Totalitarian Society

Living in a society with limited freedom of expression is not, in any case, enjoyable. A Totalitarian society is a good example of such a society, because although it provides control for the people, it can deny them a great deal of freedom to express themselves. The fictional society in George Orwell's "1984" stands as a metaphor for a Totalitarian society. Communication, personal beliefs, and individual loyalty to the government are all controlled by the inner party, which governs the people of Oceania in order to keep them from rebelling. Current society in America is much more democratic. It contrasts with Orwell's society of 1984 because communication, personal beliefs and the people's loyalty to the government are all determined by the individual. In order to keep the people of Oceania in conformity with the desires of the governing Inner Party; the Inner Party controls several aspects of the people's lives. Communication, for one, is controlled for the benefit of the nation. Newspeak is a modified version of language that is enforced upon the people in order to limit their expression. Syme and Winston, two middle-class workers in Oceania, discuss the concept of Newspeak. Syme reveals that he supports the system, demonstrating how he has been brainwashed by the Inner Party who enforces the system. "It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words... You haven't a real appreciation for Newspeak, Winston... Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thougtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. (p. 46)" One can detect from this quotation that the people of Oceania, as a group, have been brainwashed by the Inner Party to use only Newspeak. Syme, for one, understands the purpose of it, and he still complies with the system because he has been trained to do so. The concept of Newspeak is designed to control personal beliefs of the citizens by limiting their form of expression as Syme explains. But when the governing system is not followed, Thought Police are used to prevent thoughts that oppose the nation. "How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. (p. 6)" There is no doubt that - through both Newspeak and Thought Police - the system of government in "1984" has adequately prevented the people from thinking against it. When all this surveillance is placed on the people, they learn to comply with their country and eventually begin to value it automatically. At the end of the story, after Winston is accused by the Thought Police of thoughtcrime and is tortured, he finally conforms to the general thoughts of Oceania. "He had finally won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother. (p. 245)" This quote indicates that the inner party has done everything that was necessary to preserve Winston's loyalty to the nation. Even Winston, who at one time was against his government, has now been "fixed" to support it and love his leader. The government of Oceania has gone to great lengths to change Winston's mind, and as always, they have gotten what they desire. America in 1999 is much different from Orwell's 1984 because, for one, freedom of expression is a dominating factor in American communication. In conversation as well as newspapers and magazines, a variety of

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