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.
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. The helpless population serves as fuel for making the government stronger because once people feel helpless, they are at the mercy of their government and thus cannot formulate their own thoughts and opinions to question authority Blind nationalism is an effective tool to control society because they are susceptible to conformity. Failure to conform to social norms may result in one's vaporization, as noted in 1984 when someone displays any irrelevant thoughts in front of a telescreen. They are constantly watched and expected to act angry during the Two Minutes Hate and to act neutral during any other meaningful social interaction. As people gather in a herd around a telescreen, Winston observes that “The horrible thing about the two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in” (Orwell 16).
Written in 1948, George Orwell’s “1984” shows the negligent actions of a government within a dystopian novel. Orwell depicts a dictatorship society where the government uses mind games, and even an altered past, to misguide the country’s citizens. Due to a lack of individualism, people act in accordance to the commands of the government and the concept of family ceases to exist. Throughout the novel, the citizens’ minds are psychologically altered in order to maintain a solid, totalitarian society. In order to gain this quantity and quality of control, the politicians in “1984” control the citizen’s thinking and destroy their freedom by creating fear with propaganda, laws and continual surveillance.
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.
The Inner party’s propaganda campaigns have prevented their members from forming meaningful relationships, thus allowing the party to have complete control. The party distracts the general public by preying on their fear, which prevents them from creating resistance against the party. The Outer party is incapable of opposing the Inner party, as they allowed the rise of the Inner party, and are now forced to turn a blind eye, out of fear. Winston also thinks: “If there was hope, it must lie in the proles, because only there, in those swarming disregarded masses, eighty-five percent of the population of Oceania, could the force to destroy the party ever be generated”(69). The proles only worry about their simple life, and not their government.
According to the New York lottery, the chances of winning the jackpot for the mega millions is 1 in 175,711,536. The people today are so blind and accept the false prapaganda preaented by our government in the same way the citizens of Oceana accepted doublethink, and beliefes that we are meant to be slaves. As we allow our Government to take over society, we will continue to live with fear and constant terror. Wars will continue to destroy lives and tear contries apart. A government will only have power if we allow them to control society.
The Consequences of Totalitarianism Winston and Julia in George Orwell’s 1984, are characters existing in a setting of complete control. Life in Oceania is one of complete and total destruction by an entity known as Big Brother. This entity enacts its control by brainwashing the people of Oceania into believing what it wants them to believe. Winston and Julia function in a sphere of loneliness until they suspect that there is another human being that loathes Big Brother, which is, literally, why they come together. This partnership gives them hope to fight against Big Brother.
This essay with compare and contrast the message and tone of each novel as well as consider whether the utopia is a positive or negative one. In 1984, George Orwell explores the many facets of a negative utopia. Orwell seems to focus on the measures that the government takes to maintain a public of plebeians who have no personality or identity and believe that they are not unique individuals, but instead are part of a greater senseless mob of people who constantly work for a hostile and oppressive government which is involved in incessant wars. These people are taught to love. They then learn to fear their government because they believe all of the propaganda that is constantly instilled into their minds.
Instead of being love you two sound like you 're reciting from a drilling manual.” (Lawrence, 2013) Under President Snow’s tyranny, Katniss is restrained to express her thoughts and live the life she desires. Similarly, citizens in Panem conceal their opposing voices but show devotion to the party for survival. It shows verbal irony when Haymitch says President Snow is trying to “pacify” the public. However in reality, President Snow abuses his power by allocating brute Peacekeepers to destroy all forms of authorities and retain his authority. The way how the government eradicates rebellion reflects its self-deception and silliness.
Winston is a character that gains hope that maybe he may be able to change the way the government treats the citizens of Oceania. He gradually begins to become more and more rebellious because the government view Winston as a threat they decide to manipulate him to be like every other brainwashed citizen living in Oceania. Winston loses his battle against the Party which cause his search for justice to collapse. So in the end, a strong totalitarian government can destroy your state of mind from believing something that is truly necessary such as searching for justice to believing that a place that is controlling and manipulative to be the right thing.