George Orwells 1984 is a book about Winston Smith, a low-ranking member of The Party which rules the nation of Oceania. The province of Oceania in London is the place where our first and main character Winston Smith lives. There are signs reminding citizens that Big Brother is always watching. Big Brother is the leader of the party in which Winston is a part of as well as all the people of Oceania. The Party watches him everywhere through devices, which are seemingly a combination of televisions, spewing mind-numbing propaganda twenty-four hours a day, and security cameras, which watch the populace constantly. These are known as screens and are never able to be turned off, only down, except for special models possessed only by members of the Inner Party. He is surrounded on all sides by images of the leader of The Party, the seemingly omnipresent Big Brother.
The Party is the ruling power of a supposedly communist state, but in reality is more if a dictatorship in the form of an oligarchy. George Orwell in his book creates a society in which decency, individuality, and consciousness have all been abolished to obtain a utopia. Utopia in this sense means an imaginary political and social system in which relationships between individuals and the state are perfectly adjusted. Orwells intention of writing the novel was not to show the reader what the society of his time might become, but rather to give a warning that humans should resist and become conscious of the totalitarian states that governed his world. In 1984, George Orwell describes a totalitarian society in which the government has complete control over its people through means such as the widespread use of propaganda and the unfathomable power of their leaders. Nineteen Eighty-fours government named Big Brother controls all forms of information much like how our channels of information are controlled. By doing this our dominators hold more power over society. There are media barons that exist in our world who are very similar to Big Brother, and this small group of people controls what the rest of us get to hear, read, or watch.
The Term Paper on Big Brothers/Big Sister
Running Head: BB/BS Open Arms and Open Hearts: Big Brothers/Big Sisters Pamela Naughton Rucker Mrs. McKibbin EH 322-04 March 19, 2001 OUTLINE Thesis Statement: The Big Brother/Big Sisters program was designed to help children from single parent homes. The program matches children with positive adult role models. I. Beginning a. History-BB/BS began as early at the 1900’s. b. Facts and ...
These few individuals have an incalculable influence in many lives. The purpose of controlling the flow of information is to gain power over the population. Knowing that political leaders seek control over us should not surprise us, for governments this is an evolutionary thing, and it has only one direction to evolve: towards more control. (Smith 424) In the first chapter of 1984, the reader is open to two of Orwells themes, poverty and politics. Together, the two lead to oppression. As soon as a child is born, the Party begins its first attempt to control society.
The child is given a uniform, which eliminates contrast and creates unity. People, like robots, are born to serve their masters, the Party. Signs of Big Brother, which say, BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, constantly haunt the main character, Winston. Thought and actions found as threats by the Party are taken care of by such devices as the telescreen and people such as the Thought Police. Telescreen is used to monitor the conduct of the population. The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision, which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. (Orwell 4) Winston lives in a society shadowing the depression of war.
Poverty is not the result of war, but rather the intention of war. In order to achieve an old Buddhist virtue, nothing in excess, the Party is at a constant war. Society is kept at having things only to a minimum to create equality while not raising the standard of living. The Partys attempt to oppress its people is the attempt to control the society and prevent them from rebellion or rise in power. (McDowell 17) Another technique the Party uses to make a person unhuman is through propaganda and brainwashing. One aim of the Party is to replace all of mans inmost desires of love, decency, and consciousness with its own ideas. This is like re-programming a robot to do a different job that better suites the persons needs. George Orwell thought cruelty, when divorced from love, can become the strongest human impulse.
The Essay on George Orwell Party Human Control
George Orwell^s vision of the world in the year 1984 is horrific and chilling. Written in 1949, this piece of literature is an everlasting classic that reminds us that history is a vital part of human existence, although we often forget it. The past, present, and future are as changeable as human opinions and beliefs. In this book, Orwell highlighted on some of the fears that many people have for ...
(Ranald 546) Organized riots by the Party, such as those during Hate Week, replaced love for one another with hate your enemy. Children who were spies for the Thought Police betrayed their parents who they suspected of criminal thoughts against the Party. This took over all forms of decency..
