Fear and Hysteria in Society Rebellion, protests and freedom is a thing of the present day and to a certain extent is a given right, but what would society be like without control of the people and with a Gruesome leader such as Big Brother? In 1984 by George Orwell, Big Brother cuts of all sense of privacy and puts in secret police in their lives to keep control of order and construction in Oceania. False memories influence the way of life and creates three kinds of people, those who believe and honor Big Brother himself, those who go on with life day by day doing what their told and people like Winston and Julia who want freedom and happiness. From the start of the book we are already introduced to the lack of privacy in everyday life “On each landing, opposite the lift shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall…BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU. (1-2). With the thought of always being watched, there was no freedom represented because it brings a sense of fear and hopelessness. One is watched 24/7 and there is no escaping because telescreens were implanted everywhere. It could receive information and had a transmitter that was simultaneous, any whisper any movement could be seen. There was never a way to know when they (Big Brother) would/ was looking at you and that is the fear they wanted you to feel. They could catch your thought crimes and that is what Thought Police needed. Thought Police are the ones to be feared the most because they could be anywhere at any time and could be anyone, your neighbor, mother or father, even your child! The reason behind these Police was to create an alliance with believers of Big Brothers and to vaporize those who didn’t believe, because those who didn’t believe in t... ... middle of paper ... ...ia! Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don’t care what you do to her. Tear her faceoff, strip her to the bones. Not me! Julia! Not me!( 286). This betrayal was indeed what they wanted to hear, this is what, made them see that he was changed and believed Big Brother. This cruel punishment is what they did to anyone, no matter what, to change their beliefs. Big Brother would succeed. 1984 was a representation of what the future held in store, and how society could change. By creating a leader who people feared and appreciated society could easily be controlled and how one person could control everyone. Orwell predicted the future in a sense with things he noticed in real life experiences and how the world was changing in such an early time. Based on ideas he had, he was correct! We are all watched, we are controlled and the world is in fact changing.
...of the world if fascism were to continue. In Orwell's day, the leading fascists were Hitler and Stalin, and today there are Muammar Qaddafi, Kim Sung-un, and Xi Jiaping, while in 1984 there is Big Brother. All of these governments are very similar to each other, as Orwell had predicted. These points reveal that even though those who live in free nations think that 1984 is dystopian science-fiction, in some places around the world, 1984 is almost a work of realistic fiction.
The novel 1984 is one that has sparked much controversy over the last several decades. It harbors many key ideas that lie at the root of all skepticism towards the book. With the ideas of metaphysics, change, and control in mind, George Orwell wrote 1984 to provide an interesting story but also to express his ideas of where he believed the world was heading. His ideas were considered widely ahead of their time, and he was really able to drive home how bleak and colorless our society really is. Orwell wrote this piece as a futuristic, dystopian book which contained underlying tones of despair and deceit.
Although Julia attempts to break the rules, she accepts her situations. For Julia, the existence of this totalitarian government is all she has ever known. Many people remained under control of powerful dictators because they believed they wouldn’t make a difference.
Any feelings of connection she once shared with Winston do not outweigh the fear of her own mortality. Julia is a true survivor and she is willing to perform any act to carry out her self-centered rebellion. She spent an astonishing amount of time attending lectures and demonstrations, distributing literature for the Junior Anti-Sex League, preparing banners for Hate Week, making collections for the saving campaign, and such like activities. It paid, she said, it was like camouflage. If you kept the small rules, you could break the big ones (Orwell 129).
Through out the course of history there have been several events that have been a pivotal point which has molded the behaviors and thoughts of this century. A lot of notable activist and authors wrote stories and speeches about how they believed that this day and time would be like. A lot of these views were very accurate surprisingly. In the novel 1984 author George Orwell gives his vision on how he believed that the countries would be like if they kept going the way they were.This report will give you a brief rundown of the characters, theories and principles of this novel along with some of my personal insight of the novel.
In George Orwell’s 1984, where strictly regulated rules is what generates this society, and any disregard for these rules ends in unimaginable punishment. Winston and Julia’s love for each other, however unconventional it is, is greatly beneficial for not only the participants, but also for O’Brien, and particularly for Big Brother itself. This passion for each other, seemingly inextinguishable, is later on taken into account by the Inner Party, finally resulting in not only complete obedience and conformity from Winston and Julia, but also in a peace of mind for these two characters.
