that total control over him. The physical violence the rebels experience has such a powerful impact that many of them are willing to sacrifice anything just for the pain and torture to stop. “At the time when it happens you do mean it. You think there’s no other way of saving yourself, and you’re quite ready to save yourself that way. You want it to happen to th... ... middle of paper ... ..."quite some time." (Psychology Today) After being exposed to violence daily, without knowing it you become used to violence and it stays with you. Once violent thoughts and approval is within you, you accept it within your society as well. It seems as though violence is the answer to everything and must be used as a first resort to solve problems. In 1984, violence is a key tactic used by the totalitarian government to keep constant fear within their society. As long as there is violence, citizens will stay obedient to the higher power, and even become violent themselves. The government uses this to their advantage to obtain their one desire: power. The role of violence is used by the totalitarian government to gain complete control over their citizens by using violence psychologically, physically, and motivationally towards the people of Oceania.
The Dangers of Fear Irish Playwright, George Bernard Shaw, once said, “The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity.” Inhumanity is mankind’s worst attribute. Every so often, ordinary humans are driven to the point where they have no choice but to think of themselves. One of the most famous examples used today is the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night demonstrates how fear is a debilitating force that causes people to lose sight of who they once were.
Fear played the most crucial role in George Orwell’s novel 1984. In George Orwell’s 1984 scaring people was the most exercised and effective method that the party used to be able keep people under their control, keep them always obedient by warning them continuously that they were being watched and will be punished if they show any sign of rebel by their action or even by thinking of it. It is fear that worked as a dominating element to dictate the society and was the most exercised tool that the party used to manipulate the citizens of Oceania.
A totalitarian government is where one person controls everything and civilian rights are taken away. In George Orwell's novel, 1984, Winston lives under a totalitarian government. Throughout the novel, it is shown how the government controls everything and how the citizens of Oceania cannot exercise basic rights. Citizens in countries with this type of government, both past and present, are manipulated and every aspect of their lives are controlled. In the novel 1984, Oceania is controlled by a totalitarian government, which is similar to the system of Soviet Russia and North Korea because they use close monitoring and threats of war against their citizens.
A simple definition of the human psyche is the embodiment of the human spirit. However, when one takes a more in-depth look, it becomes much more complex than the tidy little package that the definition would infer. The psyche has a direct link to thoughts, emotions, reactions and consequences. Of these components, emotions have the most significant impact on the human essence. The way in which humans view and react to the world around them is directly linked to the conscious and subconscious feelings associated with a particular activating event. The human psyche is driven by a wide variety of emotions ranging from love, hate, anger, happiness, fear, and courage to name but only a few. Of these, fear has the power to disrupt the body and spirit in profound ways as it encompasses all emotions. Therefore, it is the strongest emotion associated with the human condition.
In The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoevsky said, “…fear is simply the consequence of every lie.” Dostoevsky is stating how people are afraid of what will happen when their lie(s) is/are put out in the open. Fear is a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined. This line suggests that people are afraid of the truth, which inevitably is the consequence of every lie. Even though this quote was written by a 19th century author it can still relate to texts that were made centuries prior. Both Sophocles and Shakespeare’s plays support Dostoevky because both plays deal with the act of lying and its consequences as a major motif.
“WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.” Part 1,Chapter 1,pg. 6. These three principles were repeatedly emphasized throughout the book and helped lay the foundation of the dystopian society George Orwell imagined in his novel 1984. Fear, manipulation, and control were all encompassed throughout this dystopian society set in the distant future. The freedom to express ones thoughts was no longer acceptable and would not be tolerated under any circumstances. Humankind was rapidly transforming into a corrupt and evil state of mind.
Throughout the novel, the government is notorious for torturing citizens of Oceania in the Ministry of Love. In order to exact true conversion to the Party, various forms of torture, both physical and psychological, are used. During the initial period of conditioning, fear, unpredictable bursts of pain, and repetition are used to destroy Winston's rebellious mindset. It begins with the beatings. At first they are every day, then the frequency wanes and they serve as more of a threat against thoughts of insolence. After this initial humiliation, a dial with numbers is introduced to Winston as a new mode of torture. O’Brien questions Winston and with each stupid answer or lie, the dial is turned to thirty, forty, or even eighty. The random occurrences of bursts of pain train him to be constantly aware of his thoughts in a way that he did not have...
