Totalitarian Governments In George Orwell's 1984, An Allegory?

Totalitarian governments are centralized governments in which political officials exert absolute control over all individuals and aspects of life. Throughout history, such dictatorial governments have had negative impacts upon societies and their people and on the people of surrounding areas. 1984 is a novel that focuses on the negative impacts of totalitarian governments on a society and their controlling natures that eliminate all individuality and all humanity. As George Orwell’s 1984 is an allegory, many types of symbols are placed throughout the novel to further Orwell’s message – that totalitarian governments, such as the one Winston Smith lives in, are inhumane and should be prevented from occurring in future times; in order to express the manipulative and dangerous ways of totalitarian governments, Orwell uses symbolism in mediums such as color to depict the negative aspects of totalitarianism.

Color plays an important role in expressing the atmosphere and lifestyle of the society the Party creates for the people of Oceania; colors such as gray, yellow, and black play roles in the novel. Orwell uses common representations of colors to express the way he means for things to be viewed. Gray is

Orwell uses people’s common understandings of color to express the message that he wants to send with his novel – that totalitarian governments and societies are evil and damaging to all involved and leave no room for anyone to be an individual. Orwell expands upon his point that totalitarian governments eliminate hope and cause for dull and miserable lives and are inherently evil by using commonly understood associations of colors to his advantage – black being evil like the members of the Party, yellow being happy and hopeful like the memories Winston has of the past before the influence of Big Brother, and gray being dull and boring like the life the Party and Big Brother force upon the