In 1984 many government issues take place, for instance propaganda, secret police, brainwashing, and a wide manner of other devices to oppress their populations. The idea is to illustrate the dangers of totalitarian government whether it be Communist, Fascist, or otherwise. Totalitarianism is an imposing form of government which the political authority exercises control over all aspects of life such as their sex life, and health in general. “If you can feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can't have any result whatever, you've beaten them” (George Orwell, 1984). Also psychological manipulation and mind control are a big controversy in 1984. Psychological manipulation is a social influence that moves towards the behavior of others through deceptive, or even abusive tactics. “And so it was with every class of recorded fact, great or small. Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which, finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain” (book 1, chapter 4). The author, Orwell wants the readers to think that the government monitors and controls everything that the humans do, and that basically everything that people do are against the law.
In the book 1984, Orwell uses the ominous Big Brother to depict what a government with all control would feel like; giving the reader a real sense of how powerless a population would really be under an all-controlling regime. Winston, the main character in the novel, sees posters throughout London with a man gazing down underneath contains the words “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.” Even though Big Brother is virtually everywhere, Winston secretly questions whether or not he actually exists. Orwell uses Big Brother to symbolize the vagueness of a totalitarian government, what it is like to leave all power in the hands of government officials, and then just simply take their word for what they say or what they do. Although the term Big Brother can in one way be considered as a reassurance of protection, the following words “big brother is watching you” also insinuates that he is an open threat. Although this story takes place after Big Brother has risen to power, Orwell does not fail to emphasize that this power was not taken; it was given, as power always will be. The only way Big Brother, or a totalitarian government can truly work, is only after we give them the power to take that kind of control. When looking back at history, we can see similar situations as with Adolf Hitler...
[3]George Orwell wrote the novel 1984 to criticize the new trend of totalitarianism that was rising up; which, in his time period, would have been Hitler 's reign and then Stalin 's rise.
Imagine being watched by your own government every single second of the day with not even the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and all the above to yourself. George Orwell’s 1984 is based on a totalitarian government where the party has complete access over the citizens thoughts to the point where anything they think they can access it, and control over the citizens actions, in a sense that they cannot perform what they really want to or else Big Brother, which is the name of the government in the book 1984, will “take matters into their own hands.” No one acts the same when they are being watched, as they do when they are completely alone.
He had not merely said it, he had wished it. He had wished that she and not he should be delivered over to the-” (293). His betrayal of Julia and her betrayal of him shows how Winston has changed from rebellious to conforming to The Party. Julia is twenty-six years old, and has brown hair and eyes she is youthful, also rebellious and cunning. She serves as Winston’s motivation for open rebellion, when she tells him "Confession is not betrayal.
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.
The Invasion of Privacy is also used to control people. Devices called Telescreens are setup everywhere for the use of your entertainment and the party’s. They are objects that not only allow you to watch them and hear them like a television but in return you yourself are watched and heard by the party. Other ways in which privacy is taken away is by the use of little sound devices called “Bugs.'; In one scene Winston and Julia are talking and Julia says, “I bet that picture’s got bugs behind it'; (Orwell 122)1. When she says this she is implying that the party is listening to everything they say and do. The final way the party invades privacy is by The Thought Police. The Thought Police are members of the party that control life through the telescreens and bugs. When you are caught by them for a crime you must then go to prison for as long as it takes to purify or make you sane enough to work for the party once again.
Big Brother and modern day government have been able to control its citizens through surveillance equipment, and fear all for a little more power. There is much to learn from such an undesirable form of society, much like the one of Oceania in 1984. Examining Big Brother government closely, alarming connections can be made to real-world government actions in the United States and the cruel world within Orwell's book.
... gives in to Big Brother, and begins to praise and love him, “He loved Big Brother”. Orwells ending is very different than most novels, the ending leaves the readers questioning them selves, hoping that there is more to it, that there is hope for Winston, But no. Orwell finishes the novel with a dark and hopeless ending, to try to make it more realistic and relatable. 1984 is a dystopian novel, because Orwell wanted the readers to relate between the world of 1984 and real world, he wanted to try to make the message clearer to the readers, by making the readers think of the ending, and how relatable is it to the current world.