The book 1984 by George Orwell is one of the most powerful warnings ever issued against the dangers of a totalitarian society. It illustrates the worst human society imaginable, in an effort to convince readers to avoid any path that might lead toward such societal degradation. In his book, Orwell talked about the invasion of government into our lives, the effect that it would be on our freedom and the repercussions in everyday life. He describes a world beyond our imagination. Now it is being said the Fourth Amendment’s promise of protection from government invasion of privacy is in danger of being replaced by the futuristic surveillance state Orwell described (Liptak, 2011).” By the same token, does 1984 present a startling and haunting vision of the world today?
This is used to produce fear in the comrades under the control of the Party in order to ensure the ultimate compliance from these comrades. The presence of the “Big Brother” poster in one of Winston’s primary introductory descriptions as well as the accompanying caption, “Big Brother is watching you ”, beneath the eyes that follow individuals around are examples of this technique of surveillance. The “Big Brother” poster’s omnipresence in society emphasises the Party’s control over its citizens’ lives. The concept of having to monitor one’s own thoughts and actions as a result of being monitored by someone else also highlights this method of surveillance. The existence of the “telescreen” throughout the comrades’ homes also represents the surveillance under which the Party places its society.
One of the main pieces of evidence in George Orwell’s novel 1984 was the use of constant surveillance of their people with telescreens and spies. When the people are working, on break at home, or any other activity in the society is heavily watched and observed by the government. They are restricted from having any privacy and individuality. They are even spied by their own kids who will report them if they say anything bad about government. The main piece of evidence in Aldous Huxley’s story Brave New World was the different things that each caste was allowed to like certain jobs, certain places to live and how they were raised.
It Probably seems that one of the biggest issues we have today in the world might be the loss of the private self, But what we do everyday and the experience we have is what i think defines us as a society. Just as how the world state used “feelies” to escape from their lives, us personally as a society also do this through consuming media through many things such as television and the internet. . As Huxley’s London played endless games of Centrifugal Bumble-puppy and Obstacle Golf, we buy up (and throw out) countless Xboxes and Playstations etc. And also how the people of Brave New World used plentiful, casual sex as a source of simple pleasure, do we use sex to market and to entice?
The powerful such as the police have the power to decide what gets reported to the public and use the mass media to enhance control by creating fear within society. This is emphasised by General Director of the BBC Michael Grade who reported that “the effect of crime reporting by the media is almost inevitably to increase fear…the public receives only a distorted impression” (Grade 1989). The term ‘moral panics’ is mainly associated Stanley Cohen. Cohen defines moral panics as “a condition, episode, person, or group persons emerges to become defined as a threat in societal values and interests; its nature is presented in a stylised and stereotypical fashion by the mass media” (Cohen, 1972.p.9). According to Cohen moral panics are part of a collective behaviour where there is panic over a particular behaviour seen as deviant
Does violence come inherently with humans when they are born? Is there any gene, hormone or natural stimulus that makes humans to be violent or is violence a learned behaviour? These are questions that have been asked over the years for many case studies and found contradictory answers. While Psychologists from the 20 century such as Sigmund Freud believed that humans were born genetically violent or the Italian Physician Cesare Lombroso who claimed that “Sloping foreheads, jutting chins and long arms were signs of born criminals" (kohn), 21st century Scientists and case studies have concluded that because humans are creatures of learning imitation, people learn to be violent from the environment they find themselves, starting from their childhood experiences, as well as external events and situations that bring hostile ideas to mind such as television, video games, music or wars. The unproven theory stated by Sigmund Freud that human is innate violent has become an excuse for wars, crimes and injustice in the world.
And what would they want to do with that information? Devices these days like smartphones have become super computers at the palm of your hands, which can do so many tasks as taking pictures, making calls, text, surf the Web and track one's personal life. The privacy of Americans citizens is being violated, similar to that in George Orwell’s 1984 because of their similarities in technology, their tracking methods, and privacy invasion. In Orwell’s novel 1984 we get a glimpse of a totalitarian government having full control over the people in Oceania. In order for the government to obtain full control over their citizens is to keep them in heavy supervision.
One of the first ideas that becomes very clear when reading 1984 is the controlling government that easily resembles a totalitarian style society similar to those in the mid-twentieth century. One example is Big Brother, who is a supposed omnipotent figure who also limits and controls society the way he wants it to be. While Big Brother is more a title than anything else, his name puts fear in the people of Oceania similar to the way the names of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong put fear in the people of the world ("1984."). These men were also powerful dictators who used their powers to force their wants on the people, much in the same way as Big Brother. By creating this comparison between Big Brother and the totalitarian leaders, Orwell shows what a society could become with a long-term totalitarian leader: a place with no freedom, yet with people who believe they are free, shown by the Party slogan “Freedom is Slavery” (Orwell 4).
The Significance of a “Brave New World” Huxley is trying to get a lesson across, that technology is destroying the basics of society: family, cultural diversity, art, literature, science, religion and philosophy. He specifically uses John for this purpose. He also uses John to get his warning across about socialist and communist attitudes and to some degree his opposition to a capitalist consumer society. He uses some of the themes of the book to warn humanity as a whole about the use of technology to control society, the dangers of an all-powerful state and the incompatibility of happiness and truth. These warnings are relevant to today’s society because technology and media are changing the way we look at human feelings and rights, trying to avoid a society where people are not so much denied human rights such as free speech and expression but conditioned to not care.
Totalitarianism In writing 1984, Orwell's main goal was to warn of the serious danger totalitarianism poses to society. He goes to great lengths to demonstrate the terrifying degree of power and control a totalitarian regime can acquire and maintain. In such regimes, notions of personal rights and freedoms and individual thought are pulverized under the all-powerful hand of the government. Orwell was a Socialist and believed strongly in the potential for rebellion to advance society, yet too often he witnessed such rebellions go wrong and develop into totalitarian rule. Specifically, Orwell saw such developments during his time in Spain and in Russia, where he witnessed the rise of communism and the accompanying destruction of civil liberties, honest government, and economic strength.