National University of Modern Languages

Totalitarianism and Surveillance from Nineteen Eighty-four by George

Group A Members: Muhammad saqib, Saad Shaiq, Sughra Ali abbasi, Farah gull
Date: 20/12/22

Abstract
Totalitarianism is a school of political thought that dictates a method of national governance by
means of surveillance and absolute control over the masses. It has been implemented a number of
times in history. It operates by using force as its primary tool for subjugation. George Orwell’s
Nineteen Eighty-four is set in a dystopian world where the protagonist is a subject of a totalitarian
state. The protagonist finds himself at odds with his state and particularly with the central
authority governing that state. That central authority is the main antagonist of this novel along
with four ministries that control the social fabric of the state, who by means of: oppression of
thought and will subdue their public to prevent instigation of any form of retaliation against the
state. He subverts the submissive paradigms with which he was indoctrinated by the state to
entertain thoughts, and potential actions of anarchy and rebellion. As story progresses on, he
finds a person who shares his notions of freedom and independence. No amount of precaution
could have prevented what was to follow. The protagonist along with the other inevitably get
caught by the police.

Introduction:
Totalitarianism or Totalitario as was the term coined by the dictator Benito Mussolini, refers to a
form of ultra-authoritarian government that intends to strictly control and survey every aspect of
public individuality by making it subservient to the state, and to prioritize the state and further the
intended goal of that state. For instance, totalitarian states in modern history are Adolf Hitler’s
Nazi Germany, and Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union during the World War II. Other notable
examples of totalitarian states in history are Mao Zedong’s People’s Republic of China and in
contemporary times Socialist North Korea under the Kim Dynasty.
Moreover, such states operate by perpetually surveying and monitoring its subject. The public are
not entitled to any form of financial or physical assets, nor do they possess any ownership of
what they wear or consume. Actions, if discovered to be in violation of what the state deems an
act sound and acceptable, will be met with severe consequences. Failure to comply and to
conform will result in a state ordered execution or imposed labour until the death of the offender.
Any and all forms of entertainment are abolished and replaced with political propaganda to
condition the masses into a state of mass-conformity. This in return destroys the formally
prevalent social, and ethical fabric of the state. All traditional institutes and organizations of the
state are diminished and supplanted with state sanctioned establishments.
However, totalitarian states were nothing but abominations of astoundingly possessive minds.
Minds that derived their intellectual aspirations from the widely established school of thought,
namely, conservatism. Those who wish to control or develop a strong collectivism as opposed to
the idea of individuality. There is no greater crime committed, no greater wound inflicted upon a
human being than to deprive it of its free will. An inevitable reaction is sure to brew within the
numbers of the oppressed who would, in face of such unspeakable tyrannies, revolt. Such are the
crimes that George Orwell feared in his turbulent times. Atrocities that Orwell could not help be
dreadfully conscious of. He was a visionary who imagined the world in a very peculiar state
anxieties he harboured would lucidly manifest is his literary works- a state of disarray and mass
confusion.
George Orwell was a prolific writer; his earlier works were quite witty and critically well
received. He had a history of aversion to imperialism and fascism. In 1922 during his service in
Indian Imperial Police in Burma he became progressively conscious of the unjust colonial rule of
Imperialist British and a feeling of shame was never far from that point. After returning to
England in 1927, from due reflection he decided to resign from the post of superintendency to
which he was assigned in the Imperial Indian Police never to return. He felt that he could not
mingle with the Burmese and the contributing factors to that was racial discrimination that
prevailed in Burma at that time from colonial rule. He wished to make amends by experiencing
the life of poor, by wearing ragged clothes, living in cheap houses, working as a laborer, and
performing odd jobs such as washing dishes. This allowed him a great insight into the lives of
those who were oppressed or those who lacked the means to possess a higher position in the
hierarchal ladder of the society. Insomuch he was inspired further to write more.
He then on became a literary editor of the Tribune, where he would write newspaper articles and
review literary works. In 1944 completed his work Animal Farm, a crafty, simple yet nuanced
critically acclaimed political fable that was about the Russian Revolution. Animal Farm showered
Orwell with recognition that he truly deserved. After dwelling upon the dual socialist
monstrosities of his times, he wrote the last novel of his remaining years: Nineteen Eighty-four
(1984). Animal Farm was greatly overshadowed by his last novel. It served as a warning, as a
plausible future where, should the forces of totalitarianism succeed, no man will ever be allowed
the freedom, to which he is by divine decree entitled. This sent a wave of fear throughout Europe
and the rest of the world. To this day the novel resonates with those whose political views are of
libertarian origins. The work made a grave impression on his contemporaries and the public
(specifically) for whom it was written.
Orwell, during the writing of his last work, was suffering from a grave illness to which he
succumbed later on. However, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-four served as his legacy. They
signified his love for freedom and the advocacy of human rights. He was revered by his
contemporaries as a man of unparalleled political genius and for the zeal with which he fought
the opposing forces of senseless domination. He is now immortalized as in history of political
literature.

