Literary Analysis Essay on 1984 by George Orwell

Introduction

In George Orwell's anti-utopian, 1984, a warning is sent to the world on the fate of the people in the society when leaders with totalitarian tendencies are provided with the opportunity to seize power. In this regime, the Party utilizes different tactics in ensuring that they gain control over their physical movement and emotions to ensure that they stay loyal to the ideals of the Party. In this novel, a utopian society is distorted by the Party where technology is used to manipulate and control people who may hold different views with the prevailing political tenets. Further, there is a depiction of the effects of political ideas held by the Party and how it utilizes in destroying human nature and emotions. Moreover, in this dystopia, every aspect of people's lives is monitored, and the feeling of misery and fear is instilled in them to destroy any form of rebellion that may destabilize the totalitarian regime of the Party led by Big Brother. The totalitarian arts of power demonstrated in the novel depict a fictional society similar to the scary society during the era of Hitler in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under the leadership of Stalin when the government used its powers in repressing and controlling their opinions about the regime by distorting historical facts (Awan and Syed 36).

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Threat of Totalitarianism

It is imperative to note that, in the dystopia, 1984, totalitarian emerges as one of the main themes, and it demonstrates a society where the one running the government remains unpopular among the people. The Party led by Big Brother uses telescreen to monitor every movement of the people to determine their loyalty towards the government. Additionally, children are used as junior spies to check on the actions of the adults. This theme forewarns how totalitarian regimes use propaganda to make people believe and stay loyal to their philosophies and ideals (Power 585). Instructively, the Party through O'Brien ensures that those who join rebel groups against the Party are subjected to extreme torture until they get subdued and develop loyalty towards the government (Awan and Syed 21). The existence of Big Brother is in doubt in the society, but he has felt through conditioning of the people's minds that Big Brother monitors their movement and actions through telescreen. The regime in this fictional society ensures that emotional attachment through love relationship is destroyed and this is evident when Winston and Julia are arrested and subjected to torture for rebelling against the Party (Havel and John 29).

Moreover, it should be noted that distorting of history in the Ministry of Truth and monitoring of people through telescreen is a further testament of how the totalitarian regime of the Party suppresses the human emotions and influencing their perception of the government. Winston, in particular, worked in the Ministry of Truth where historical facts are subverted to serve the interest of the government. "In the end, the Party would announce that two and two made five." (Awan and Syed 28) This quote illustrates how the Party utilized the art of double-thinking to influence the opinion of the people concerning the regime. Winston bore the brunt of the totalitarian leadership if the Party when O'Brien tricked him into demonstrating his loathing towards Big Brother. He was later apprehended after his rebellion being apparent where he was subjected to torture and got brainwashed into believing in the ideals of the Party. Totalitarian regime forced Winston to abandon his erstwhile belief and hope that the regime can be defeated but to develop love towards the Party. Julia also became a victim of the totalitarian leadership of the Big Brother when her love relationship with Winston becomes the reason for her torture.

The totalitarian tendencies in the society under the leadership of Big Brother are further portrayed when children are programmed and introduced into an organization with well-woven structures to spy on their parents. The Party controls the sexual behavior of the people since they believe that sex should be purely for procreation where the number of Party members would increase and not for mere enjoyment (Power 582). Also, the regime has inherent fears that by allowing men and women to bond through sex will breed disloyalty which will ultimately topple the Party. Besides, the Party whips up emotions and frustrations of the people to develop hatred towards the rebels so that the regime can have absolute control over them. Moreover, the Party ensures that each member works for long days in the state agencies and is subjected to Physical Jerks which the mandatory morning exercise was meant to thrust them into exhaustion which makes it easier to manipulate their feelings and control their movement (Makovi 128). The totalitarian regime of the Party causes people to lose on their individualism and identities and forcing them into believing on the supremacy of Big Brother in governing them.

Propaganda

It is worth to note that, the regime effectively utilizes propaganda to control and manipulate the people into believing that it is their savior. In this dystopia, an elaborate propaganda machine is set in the Ministry of Truth. Winston as a worker in this Ministry is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that historical facts are distorted and then disseminated across the country to ensure that the interest of the Party is served (Makovi 121). Also, the Party ensures that its shortcomings are coined into successes in the minds of the people. In propagating propaganda, the regime seeks to be in command of the thoughts of its members. Instructively, the Party uses the film of Two minutes Hate where the Party members watch the perceived rebels and enemies of the Party and show their fierce hatred towards them for two minutes. Additionally, the use of signs that read; 'Big Brother is watching' is used to condition people into believing that their actions are monitored which forces them express loyalty towards the regime (Power 578).

The Party uses Newspeak, which is the language spoken in Oceania, to manipulate the language of the people thereby making the expression of their emotions difficult and ultimately resulting in the erasing of such emotions in the minds of the people. It is imperative to note that, technology also provided the grounds for unleashing propaganda on the people. The Party uses telescreen which has the potential of watching the person who watches it. The presence of telescreen influences people to believe that they are under constant surveillance. Besides, the Party enforces punitive measures where disloyal members are subjected to extreme torture until they forcefully develop love towards the Party (Makovi 116). After being tortured in room 101, Winston realizes that nothing is more powerful than physical pain and that no loyalty can triumph over it.

Additionally, the regime conditioned people into believing that love and sex are purely for procreation which causes the separation between Katherine and Winston notably because she is not capable of bearing children. The Party was using the children in the society as a vital instrument of propaganda since they were integrated into an organization where they spy on their parents immediately they step into elementary school (Havel and John 23). Given the susceptibility of the children, they were easily convinced into believing that they are solely under the safety of Big Brother and made into subscribing into the Party ideals.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the totalitarian regime of the Party ensured that they gained control over every aspect of people's lives into believing and repressing their emotions through the use of force and propaganda to influence the opinion of the people. It should be understood that society thrives in maintaining a secure connection with each other, but the Party is aware that such connection would destabilize their regime hence they enforce strict rules on the love relationship between men and women. Additionally, the Party has a deep understanding of the society and only believes that their regime can only thrive in confusion and this informs the reason why they set the children against their parents by making them join organizations which spy on their children. Moreover, the language is manipulated to breakdown the complex emotions of the people to appease their frustrations against the Party. It is worth to note that the dystopia, 1984, demonstrates the high-handedness in dealing with the people and the people I depicted as weak souls that can be easily manipulated and controlled by the government to serve its selfish interest.

Works Cited

Awan, Abdul Ghafoor, and Syed Ahmad Raza. "The Effects of Totalitarianism & Marxism towards dystopian society in George Orwell's selected Fictions." Global Journal of Management and Social Sciences 2.4 (2016): 21-37.

Havel, Vaclav, and John Keane. The Power of the Powerless: Citizens Against the State in Central Eastern Europe: Citizens Against the State in Central Eastern Europe. Routledge,( 2016): 23-54

Makovi, Michael. "Two opposing literary critiques of socialism: George Orwell versus Eugen Richter and Henry Hazlitt." International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education (IJPEE) 7.2 (2016): 116-134.

Power, Daniel J. ""Big Brother" can watch us." Journal of Decision systems 25.sup1 (2016): 578-588.