Dystopia in 1984 Essay

1984 is a prime example of Dystopian, examine this statement.

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), by George Orwell, is the epitome of modern dystopian text, insofar as it contains all the elements and facets of Dystopian fiction. Written in nineteen forty-eight, it is set shortly after WW2, in a futuristic world of a totalitarian world, of Big Brother. Influenced by totalitarian leaders such as Stalin and Hitler, 1984 is written as a warning for the future, it proposes a world which could exist but does not yet. The accepted facets of the dystopian genre are: social stratification, lack of social groups, disruption of sexuality, economic oppression and inequality, a conscious protagonist, who rebels, suppression human rights and a leader, seen as divine. All of which, 1984 has, which makes it a prime example of dystopian fiction. Control by any totalitarian government, is both placed and enforced to ensure that the ruling class, keeps its privileges and power; by suppressing everyone else. This is performed mainly through the destruction of history, psychological and physical punishments placed upon the members of Oceania, which are prominent features of the dystopian genre

1984 is a political novel written with the purpose of warning readers in the West of the dangers of totalitarian government. Having witnessed firsthand the horrific lengths to which totalitarian governments, such as Germany and Russia, Orwell designs an extreme totalitarian government, one which seeks to control every aspect of life, directly or indirectly such as psychological, physical, language destruction, destruction of a free press etc. Psychological mechanisms include, 2 minute hate which, synonymous with Hitlers scathing attacks; are implemented to rile up the population against their supposed enemy which diverts attention and anger at the obsequious surveillance is a major control tool, as almost every movement is monitored and every movement is scrutinized which destroys privacy. This 2 minute hate provides a scapegoat, in exchange for 2 minutes of barbaric and degraded human behaviour, suppressed emotions and feelings are released.

Streams of propaganda are also evident, with victories and facts being blurted out continuously to affirm the partys success.

Another measure of control is through controlling the media. The Party controls every source of information, managing and rewriting the content of all newspapers and histories for its own ends. The Party does not allow individuals to keep records of their past, such as photographs or documents. As a result, memories become fuzzy and unreliable, and citizens become perfectly willing to believe whatever the Party tells them. By controlling the present, the Party is able to manipulate the past. And in controlling the past, the Party can justify all of its actions in the present.

In addition to psychological control, the Party also control the populace through physical means. Winston observes, even a tiny facial twitch could lead to an arrest as it displayed abnormality. Facecrime is an indictable offence example such as being unhappy when a great victory was declared. A person's own nervous system becomes his greatest enemy as it is totally uncontrollable. The Party forces its members to undergo mass morning-exercises called Physical Jerks, and then to work long, grueling days at government agencies, keeping people in a general state of exhaustion. Thoughtcrime the crime of mere thinking of committing a crime, is ironically reduced by the party through the destruction of words. Dissent would be impossible in this world, as words expressing dissent are removed.

The strict social stratification is divided into the 3 main groups of: the Inner Party, the Outer Party and the Proletarian are an obvious feature of a dystopian fiction. The life of the proletarians are summed up in the quote The party as a whole do not care what the Proles do because they are too unintelligent and ignorant of their surroundings. The lottery, which seems to be the thing the Proles live for is their main distraction even though the pay outs are fake. The purpose of the lottery, is to occupy the intellectual needs of the Proles, so they continue to serve the needs of Ingsoc through physical labour. The prolertarians make up the majority of the people of Oceania and have the potential to overthrow Big Brother very easily if they thought about it. The red-armed prole woman, who sings even making the horrid song beautiful, represents Winstons hope that the proles are the answer. Orwell, through 1984 describes how in any non- communist society, the marginalized of society are taken advantage by the elite, have the ability to overthrow the government system.

Slight differences, as the fictional Emmanuel Goldstein recounts slight differences are emphasized in the different classes to exaggerate the concept that the Outer party, especially, feels superior to the Proles.. As Winston says Hardly anyone moves up and that the lives lived by the majority, even the Outer class, considered the middle class is difficult. The elite, the Inner Party has to work much more than the elite of the capitalist system even though they enjoy a few more benefits, they still work exceptionally hard. Ingsoc, unmercifully attacks Capitalism, exaggerating the flaws, even making the top hat, a symbol of the evilness of wealth which is used to illustrate the characteristics of the rich to convince the public that Ingsoc, is the only acceptable choice of government.

Big Brother, a mysterious yet handsome man is used frequently through out the novel, is a symbol for the power and leadership replaces the need for families and love. His influence is shown through his poster, with the caption Big Brother is watching you and serves the purpose of the semi-immortal or immortal leader. The actual existence of Big Brother is of no consequence, a false image serves the party in many more ways than a real person. The death of a real person would be a great blow to the party, a real person makes mistakes, yet a symbol or an image does not. As a symbol, he represents the inescapable fate of Winston, as he is almost obsequious through the telescreens.

The separation of families, co workers and friends are vital in maintaining power in the world of 1984. Families are torn apart, due to the policies implemented to brainwash children into loving Big Brother, and by extension Ingsoc over their own families. This conflicts with the natural order, families typically very close groups are separated especially by groups such as Anti-Sex League and juniour spies whose aims are to destroy the natural order. Paranoia is introduced in dissenters, as they fear not the undercover agents, but the amateur spy, i.e. the general public.