The Methods Used to Gain Unlimited Power in 1984 by George Orwell

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Every human being has natural rights that can never be taken away. In an attempt to create a world where every person if offered a fair opportunity to live life, the United Nations passed a bill called The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in 1948. The document outlines the all the rights provided to everyone in the world, despite age, gender, religion etc. Civil liberties including, right to life, liberty and security of person; the right not to be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family or home; and right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, are incorporated in the Declaration. Despite the positive moral of the implemented civil rights, there have been numerous instances when essential civil liberties have been taken away from innocent people. By taking away natural rights from other people, the offenders attain the desired power and control. In the book, 1984, George Orwell presents the idea of how the world would become if all natural rights seized to exist. The omnipresent ruler of Oceania, named Big Brother, seizes all the natural rights of the citizens, to gain unconstrained power over everything and everyone. Big Brother’s dominants the lives of the citizens by strongly executing the idea of ‘mind over matter’ or doublethink to control the minds of the people, by the creation of groundbreaking technology to control the actions of the citizens and by controlling and modifying the English spoken and written language to express authority over freedom of thought and speech. The combination of the three methods helps Big Brother to create a never-ending rein on the minds and hearts of the citizens of Oceania.

In Oceania, the concept of ‘mind over matter’ is the very foundation of the gov...

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...a. Stalin in Russia, Hitler in Germany and Mussolini in Italy all attempted to create a world where everything was controlled by a supreme ruler; there were no rights extended to the citizens of Oceania. To counter every such attempt to create a dystopia, the world gathered and fought as one, so that natural rights can be returned to the citizens, and spread humanity. The fight to create a united and equal civilization is far from over, all over the world these natural rights are snatched from innocent people, in the name or caste, religion, gender and age, to achieve power. George Orwell left an important warning for the future generations, to stand against injustice. It is the duty of every individual to ensure that every civil liberty, included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in truly extended to one and all.

Works Cited

1984 by George Orwell

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