In George Orwell's 1984, Winston Smith lives in Oceania, ruled by IngSoc. Winston is constantly detained and tormented by Party members and IngSoc participants. Orwell presents IngSoc as a dictatorship, and he also warns against a government like IngSoc. IngSoc is a dictatorship, and Orwell criticizes authoritarianism by inventing a totalitarian dystopia.
Individual freedom is theoretically denied under totalitarian states, which subject all areas of the citizen's life to the state's control. The majority of the populace was not only politically impotent but also devoid of all intellectual and cultural resources when Orwell wrote 1984. (Gleason, 148).
Totalitarianism appeals to countries whose inhabitants suffer. "The totalitarian governments of Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler (1933-45) and the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin (1924-43) obtained overwhelming popular support for their leadership" (totalitarianism n.p.). Nazi Germany was recovering from the devastating effects of World War I, and the Soviet people deposed an ineffective, heartless Tsarist regime.
George Orwell had numerous negative dictatorial experiences, which he chronicled in 1984. During WWII, he saw the impact of a fascist regime. "When Orwell authored 1984 in 1948, World War II had just ended." Totalitarian tyrants like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin ordered mass killings during WWII.
A total of nine million Slavs, gypsies, political dissidents, homosexuals, and mentally disabled persons were murdered by Adolf Hitler in Germany (1984) (p. 242). A single strong man's genocide motivated Orwell to focus on the reason for so many fatalities. In 1984, he created his dystopia to illustrate his fears of an authoritarian regime.
Controlling pleasure can lead to subservience. The Party restricts and suppresses pleasure. Removing joy from society lowers people's morale, allowing the state to impose its will. The Party despises sex through groups like the Junior Anti-Sex League. IngSoc is a society committed to the removal of pleasure, according to Laurence Lerner (Bloom 73). Julia uses sex to oppose the Party. Seeing Julia's defiant conduct, Winston reveals his wish to rebel.
A whiff of corruption always gave him reckless optimism (Orwell 125). To achieve totalitarianism, Winston's hope must be destroyed. When O' To Winston in Room 101, Brien exposes party motives: "The sex impulse will vanish." Procreation will be a yearly ritual, like ration card renewal. We will ban orgasm" (Orwell, 267). By abolishing sex and all social joys, the Inner Party can impose its will on Oceania's population.
"Traditional social structures and organizations are discouraged and suppressed" (n.p.). Totalitarianism stifles freedom by restricting action. The Party constantly monitors Oceanians using Thought Police, Spies, and Telescreens. Winston buys a blank journal and writes in it at home. Winston is afraid of being caught for Thoughtcrime.
Winston had done the crime that confined others. "Thoughtcrime" (Orwell 19). The Party can accuse anybody of Thoughtcrime without proof. Parsons was kidnapped by his kids for Thoughtcrime. "Thoughtcrime does not imply death: Thoughtcrime IS death" (Orwell 28). When free thought is a crime, the state may extinguish any other way of thinking. Winston fears Julia is a spy when he first meets her. "Whether she was a true Thought Police agent or just an incompetent amateur spy was irrelevant" (Orwell 101).
Winston has a continual worry about being captured and tortured. The Spies are a gang of kids trained to catch adults doing Thoughtcrime. Parson's offspring, Spies, dedicate themselves to the Party. In the final secure area without a telescreen, Julia and Winston are. However, a telescreen hidden behind a picture allows the Party to spy on them while they are "private." It instils terror and maintains total control over its population.
On the telescreens are images of "the enemy," Emanuel Goldstein. In one embodiment, Goldstein had a "lean Jewish face, with a huge fuzzy aureole of white hair and a little goatee" (Orwell 12). His vile visage incites public rage, even if aimed at a fictitious character.
The telescreens then broadcast photographs of Eurasian troops, the country Oceania is at war with. Manipulating the media manipulates public perceptions. The Party utilizes doublethink and Newspeak to deceive Oceanians. "Newspeak is aimed to diminish originality by narrowing the spectrum of ideas" (1984, 249).
The Party bans the use of negative terms, prohibiting criticism of the Newspeak was first introduced, its stated goal was to eliminate all other forms of communication. Eliminating different ways of thinking robs one of their innate freedoms.
It craves power for its own sake. We are just concerned with management, not with the well-being of others. None of these things matter; only pure force does" (Orwell, 263). Orwell seeks to materialise Adolf Hitler's and Joseph Stalin's objectives, but more so.
They never had the bravery to realise their own motives, as the Nazis and the Russian communists did. In this utopia, humans would be free and equal. That's not us. We know that no one ever takes power intending to give it up." (366) Orwell Orwell compares the Party's motives to those of Nazis and communists. The Nazis and Communists wanted to provide freedom and wealth to their people, but they were blinded by power.
Oceania's leadership has voluntarily embraced ultimate authority and a fully totalitarian state where Big Brother controls everyone.
Individuals were singled out for extermination in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under Stalin. Totalitarianism blinds Oceanians. People who have ideas that are in opposition to the Party's are demonised.
The proles are compared to animals, which are less intelligent than humans. The Party makes the proles think they are inferior to humans, forcing them to live apart from the populace.
Totalitarianism is an appealing alternative for developing countries. Not to choose that road, Orwell tells those folks. In nations like Germany, Italy, and Russia, totalitarian governments have killed many people and taken away their liberties. No matter how many people die, totalitarian authorities are solely interested in power.
Our academic experts are here to help you with any writing assignment. From short essay help proposals to complete dissertations, we offer a service to suit your demands.
