"The essential point of Nineteen Eighty-Four is just this, the danger of the ultimate and absolute power which mind can develop when it frees itself from conditions, from the bondage of things and history" (Trilling 74-75). As Lionel Trilling exquisitely expresses, 1984 by George Orwell is simply a story of ultimate power and control that spawns from the freedom of the past and reality, which is then manipulated by a higher power. To act upon this desire, the Party must use many different techniques to control their people. Thought manipulation serves as the key component of power control in Oceania as exhibited by the Thought Police, the Ministry of Truth, and the Party’s defiance of natural tendencies, for without control, the Party system
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In the eyes of the Party, “inequality [is] the price of civilization” (Orwell 204). Every person born into the society was sectioned into either the proletariat, Outer Party, or Inner Party. Mobility between these sections is quite rare, so most live their entire lives sectioned into stagnant groups. The Party’s inability to thrive without a structured society proves their instability. The Party also has a complete lack of legal structure. Therefore, the Party “was prepared to indulge any criminal instinct if it strengthened the emotional tie between ruler and ruled”, no matter the cost to the people (Atkins 247). The weakness of the Party is apparent, but the control that they have keeps everything in check. Without the Party system or lack of laws, everyone would be able to have a voice, and in a society where the highest members would not dare do anything that could lead to a loss of power, it is easy to say that nothing will ever change. The Party will continue to work in its manipulative ways because no one will be able to stop it, even though it is instable. In accordance to their instability, the Party also has an overwhelming thirst for power that can never be quenched. As O’Brien states, “The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake” (Orwell 263). To the Party, power is something that is not limited to the physical world, …show more content…
The Thought Police work mainly on spreading fear and confusion throughout the nation. No one ever knows if what he or she is doing is wrong, so everyone is constantly paranoid that he or she could be jailed at any time. In a world without actual law, anarchy should take over, but in Oceania, structure remains without the comfort of a fair trial. Secondly, the Ministry of Truth controls history and the minds of the people of Oceania because it rewrites the facts and limits thought. By editing the past, any ideas against the Party can be proven incorrect, and by limiting vocabulary, no one will be able to formulate an argument against the Party in the future. Everything that is said to be correct in the eyes of the party will become fact, even if the actual event was completely different. Next, the Party defies natural tendencies, like love and sex, because they wish to divert any hysteria or desire from other humans to the Party icon: Big Brother. This control leads to full attention and love of the Party. Finally, the Party rests all of its needs on control because it serves as the guard for instability and sovereignty in Oceania. The Party never wants to speak or reflect on their past errors, as shown by their need to change the past, and only wants pure
In the eyes of the Party, “inequality [is] the price of civilization” (Orwell 204). Every person born into the society was sectioned into either the proletariat, Outer Party, or Inner Party. Mobility between these sections is quite rare, so most live their entire lives sectioned into stagnant groups. The Party’s inability to thrive without a structured society proves their instability. The Party also has a complete lack of legal structure. Therefore, the Party “was prepared to indulge any criminal instinct if it strengthened the emotional tie between ruler and ruled”, no matter the cost to the people (Atkins 247). The weakness of the Party is apparent, but the control that they have keeps everything in check. Without the Party system or lack of laws, everyone would be able to have a voice, and in a society where the highest members would not dare do anything that could lead to a loss of power, it is easy to say that nothing will ever change. The Party will continue to work in its manipulative ways because no one will be able to stop it, even though it is instable. In accordance to their instability, the Party also has an overwhelming thirst for power that can never be quenched. As O’Brien states, “The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake” (Orwell 263). To the Party, power is something that is not limited to the physical world, …show more content…
The Thought Police work mainly on spreading fear and confusion throughout the nation. No one ever knows if what he or she is doing is wrong, so everyone is constantly paranoid that he or she could be jailed at any time. In a world without actual law, anarchy should take over, but in Oceania, structure remains without the comfort of a fair trial. Secondly, the Ministry of Truth controls history and the minds of the people of Oceania because it rewrites the facts and limits thought. By editing the past, any ideas against the Party can be proven incorrect, and by limiting vocabulary, no one will be able to formulate an argument against the Party in the future. Everything that is said to be correct in the eyes of the party will become fact, even if the actual event was completely different. Next, the Party defies natural tendencies, like love and sex, because they wish to divert any hysteria or desire from other humans to the Party icon: Big Brother. This control leads to full attention and love of the Party. Finally, the Party rests all of its needs on control because it serves as the guard for instability and sovereignty in Oceania. The Party never wants to speak or reflect on their past errors, as shown by their need to change the past, and only wants pure