1984 Research Paper

Writing 102

30 April 2013

The Dangers of Power As Seen in 1984

When reading the book 1984 by George Orwell, it is very apparent that the author is warning the world of what could happen if the government obtains too much control. “Big Brother” is everything to the people in the country of Oceania; he is the God if there were religion, and the President if there were a fair political system in place. He knows everything you do, say, and even think. He has a face and an alias but no other facts, such as his name or if he’s even still alive, are available. What is most disturbing, however, is that the main weapon used to implement his power over the people are psychological methods via their own brain.

The official political stance of the government in 1984 is Ingsoc, which is Newspeak for English Socialism. Newspeak is yet another way to control the people and their thoughts, and is a language created by the party designed “to narrow the range of thought” (Orwell 52). The government is split into three levels. The highest people are a part of the Inner Party, whose jobs are so important and remote that very little is known about what they actually do. The middle level is the Outer Party, which the main character Winston is a part of. They do the office work for the party and are a part of numerous committees made as another form of manipulation and control. The bottom level, which happens to also have the majority of the population in it, is the proles. They are looked upon with disgust and thought poorly of. Syme, a member of the Outer party, even goes as far to say,“the proles are not human beings” (Orwell 52). Winston believes that if Big Brother and the Party ever get overthrown, it will be due to the workings of the proles. However, this is unlikely since they receive the least benefits and are uneducated. By using psychological brain washing over the years since the Revolution, the Party intentionally made it so that their power would never...