An Analysis of a Totalitarian Society Essay

Totalitarianism Of, relating to, being, or imposing a institute of g overnment in which the political authority exercises d acceptright and centralized gay beingsoeuvre over whole aspects of life, the individual is subordinated to the state, and opposing political and cultural flavour is suppressed, (dictionary.com). Essenti bothy, despotism is a type of government in which the mortal or people in power seek to maintain absolute ascertain over every person under their authority, with virtu in bothy all immenseness eliminated from the concept of an individual. The term was compositors caseized by Hannah Arendt, the German-American political theorist who wrote The Origins of Totalitarianism, inspire by Hitler and Stalin of the just-finished World War II and just-starting Cold War.Responding to the terrors of WWII that she experienced firsthand, Arendt describes the evils of totalitarianism as she saw them. George Orwell, an author living at the same conviction as Arendt, responded similarly to the widespread fight and terrifying totalitarianism. In his 1984, Orwell creates a strictly totalitarian hostel, offering an alarming glimpse into a practicable future. Orwells society shows every characteristic named above in the rendering of totalitarianism, its governments sole closing to maintain power.The society of 1984 functi unrivalledd on the be impositionf that swear over the human mind is control over pragmatism. As OBrien, an important member of the Orwellian government referred to as the party, says, Reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. not in the individual mind, which can make mistakes, and in any cocktail dress soon perishes sole(prenominal) in the mind of the ships company, which is collective and immortal. Whatever the Party holds to be truth is truth. It is impossible to see ingenuousness except by looking through the eyes of the Party, (205). The Party is not concerned with tar line up a rea facts. They argue that reality can only become reality when it is meand additionally, the believed reality is the only reality.When OBrien tells Winston that 2 plus 2 equals five, Winston moldiness believe it, for he is not permitted any other option. Expanding on that idea, the Party states, Who controls the gone controls the future who controls the present controls the past, (204). Only the present out of the three measure is tangible, so the others do not really exist. And since reality exists only in the human mind, the Party has only to control the thoughts of that mind to control thereality of past, present, and future.In their attempt to control the human mind, the Party seeks to eliminate all thoughtcrime, the crime of thinking any thing against the infallible Big Brother, the intangible being by which everything is ordered. The act of thinking about committing a crime is, as Orwell describes it, the innate crime that contained all others in itself, (19). That doing is considered by theParty the more or less horrible, for only with thought and a conscious decision to take action pass on any action be performed without thoughtcrime, no crime would be committed. As such, the Party utilizes every possible method of eliminating thoughtcrime. Winston Smith, the main character in 1984, commits a thoughtcrime at the beginning of the book when he purchases a diary and in it writes, Down with Big Brother, (19). He then reflects on the inevitable consequences of his action Whether he went on with the diary, or whether he did not go on with it, made no difference.The thought Police would get him just the same, (19). The Party has the power to realize any committed thoughtcrime and to penalise the criminal. Their ability to do so is even seen in the language the slope language is developed to satisfy the ideological needs of the society, creating Newspeak. wholeness man says, Dont you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the value of tho ught? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it, (46). Without fail, the Party maintains their control over all of the society.In order to follow the society conceived in 1984, a method of thinking is absolutely essential the action of doublethink. Doublethink is a method of reality control the Partys ultimate goal in all their actions. As Orwell describes it, Doublethink means the power of holding cardinal contradictory beliefs in ones mind simultaneously, and accepting twain of them, (176). It is the principle on which Ingsoc (the society of 1984) is founded. Ingsocs basic tenets are as follows War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength. It is possible to deliberately speak a lie while firmly believing in what one says- through doublethink.Ones memory can berearranged and memory altered- through doublethink. Though to our unenlightened minds these terms may seem to be contradictory, the pro cess of doublethink eliminates all confusion. Clearly, these statements are far from oxymorons quite, they are absolute truth. Doublethink allows for all of the societys actions that would otherwise seem to be ridiculous once again, the Partys ultimate power is revealed.The Partys absolute control is maintained through various methods, one such being the infliction of threats and pain. any member of the society knows that once a thoughtcrime is committed, that criminal is taken by the Thought Police. When Winston is arrested, he is able to experience firsthand the punishment constructed by the Party. He is taken to the Ministry of Love- an instance of Newspeaks use, the meaning of stool sex is perfectly reversed- where he is to be made sane. The Party in full believes in the greatness and rightness of their actions, and OBrien explains how their society is different We are not subject area with negative obedience, nor even with the most abject submission. When finally you surrender to us, it essential be of your own free willEveryone is washed clean, (210). Winston must fully surrender to OBrien. It does not matter what he says, but rather what he believes, for in the mind lies the ultimate power. Describing the process enacted in the Ministry of Love, OBrien says, There are three stages in your reintegrationThere is learning, there is understanding, and there is acceptance, (215). In order to attain the state desired by the Party, one deemed mentally deranged must undergo all three of these stages, as Winston eventually does.However, Winston initially is unable to truly believe everything said by the Party. He is able to say that he believes, and perhaps wants to believe, but query still remains. As the final push to belief, Winston is taken to the infamous way 101. OBrien tells Winston, The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the worlditvaries from individual to individual, (233). The greatest possible torture is individualized, a nd with this torture, comes anything. In Room 101, one is forced to face his greatest fear. Out of his absolute terror, Winston betrays the one he vowed never to betray- Julia, the girl with whom he had a love affair. He finally realizes that love of a fellow common person like himself is futile only the love of Big Brother is important. At the end ofthe book, Orwell writes, He had won the victory over himself. He love Big Brother, (245). Ultimately, the absolute power of the Party allows Winston to believe in everything that society does.Realizing the importance of the human mind, the Party not only threatens the society, but alike channels the peoples potential into actions to benefit the Party. At all times, Oceania is at war with either Eurasia or Eastasia. It is not certain whether war actually exists, but the actual fact is not important, for reality exists only in the mind, and the Party tells us that a war is occurring. In doing so, the Party assures themselves of ultimate faithfulness from the society, for anyone to go against a society in wartime must surely be denounced as unpatriotic.Furthermore, the Party institutes the Hate Period for dickens minutes every day, a film of Emmanuel Goldstein, the pronounced Enemy of the People, is shown, and the viewers driven to a frenzy. As Winston declares, The horrible thing about the deuce Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in, (12). By utilizing the power of the human mind, the Party is able to further their control over their society.The society created in Orwells 1984 was undoubtedly an effective society, but the qualities held by that society go against all principles which we now hold to be essential to life.We dupe that we have the right to freedom of speech, and that our language cannot be corrupted, yet Orwell says, Political language- and with variations this is ture of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists- is desi gned to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to interrupt an appearance of solidity to pure wind, (Politics and the English Language). We assume that we have the right to challenge anything, yet Orwell tells us, Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with strike effectiveness.A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never minded(p) a fair hearing. Today, Orwells terms- Big Brother, doublethink, newspeak, and others- are heard when discussing our own government. Though 1984 is a fictious story written over 50 eld ago, its message is still relevant today. We all must realize Orwells warningthat he sought to make clear over fractional a century ago- at any time, we all face a common danger that of conforming that of losing our individuality, our thoughts, and all qualities valued in humanity.