Dangers Of Totalitarianism In 1984

George Orwell’s 1984 was created to demonstrate the dangers that totalitarianism poses to the social order. A totalitarian regime establishes control through its degree of power. The novel is in a world of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance, and public manipulation dictated by a political system that persecutes individualism. In Oceania, freedoms and individuality are crushed under the power of the government. Orwell’s representation of a dystopia mirrors the perfect totalitarian state. Orwell glimpses into the future where The Party, the fictional government system, is unflawed in its universal control over society. Winston Smith, the novel’s protagonist, goes from an independent thinker to a shell of a man, who can only regurgitate …show more content…
This discipline allows for individuals to be coerced into conforming. The use of surveillance in 1984 is like Foucault’s mention of the Panopticon. Here discipline is enacted through fear by allowing those in power to observe others without their knowledge. The panopticon is a surveillance tool because someone could always remain at watch. The Panopticon has a tower in the middle of a circle of cells. In these cells are windows that allow just the faintest amount of light for inmates to remain visible. The panopticon’s design was to enable a few number of guards to control a large number of inmates, maintain surveillance at all times. This structure exercises discipline because inmates are constantly under watch or at least feel they are, and even paranoia is a way of being controlled. There are many similarities between Foucault’s description of the prison system and Orwell’s dystopia in 1984. Through propaganda and the Party’s political influence the government has adequately prevented the people from thinking against it. Continuous propaganda surrounding the government is a constant reminder to people of its importance; When all this surveillance is placed on the people, they learn to live a certain way of life. At the end of the story, after Winston is subjected to both mental and physical torture, he ends up conforming to the thoughts that …show more content…
The government is referred to as the Party and depicted as a flawless and essential entity to Oceania’s success. The Party draws strong parallels to the ideology of Nazism, that Germanic people descended from an ancient master race whom they called Aryan with extreme authoritarian views. This parallelism is consistent throughout the novel. For example, Nazi Germany fueled their quest for racial purity by targeting those of Jewish descent. The Nuremberg Rallies were large gatherings used to celebrate the pride for their countries and their common hatred for the Jewish race. Oceania, also practiced this strategy of using a common hatred of other countries to foster national pride. This is necessary, as warfare keeps citizens in constant flux and fear which makes them more willing to submit control to the Party. The Hate Weeks are also comparable to the Nuremberg Rallies because both are aimed at fostering pride and patriotism. The Nazi regime also used propaganda in the manipulation and control of the German people. Propaganda controlled the information being shared to the people and influenced their perspective. In 1984, there are unavoidable telescreens that monitor behavior and feed constant streams of propaganda. For Nazi Germany, it was essential to associate their image with that of a progressive one to maintain the support of the community. In 1984, the government