Allegory In 1984

Several alternative interpretations of George Orwell’s 1984 have been put forth since its publication in 1949. One interpretation is that the novel is actually meant to be a religious allegory. Another is that the novel was intended to represent the conflict between elitist intellectual arguments and common sense. While both of these positions have merit, the most likely interpretation is also the most obvious. George Orwell’s 1984 was most likely written by the author as a condemnation of totalitarian governments and a warning to readers of what can happen to a society under this type of political system. Evidence of this position as being the most likely can be inferred from the author’s personal history and his own words. It can also be …show more content…
Orwell repeatedly comments on many of the tactics used by real world totalitarian governments that he was familiar with. Furthermore, the tone of the novel seems to consistently condemn those tactics. The use of psychological manipulation is a perfect example. Psychological manipulation has been referred to as “One of the most powerful yet commonly overlooked aspects of warfare” (“Psychology of Warfare”), and in 1984 we see what can happen when a government uses it against its own citizens. In the novel, the party uses such things as tele-screens located throughout the city and in everyone’s home to broadcast constant propaganda. The tele-screens also monitor everything citizens do, which makes them feel paranoid and scared. There are also posters of Big Brother everywhere reminding citizens that they are being watched. Even the family unit is used as a form of psychological manipulation. Children are inducted into the party at an early age and turned into spies against their own families. Families cannot trust one another which adds to the constant fear and paranoia. The use of psychological manipulation and propaganda was widespread in Nazi Germany during World War II (“Nazi Propaganda”). Adolf Hitler not only used psychological manipulation against his enemies, but also on his own people. Just like the …show more content…
In 1984 he describes the use of the tele-screens to both manipulate citizens with propaganda as previously mentioned and to spy on citizens. He also describes hidden microphones throughout the city and “complicated mechanisms” that are used to control economic production and information. They also use machinery for torture which is the clearest use of technology to control and manipulate citizens. Many would argue that totalitarian governments turn technology into instruments of evil not only in the fictional world but also in the real world. Research has shown that authoritarian regimes like China and Cuba are maintaining control over the Internet using different proactive and reactive strategies that profit the goals of the state (Kalathil and Boas). In this sense, as in many others, George Orwell’s writing seems to have been very