He believes that it was the role of the government that would keep these instincts in line. If these instincts were not controlled it would lead to war. Hobbes views were shaped by his life experiences during the English Civil War. He believed people were evil and selfish. Hobbes idea that “people orbiting their ruler” leads me to the idea of socialism/communism (Sayre, 2012).
How is conflict explored by Orwell in 1984 and what impact does it have on the reader. The book, 1984 is written by George Orwell, it is about the conflict between Winston Smith and Big Brother; and the conflict between the two ideas, democracy and totalitarianism. Orwell wrote the novel to show society what it could become if things kept getting worse he identified of the expansion of communism when he wrote the novel. The conflict between democracy and totalitarianism created two characters, Winston Smith and Big Brother, in Orwell’s mind. Big Brother is the example of all the ideals of the totalitarian party.
1984 was written by Orwell as a warning to the world as he saw it, he opposed totalitarianism in all it’s forms and, on one occasion said “I believe that totalitarianism, if not fought against, could triumph again”. The concept for 1984 came about through Orwell’s experiences in Burma and Spain that involved propaganda and totalitarian regimes. This is reflected in the text through the party and the use of ‘Big Brother’ posters. Orwell helps the audience recognise the negative aspects of the dystopian and totalitarian world through Winston’s perspective, a perspective that the audience relates to, as Winston bears many of our own ideals, such as the want for freedom and a democratic society. It is undeniable that there are a number of parallels between the protagonists of both Orwell’s ‘1984’ and the Wachowski brothers’ ‘The Matrix’.
This question concerns the extent and strength of Hitler’s power and refers to the controversy concerning the efficiency of the Nazi regime; the debate between intentionalist and structuralist viewpoints. Evans in source 1 argues that the Nazis publicised terror in order to enforce control; thus largely supporting the viewpoint that the Fuhrer’s power was comprehensive. On the other hand Stewart in source 3 presents the evidence of Hitler’s bohemian lifestyle which would seem to disagree with the view that the power of the Fuhrer was total. Kershaw adopts a middle way and whilst he accepts that the structure of government was a shambles with competing factions, he argues that they did so in order to interpret Hitler’s world view; thus showing a different and interpretation of total and comprehensive power. Evans clearly demonstrates the extent of the terror system and this can be used to support the opinion of the total and comprehensive power of the Fuhrer.
He says that men are “ungrateful, fickle, deceptive and deceiving, avoiders of danger, and eager to gain. As long as you serve their interests, they are devoted to you” . According to Machiavelli’s theory on human nature, it is mans pure self-interest that allows them to be easily controlled, by coercing them through manipulative and sometime violent means. He states that attempting to rule over people by honourable means would only lead to a ruler’s downfall, as an honourable ruler is always surrounded by “unscrupulous men” . Machiavelli states that “a
A rebel can be defined as someone who has armed resistance against an established ruler or government. In 1984, a dystopian society themed novel by George Orwell, the protagonist Winston Smith is proven to be a rebel through his thoughts and actions throughout the story. His firm belief in the Brotherhood and his on going romantic relationship with his lover Julia, ultimately proves he is a rebel, following his terms and conditions rather than those of others. The protagonist, Winston Smith, can be described as a rebel for having thoughts that are forbidden according to the rules of Ingsoc. Winston Smith knows and understands that Ingsoc and Big Brother are committing an injustice of their own:”To the future or the past, to a time when thought is free when men are different than one anther and do not live alone... To a time when truth exists and what is done cannot be undone.
1984 remains as one of the most powerful sources of warnings issued against totalitarian societies. George Orwell aims to portray the worst human society, a dystopia. The negative utopian form is used to convince readers to avoid any actions similar to this that could lead to a reaction as shown in the novel. 1984 is one of the most famous novels of the negative utopian, or dystopian, genre. When 1984 was composed, a society that was monitored seemed possible, as it was the dawn of the nuclear age, before the television became a common appliance found in homes.
Plato and Aristotle believed that a fear did, run though liberals as they viewed democracy as a system of rule by the masses, thus an implication of individualism; seeing society as not as single individual entities but rather a collection of individual groups, possessing opposing interest. This in turn leads to Ortega y Gassets warning of the arrival of mass democracy, which had lead to the overthrowing of civilized society and moral order. As a consequence allowing authoritarian rulers come to power, appealing to the basest instincts of the masses; ‘mobocracy’. This therefore is a fear and reservation most liberals have towards democracy. ‘Liberal democracy’ embodies a whole range of doctrines and devices that actually seek to restrain popular rule and prevent government from flexing direct will of majority.
These feelings towards a Government often occur in today’s society and the portrayal of this in V for Vendetta emphasises the discontent to the audience and presents us with a negative view on society as a whole; as it relates to people like Mugabe and his Government who control by fear and intimidation and are the centre of discontent. An extremely effective technique McTeigue used to present a negative view on society is dialogue. After the V destroys the Old Bailey the media report that the building was actually demolished for structural reasons. While watching this report on TV Evey’s co-worker exclaims, “Do you believe that load of bollocks?” This illustrates the unhappiness within the masses and the discontent they hold. Another example is a quote from Dascomb, “Our job is to report the news, not fabricate it... That's
Orwell may have used Nazi Germany as a influence for the strong ‘surveillance of society theme’ Stalin’s rule and the Russian revolution were also another key influence in Orwell’s novel 1984. The events in the novel 1984 where quite closely related to certain aspects of the Russian Revolution. Both of these had a powerful leader that thought he was always right and leaders that were overthrown. In essence the novel 1984 showed how people tried to put revolutionary ideas in practice for a greater good, but ultimately this ends up in corruption and a worse solution all together. Orwell tells in interviews that he wanted to "make political writing into an art".