Analysis:
Totalitarianism is portrayed in Nineteen Eighty-four by the existence of a state that does not
tolerate any form of individuality and is focused solely on the perseverance of its existence and
its intended cause. Big Brother is the infamous leader of The Party or the state. It governs and
monitors every aspect of individual life. Big Brother in actuality never appears as a character in
the novel. Nonetheless, it bears existence as a symbol of divinity, control, and authority that is
omnipresent, all-knowing, and at times omnipotent. Public of the state is ordered to pledge its
undying loyalty to the state, never to defect, never to betray the state nor its cause. Any form of
rebellion whether practical or theoretical is met with severe consequences. Therefore, the public
as a whole, lives in constant fear of death and torture that may lie in wake of any transgression
whether intended or otherwise suggestive. They are under constant surveillance in public or even
inside the privacy of their homes. Orwell’s dystopian Oceania represents England which is in
reality is a free individualist country. Purpose of that was to potentially portray a free country in a
harrowing authoritarian reality. The novel’s protagonist Winston dwells in London where
authorities maintain their control over the public by employing fear and coercion, and a special
task force known as the Thought Police. Thought Police, as the name itself implies polices any
form of transgressions that may originate in thoughts and/or emotions. It has placed hidden
cameras and microphones throughout the city and is constantly monitoring the public’s
movements and speech. State’s political propaganda is spread by posters of Big Brother with a
caption that reads: Big Brother is Watching You. Television remains turned on with the same
propaganda posters of Big Brother being broadcast day in day out. There are four ministries that
regulate social norms and economical status. These are: The Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Love,
Ministry of Plenty, and Ministry of Peace. Each ministry has its specific functions and they
replace traditional social and economic institutes.
The extent of ethical distortion to which the totalitarian party solidifies its rule represented in the
novel is truly astounding because the party employs three slogans that are entirely paradoxical.
No amount of conventional logical reasoning, nor empirical, can comprehend their meanings.
Take for instance: War is Peace, the former implies the presence of conflict and battle while the
latter represents a time where discord no longer remains. This may imply that the state considers
no other option than War waged against all those who dare instigate an unrest within the system
of the state and that in return may bring about peace. Therefore, peace in state’s opinion is its
former unadulterated functionality that must continue onwards. Second Slogan is: Freedom is
Slavery, and it directly speaks to the public. Freedom symbolizes independence and freedom
itself was not existent in that society rather slavery was. Ergo, the slogan may imply freedom to
be a form of slavery to the notorious Brotherhood. Or to be a foreign doctrine, a concept invented
by the Brotherhood to thwart the political integrity of the Party. Last but not least the third slogan
is: Ignorance is Strength. The last slogan may imply knowledge of foreign nature, or knowledge
altogether associated with alien doctrines to cause a debilitating effect that may cause national
morale to diminish overtime. Therefore, aversion to it may be a source of power.
The protagonist, Winston, is plagued with notions of rebellion and emotional unrest. While
confronting a flurry of mixed emotions. In order to hide himself and his ideological thoughts of
revolution: he maintains a diary where he records himself, his thoughts, and hopes of freedom.
Every step he takes, every sound he makes, all are carefully planned to avoid detection by the
Thought Police of his contaminated mind. Winston, as is fairly evident can no longer survive the
ordeals he is facing and therefore finds himself completely isolated from the rest. However, a
stroke of luck allows him to meet a woman named Julia, who secretly slips him a note stating that
she loved him. Both of them shared each other’s political and anarchial views. Nevertheless, their
political discourse frequently ended in a disagreement because Winston idealized a nation that
allowed individual freedom, though Julia had the same views; however, her motives were
pragmatic and self-centered, she never cared about any rebellion. They were tricked by a
character named O’Brian who was secretly a member of the inner party and a self-proclaimed
member of the Brotherhood. During their confrontation, O’Brian gives them a book that contains
the philosophical paradigms of the Brotherhood. While reading that book, Winston and Julia’s
secret hideout was raided by The Thought Police who capture them for torture and coercion.
O’Brian interrogates Winston regarding his views and the woman Julia. After succumbing to
torture, Winston reveals his secrets and all the crimes he committed. Winston is then taken to the
dreaded torture room called 101. Winston’s face was caged with rats that eat away at his face.
Winston had a phobia of rats, and in confusion dread he told O’Brian to leave him be and torture
Julia instead. In doing so he betrayed his love and conformed to the Party. Both of them were
eventually released; however, they were but mere shadows of their former selves. Each passed by
the other never to say anything, nor to give a mere glance, they were two completely broken
people who no longer entertained any thoughts of revolution.

O’Brian, during torture of Winston, revealed the Party’s motives: to achieve a total domination of
the minds of those alike Winston. To further elaborate that O’Brian tells him the extent of that
domination: if the Party says that two plus two equals five, the masses in collective response
believe the answer to that is truly five. No questions asked whatsoever. This goes to show the
kind of horrors Orwell envisioned, or in a way prophesized in his novel. Horrors portrayed here
can be seen in current times never to be disregarded or ignored. This dystopian world symbolizes
misinformation, mass-control, sensual domination. It exists for oneself, it functions for oneself,
and above all else, it disregards all that is alien. It operates strictly for its goal.
Conclusion:
Totalitarianism is doomed to failure. It is a severely flawed political system that seeks to remain
rigid and stubbornly conservative. For a nation to grow and prosper, it needs space, and a sense
of security to properly function. Regardless of motive or objective, personal freedom,
independence, and individualist opinion are all rights to be given, to be exercised, and allowed to
whomever regardless of ethnicity, caste, theism, and form. Nothing is truly perfect; all systems of
governance are a subject to failure and dysfunctionality. Political correctness is a concept
dependent upon opinion, and opinions vary from person to person. Where one poses plausibility
the other may falter. Therefore, expecting perfection from anything is but a fool’s errand, a
madman’s endeavour. However, it is one’s responsibility, when stationed upon a seat of power
and influence, to exercise one’s power in justice, to use it than to abuse it: and to choose the
lesser evil over the greater one, not to doom an entire nation to an imposed isolation.