History has a tendency of repeating itself. Citizens of a country should become aware of what may happen to society if the wrong history were to repeat. Many works of literature work towards progressing society and making the human life a better place, George Orwell attempted just that. Orwell’s 1984 is a satire on totalitarian governments of the East in order to warn the West of its consequences. 1984 is a novel set in a dystopian society, well, dystopian only to non-socialist nations. Socialist ideals are represented in full color in Orwell’s novel, deliberately of course. The novel, having been written in 1949, came at a time where the world was still on edge from damage done by Nazi Germany and company. In the article Nazi Germany, Nazi
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Stalin, once in power, demonstrated a more complete power of the lives of the inhabitants of the USSR than Hitler did. “The state’s control of the media was total. Those who attempted to listen, read etc. anything else were severely punished” (Life in the USSR). For those who disobeyed, the labor camps they would face. 1984 displays an ominously similar picture to that of Stalin’s Soviet Union. The telescreens and Newspeak dictionary in the novel serve to subjugate every citizen into following explicit orders and not deviating from the predetermined path set by Big Brother. The end of the novel shows us what the Ministry of Love truly is, a torture center designed to force subjects into complete submission of Ingsoc ideals. Stalin was forming an exact depiction of the Oceania civilization in his own USSR. Massive propaganda efforts were enacted so that his image could be exalted. During the two minutes of hate, Winston notes very clearly that the crowd was under complete control by the propaganda. Once Emmanuel Goldstein’s image came up, “A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledgehammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one 's will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic" (Orwell 16), but as soon as Big Brothers image was resurrected, the crowd yelled and cheered with elation. This complete control of a society is what Orwell is warning us about, he denounces these former great powers, and how they acquired the power they did. Religion, in both 1984 and in the Soviet Union, was attacked. Karl Marx once stated that Religion was “the opium of the masses” and Stalin used this to enforce his policies (Life in the USSR). Obrien tells Winston during his interrogation “power is collective” (Orwell 276), trying to make the connection
Stalin, once in power, demonstrated a more complete power of the lives of the inhabitants of the USSR than Hitler did. “The state’s control of the media was total. Those who attempted to listen, read etc. anything else were severely punished” (Life in the USSR). For those who disobeyed, the labor camps they would face. 1984 displays an ominously similar picture to that of Stalin’s Soviet Union. The telescreens and Newspeak dictionary in the novel serve to subjugate every citizen into following explicit orders and not deviating from the predetermined path set by Big Brother. The end of the novel shows us what the Ministry of Love truly is, a torture center designed to force subjects into complete submission of Ingsoc ideals. Stalin was forming an exact depiction of the Oceania civilization in his own USSR. Massive propaganda efforts were enacted so that his image could be exalted. During the two minutes of hate, Winston notes very clearly that the crowd was under complete control by the propaganda. Once Emmanuel Goldstein’s image came up, “A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledgehammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one 's will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic" (Orwell 16), but as soon as Big Brothers image was resurrected, the crowd yelled and cheered with elation. This complete control of a society is what Orwell is warning us about, he denounces these former great powers, and how they acquired the power they did. Religion, in both 1984 and in the Soviet Union, was attacked. Karl Marx once stated that Religion was “the opium of the masses” and Stalin used this to enforce his policies (Life in the USSR). Obrien tells Winston during his interrogation “power is collective” (Orwell 276), trying to make the connection