In George Orwell's novel 1984, the lack of privacy and result of no individualism is relevant within the society which leads to a negative impression of the world described. Fear is one of the most unpleasant emotions that allow the Party in the society to take control of every individual and control all their actions. The author proves that each person deals with fear in various ways and it is an element that allows the Party to influence its citizens. To start off, the government manipulates each person and wants them to follow the rules in order to stay on the safe side. By reading the passage, the message portrayed is very clear and proves that people who do not follow the rules are exiled, in this case hanged.
In the book “1984” by George Orwell, the book deals with government power. In the book, it debates about how the power of the government affected the people. Too much power by the state creates a dystopian world where everyone is forced to follow the government’s rules.
Since the dawn of the human race, humans have had to fight for survival against predators, nature, and themselves. Dystopian regimes use this instinct as a tool to control and manipulate their population. They create false senses of security, and freedom for the people, so that there is no way they can lose their power, and finally, they keep the people oppressed and ignorant to their personal goals. 1984 by George Orwell and Lord of the Flies by William Golding both represent how corrupt leaders use the population 's fears against them, for the continuation of their hierarchical dominance.
In 1984, George Orwell presents an overly controlled society that is run by Big Brother. The protagonist, Winston, attempts to “stay human” in the face of a dehumanizing, totalitarian regime. Big Brother possesses so much control over these people that even the most natural thoughts such as love and sex are considered taboo and are punishable. Big Brother has taken this society and turned each individual against one another. Parents distrust their own offspring, husband and wife turn on one another, and some people turn on their own selves entirely. The people of Oceania become brainwashed by Big Brother. Punishment for any uprising rebellions is punishable harshly.
Philip Roth's Everyman relives the story of the unnamed protagonist who is faced with every person's fear of illness and their inevitable death. Everyman's fear began at the age of nine when he was admitted to a hospital for a routine hernia surgery. It is this fear of illness and death which slowly became a crippling fear, driving wedges between him and people he cared about in his personal life. The fear almost becomes an obsession; he begins basing his life off how healthy he is. Because of him basing his life off his health, he starts to compare himself to his older brother, Howie, who has never been admitted to a hospital or had any surgeries in his life. All of Everyman's comparisons led him to eventual resentment and envy of his brother. This envy and resentment would have probably never happened if the little boy next to him at the hospital was still in his bed when Everyman woke up.
In 1984, Winston’s torture had a purpose of brainwashing, where the themes of control is explored and alienation is hinted and introduced in his interrogations with O’Brien and his time in room one-oh-one. Firstly, Winston is imprisoned in Miniluv (Ministry of Love) for his rebellious sexual activity with Julia, and the reader will assume that this is repression of opposition by the government. But once O’Brien is revealed to be Winston’s interrogator, it is clearly established that the purpose of this torture has never been repression, but rather controlling the thoughts of the few individuals that were “insane”(253) enough to rebel against government. O’Brien described this procedure as curing, as he also describes Winston as insane, and made it distinctively clear to Winston that his goal was not to punish or indulge “in the overact”(253) but rather the thought. While the goal is instead of destroying our enemies, “we change them.”(253) In this stern explanation from O’Brien, the...
What drives fear in people? Maybe it’s a depraved person, death, heights, or the spider on the wall. Either way, everyone is afraid of something. In the book 1984 by George Orwell, the characters fear someone whom they don’t know the existence of called Big Brother. He is the symbol of fear, torture, and persecution in the eyes of the citizens of Oceania. In the following paragraphs, Big Brother’s impact of fear on people’s lives will be discussed. Also, a great leader of Germany by the name of Adolf Hitler will also be gone over.
The novel 1984 by George Orwell presents the readers an image of a totalitarian society that explores a world of control, power, and corruption. The main idea of government control presents itself in the novel by protecting and listening to the people of Oceania. However, Orwell suggests giving too much power to the government is a mistake because eventually the decisions they make will not be about the people anymore but rather themselves. In 1984, the power and corruption the party has is overwhelming for the people. There are no ways around the beliefs of the Party, the party attempts to control and eventually destroy any mental or physical resistance against their beliefs. The agenda for the party is to obtain mind control over its people and force them to adore their leader. The methods the Party uses to achieve its goal are: the use of constant propaganda and surveillance, the rewriting of history, and Room 101.