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Mineli Senaratne
Professor O'Malley
HIST 11
05/30/24
1984 by George Orwell
The novel “1984” written by George Orwell shows a dystopian society where a nation
called Oceania is run by the Party, which has absolute power over its citizens. Oceania's rules
and laws create an unwanted environment of total control and authority. Orwell warns the
readers of the dangers of a totalitarian government. The Party's goals and desire to maintain
control over Oceania's population are embodied in Big Brother. This novel follows the journey of
a man named Winston Smith through the highly restricted society that the Party established.
Oceania's rules and laws create an unwanted environment of total control and authority. Orwell
demonstrates how the Ministry of Love, Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Peace, and Ministry of
Plenty are utilized by Big Brother to effectively hold onto power. Oceana’s psychological
manipulation is achieved by spreading propaganda, using surveillance, and exploiting the fears
of their citizens.
In the novel, propaganda is a common strategy and weapon that Oceania uses to
manipulate its citizens. The Party alters history, uses telescreens, slogans, and images to spread
its propaganda. All party member's houses have telescreens set up and on them is a constant
broadcast of catchphrases such as "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE
IS STRENGTH" (Orwell 6). Propaganda is a key tool used by Oceania’s government to take
advantage of citizens and hold onto authority. Even Smith who works for the ministry of truth is
directly involved in rewriting history and twisting facts and the truth. In Oceania, Hate Week and
Two Minutes Hate are both designed to incite more animosity among Oceania citizens toward
the Party's adversaries. These events are meant to motivate people and get them riled up. All of
this serves as a way to distract the citizens and deflect any anger they have towards the Party
because, ultimately, this hatred toward the Party's enemies strengthens people's allegiance to
Oceania and trust in the Inner Party. Orwell believes that in the absence of effective opposition,
compelling propaganda messages will easily flourish and infect a large number of people.
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Constant surveillance is another weapon that is used by Oceania. It serves as a way to
watch people, spy on them, and control the minds of their entire population. The government of
Oceania uses a number of techniques to continuously watch its citizens. The idea of “Big
Brother” is to be a constant reminder that the citizens of Oceania are being regularly monitored
by the government and should be aware of his presence. The phrase “BIG BROTHER IS
WATCHING YOU” (3) is meant to be an ongoing warning that the Party is watching its citizens
at all times. The most prominent technology used for the surveillance of citizens of Oceania is
the telescreens. It is mandatory for both Inner and Outer Party members to always have their
screens on. The telescreens are a two-way television inside of a citizen's house where they are
always being watched and heard by the thought police. “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 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” (5). This is clearly an invasion of
privacy and it shows how even the smallest fumbling of your words or an incoherent sound is
capable of getting you arrested for a thought crime. However, as a result of this surveillance, the
Party is able to maintain total control over the thinking and conduct of its citizens and is
guaranteed an accurate understanding of their lives.
The Party makes use of both the threat and the actual use of violence to play on people's
fears in order to keep them loyal to the Party and put down uprisings. The rat cage is one
example of this exploitation. Rats represent Winston's worst fear. After discovering that Winston
has a severe rat phobia, O'Brien takes advantage of his fear by torturing him until he ultimately
backs down after placing a cage of rats over his head. “If you have come up from deep water it is
not cowardly to fill your lungs with air. It is merely an instinct which cannot be destroyed. It is
the same with the rats. For you, they are unendurable. They are a form of pressure that you
cannot withstand, even if you wished to. You will do what is required of you.” (359) This shows
how the system deliberately preyed on its citizen’s greatest fears, knowing exactly that it would
convince them to give in before the actual torture began. The rats turned Winston to become an
“insane, a screaming animal” (361). Prior to this, Winston was already aware of the heinous acts
the Party was capable of to get information out of people, “To be killed was what you expected.
But before death (nobody spoke of such things, yet everybody knew of them) there was the
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routine of confession that had to be gone through” (129,130). The rats are significant because
they foreshadow Winston's fate and symbolize Winston's total conversion to conformity at the
end of the book. Orwell demonstrates how fear may overpower love and drive individuals to
betray even those closest to them. Fear can trigger the activation of survival instincts and be the
root of selfishness.
The Party uses constant fear, propaganda, and surveillance to keep the people of Oceania
under control. The Party can control the past by controlling the present. Furthermore, the Party
can use its power over the past to defend any action it does in the present. The purpose of George
Orwell's novel “1984” is to warn readers about the dangers of letting their government rule them
completely. This novel shows how it is possible for a government to trick its people into thinking
and believing anything. The novel's real significance lies in educating and warning the readers
that keeping people in a perpetual state of paranoia may lead to a nation turning into a totalitarian
state. All important aspects of George Orwell's dystopian world still have relevance to our
modern-day society.
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Work Cited
Orwell, G. (1949). Nineteen eighty-four.