1984 Essay

Submitted By taylerromanelli
Words: 1082
Pages: 5

Tayler Romanelli
Mr. Cox
Dual Enrollment English; B2
18 May 2014
Totalitarian Society In the book 1984 by George Orwell, the author illustrates the value and power of the individual in a totalitarian society. Orwell communicates the power in a totalitarian society generally through O'Brien. He explains that this type of society is based on power of only those in the controlling party. Orwell shows that the society is not only controlled by one individual, the society is solely about power not others that rule against it, and that an individual in this type of society still has the power to think for themselves. All of World State society can be described as an effort to eliminate the individual from society. That doesn't mean the elimination of all people; it means the conditioning of those people so that they don't really think of themselves as individuals. What makes a person an individual? Having a sense of oneself as being separate, distinct, unique. This sense includes both the joy of one's own talents and thoughts, and the sorrows of loneliness and isolation. These experiences of individuality are what are referred to as "the Human condition," and everything in the World State is designed to avoid anyone ever feeling individual in any way, either through sadness or joy. But these safeguards aren't enough for all the citizens of the World State, and they become aware of their individuality. In 1984, Orwell portrays the perfect totalitarian society, the most extreme realization imaginable of a modern-day government with absolute power. The title of the novel was meant to indicate to its readers in 1949 that the story represented a real possibility for the near future: if totalitarianism were not opposed, the title suggested, some variation of the world described in the novel could become a reality in only thirty-five years. Orwell portrays a state in which government monitors and controls every aspect of human life to the extent that even having a disloyal thought is against the law. As the novel progresses, the timidly rebellious Winston Smith sets out to challenge the limits of the Party’s power, only to discover that its ability to control and enslave its subjects dwarfs even his most paranoid conceptions of its reach. As the reader comes to understand through Winston’s eyes, The Party uses a number of techniques to control its citizens, each of which is an important theme of its own in the novel. The author communicates that the society is not merely ruled by one person by explaining how "The Party" works. O'Brien tells Winston about The Party and how it is different from any other oligarchy in the past. "We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means, it is an end." O'Brien explained. He is saying that The Party will continue with every other generation of people after the next. O'Brien also says "the individual is only a cell" and asks Winston "Do you die when you cut your fingernails off?" O'Brien is telling Winston that The Party will not die off when members of it do. The goal of a totalitarian society is not to end. Orwell shows that in a totalitarian society, the individuals do not care for those who are not joined on their side. He does this through O'Brien and his explanation of The Party as well. "The party seeks power entirely for its own sake." O'Brien said that they are not interested in the good of other but exclusively the power itself. The novel explains that power is the only thing an individual in this society wants. The Party barrages its subjects with psychological stimuli designed to overwhelm the mind’s capacity for independent thought. The giant telescreen in every citizen’s room blasts a constant stream of propaganda designed to make the failures and shortcomings of the Party appear to be triumphant successes. The telescreens also monitor behavior — everywhere they go, citizens are continuously reminded, especially by means of the