1984 George Orwell As A Dictator

George Orwell displayed a type of fear throughout the novel 1984. He used Big Brother as an example of an overpowering dictator. Big Brother was in charge of all media, and was always watching through the televisions that were located pretty much everywhere. The televisions were used to display propaganda, and they made people believe that Big Brother was a perfect leader; therefore everyone loved and supported him. Big Brother is an abusive dictator, and this is shown through Goldstein. Goldstein is shown as the enemy, but Big Brother could primarily be using him as an example to make other enemies aware of what he would do when faced with someone like Goldstein. Orwell directly uses other political leaders as a source when writing this book …show more content…
In the article, Adolf Hitler: an effective leader?, the author argues how Hitler was a strong leader, and how he was also a weak one. Salem stated, “Even though Hitler allowed massive political and economic power bases to be built up by the likes of Goring and Himmler, the Nazi leadership remained fiercely loyal to Hitler. Furthermore, his enormous personal popularity meant that criticism of the regime by ordinary Germans was typically directed at the party or minor officials. This made Hitler's position even more unassailable” (Salem). Hitler was very popular, and many people practically worshipped him. In 1984, readers are shown the same type of leadership through Big Brother. Big Brother was a strong leader in many ways, because he could convince people that he was always right and make them think that he was a perfect dictator, but not everyone fell under the trap. That is shown through the character of Winston. Although Big Brother was successful in many ways, just as Hitler was, they were also both weak dictators as well. Hitler convinced people that he was an ideal leader through many types of propaganda, the same way that Big Brother continues to advertise propaganda through the televisions. They both did a good job at convincing people to follow them and trust them, which gave them the potential to do anything they wanted with their …show more content…
In the article, Stalin’s Power, Scheffer describes Stalin by saying, “Let us be more blunt: he is frankly unattractive, and all the more so since he knows he is, and shows by his demeanor that he does not care! Even his voice, a voice as hard and brittle as glass, lacks the undertones, the rhythm, that work so powerfully upon the music-loving populace of Russia.... You feel at once that he is "dangerous” (Scheffer). Both Big Brother and Joseph Stalin were unattractive and terrifying dictators. Stalin was focused on hatred and ruled by making people fear him, and this is the same thing that Big Brother did. Big Brother was focused on hatred of Golstein, which can be compared to the hatred that Stalin showed and the way he acted on that emotion by murdering opponents with no remorse. The hate sessions that occurred on the televisions were Big Brother’s way of showing people what would be done to them if they did not do what they were supposed to. This sparked a type of fear throughout many people, and made them obey Big Brother even more. The character of Big Brother ruled the society by a system of censorship, torture, and propaganda, which is the same way Stalin ruled. The novel 1984 shows that in order for everything to run smoothly, it is important for everyone to agree with Big Brother and believe that he is a good