In the classic novel 1984, author George Orwell portrays a world in which a totalitarian government has overseen the nation of Oceania. The ruling Party uses many manipulation methods as mechanisms to control its citizens, making them blindly follow the Party without hesitation. Technological advances, such as the telescreens located in every single home, gives the government access to see and hear what all citizens do day in and day out, making no room for any privacy. Along with mandatory technology, physical exhaustion, overwhelming mental stimulation, and altered historical documents are all used to suppress and direct the people. By depicting this world, Orwell warns the readers that totalitarianism government leaders will go to excessively
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This in turn assists the Party leaders in their efforts to seize any independent thought the people might have. “The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Within thirty seconds, any pretense was always unnecessary. A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge hammer, 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. And yet the rage that one felt was an abstract, undirected emotion which could be switched from one object to another like the flame of a blowlamp” (14). The Two Minutes Hate was an habitual blast of propaganda created to direct the citizen’s anger toward fictitious political enemies instead of the intended target, the Party. The development of this generates an overwhelming mind stimulation of the people, therefore, causing them to blindly participate as if they had no choice. In turn, this psychological manipulation gives the Party free control to lead their people in the direction they please without any …show more content…
Mandatory technology monitors all citizens 24/7 giving no privacy ridding the possibility of underground rebellion. “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 as long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.” By placing these telescreens into all the homes of the people, The Thought Police are able to tune into anything being said or done. This causes the citizens to be watchful of every single action they take or thought they make, convinced that everything is always overheard, even in the “privacy” of their own homes. The extent of day in and day out surveillance shows just how committed the Party is to controlling their
This in turn assists the Party leaders in their efforts to seize any independent thought the people might have. “The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Within thirty seconds, any pretense was always unnecessary. A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge hammer, 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. And yet the rage that one felt was an abstract, undirected emotion which could be switched from one object to another like the flame of a blowlamp” (14). The Two Minutes Hate was an habitual blast of propaganda created to direct the citizen’s anger toward fictitious political enemies instead of the intended target, the Party. The development of this generates an overwhelming mind stimulation of the people, therefore, causing them to blindly participate as if they had no choice. In turn, this psychological manipulation gives the Party free control to lead their people in the direction they please without any …show more content…
Mandatory technology monitors all citizens 24/7 giving no privacy ridding the possibility of underground rebellion. “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 as long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.” By placing these telescreens into all the homes of the people, The Thought Police are able to tune into anything being said or done. This causes the citizens to be watchful of every single action they take or thought they make, convinced that everything is always overheard, even in the “privacy” of their own homes. The extent of day in and day out surveillance shows just how committed the Party is to controlling their