Totalitarian Government in George Orwell's 1984 Essay Sample

An imagined state or society in which there is great suffering or injustice, typically one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic: the definition of dystopia leaves much to the imagination. In the 1940s Great Britain was in shambles. World War two took Europe’s infrastructure through the wringer destroying businesses, houses, and livelihoods. Many countries suffered major economic hardship as they sought to rebuild their homelands. New government styles such as communism, democracy, totalitarianism to name a few, were instituted after the global affair. George Orwell tackles the problems with a totalitarian government in his dystopian novel 1984 through the unjust treatment of Oceania's citizens, the overbearing nature of Big Brother, and the poor quality of living.  

The purpose of a government is to serve the people with the uniform goal in mind of bettering the quality of life for individuals while serving the interests of the greater group. In Oceania, Big Brother instead worked to improve its position of power at the expense of its nationals. People were criticized for even thinking the wrong thing, “thought crime does not entail death; thoughtcrime is death.” (27 Orwell). Suppression of thought is the most severe form of injustice. Controlling peoples’ thought process prevents the spread of new ideas. Orwell intentionally used the manipulation of thought to push Big Brother’s agenda in a fluid way. Not only did Big Brother manipulate its people through limiting vocabulary but the perception of the past was also altered by the government. Winston Smith was conflicted: his job asked him to directly deceive the entirety of the country through editing historical documents in the interest of bolstering Big Brother’s persona. In 2017 the National Archives edited photos of a woman’s march to remove references to President Trump. The archives were scrutinized for their actions and removed the edited photos (NARA). Luckily, the United States values the truth more than perception. The same cannot be said for Oceana, Big Brother sought to perfect its persona instead of accepting the facts as facts. By altering the records, the government took freedom of choice from the people. Without it the people of Oceana were limited even more in their opportunities. Without knowing it, the outer party was the most oppressed group in all of Oceana. Their perceived superiority over the proles was accompanied by increased surveillance and severity of punishment. Proles on the other hand were slandered but it was believed that “proles and animals are free” (75 Orwell). The proles were lucky enough to be exempt from the unjust treatment. The proles were spared from the unjust treatment and remained the only people outside of the dystopian reality found in 1984. The overbearing shadow of Big Brother only went so far but put far too many people in poor situations.  

The actions of Big Brother show a blatant disregard for individual freedom and privacy throughout 1984. The twisted goal of Big Brother was to occupy the attention of its subjects completely. The idea of love “was a political act” (159 Orwell) that was not condoned by the government. This encroachment into everyday life made living in Oceana miserable for anyone looking to live as people were meant to like and further pushes the dystopian tragedy Orwell laid out for his readers. Thanks to telescreens, escaping big brother was never an option. Telescreens made social involvement mandatory, “so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard (5)”. Big brother’s influence belittled the people of Oceana by reducing them to complicit members of a singular machine. Sadly for Winston, he became a cog in the wheel when rebellious ideas filled his mind. Those thoughts turned into actions that led to Winston Smith suffering the consequences. After reading the book given to him by O'Brien, Winston’s “house was surrounded (179 Orwell)” by the thought police who later tortured him to the point of breaking. Ingsoc held onto its power with a firm grip and had no intention of letting go. It was at this point that the true range of the government could be seen. All this power came at a cost, however one that was placed on the shoulders of the people.  

Constant war and a power-hungry government caused the quality of life in Oceana to reach abysmal levels. It goes without saying deadly weapons deploying at random is no way to live as it is unsafe. Unfortunately, it was a common occurrence for “rocket bombs [to] explode with a dull, reverberating roar” (33 Orwell), in London because of the ever-present war going on. This only furthered the apocalyptic post-war climate that was inescapable for poor Winston Smith. As the book progressed resources were further limited in efforts to support the war. Rations of chocolate, for example, were cut “from thirty grammes to twenty (33 Orwell).” Controlled distribution alone is a bad sign as it shows a lack of disposable resources but for them to be cut displayed the dire circumstances Oceana was facing. Finally, poverty was rampant across the economic landscape of Oceana. In the eyes of Big Brother, “a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance (240 Orwell)”. This bolstered the government's position at the expense of poor people, which was a consistent theme found in Oceana. When looking at Bing Brothers' actions, their only priority was serving themselves.  

The dystopian setting of 1984 is a glowing example of problems with totalitarian governments because of the mistreatment of Oceania's citizens, an overly involved Big Brother, and the unenviable quality of life. The book has been referenced many times while combatting political movements and it is a beneficial book to learn from. Though it may be fiction, the concepts discussed in 1984 are worth pondering as the book combines real-world occurrences with legitimate fears of the future.