Linda Liu

Stewart Wenner
1984 Essay Outline

Thesis:
Though George Orwell’s vision of a totalitarian, dystopian society did not materialize within the
time period that he foresaw, the human greed for power has led to increasing government control of
civilian life – simply visible in a more discreet and subdued form.

Paragraph 1: GOVERNMENT CONTROL IN 1984

- Topic sentence: The government in George Orwell’s 1984 maintained its power through extreme
totalitarianism, including the control of ideas and the truth, invasion of civilian privacy, and population
management.
 control of ideas, truth
 1984: Ministries (i.e. Ministry of Truth) produce and censor all documents; Thought Police
monitors ideas
■ Lack of legal rights
 Ministry of Love: eliminates trials – truth of arrests and crimes hidden
 forces citizens to love Big Brother, betray loved ones
 forcefully, but secretly, eliminates “criminals”
■ manipulation of public opinion
 propaganda: Two Minutes Hate
 doublethink, Newspeak: limits ideas that can be expressed; intended to impose only
positive attitudes upon thinker
 the Party can never be wrong (hold two contradictory thoughts in head)
 promotes anti-solipsism – instead of only believing in one’s self and one’s thoughts,
the population was made to believe in only the Party and the Party’s ideas
 invasion of privacy
 1984: telescreens, bugs and microphones (espionage)
■ purpose: maintain loyalties of all citizens to Party (i.e. Maintain status quo)
■ “’I didn’t want to say anything in the lane,” she went on, “in case there’s a mike hidden
in there’” (Orwell 99).
■ no safe place—even Mr. Charrington’s house (a supposed safe haven) was bugged
■ Thought Police – not even minds are free
■ Young Spies recruits children to help the Party, turn against parents/friends
 population control
 1984: population control to maintain loyalty to Party
■ sex as procreation only – not pleasure
 marriages without children are sometimes separated
 only proles acknowledged to have sexual instincts
 love and eroticism removed from sexual act
■ almost never see citizens of other super-states (other than as political prisoners, slaves)
■ Junior Anti-Sex League/Young Spies
■ People kept busy and distracted with community activities to channel sexual repression
into loyalty to the party
 Literary device: anti-utopian/dystopian
 imaginary place where people lead dehumanized, fearful lives
■ dehumanization: repression and control of natural instincts such as sex, free thought
■ fearful: paranoia pervasive, interminable (“he had set his features into the expression of
 quiet optimism which it was advisable to wear when facing the telescreen” (Orwell 8))
 characterized by oppressive state control (i.e. authoritarian or totalitarian government)
■ Party controls all aspects of life through four Ministries

Paragraph 2: GOVERNMENT CONTROL IN MODERN SOCIETY

- Topic sentence: Though modern nations haven’t reached the extremism of Orwell’s
government, many of the controls on information, privacy, and choice initiated by current
administrations mirror dangerously those depicted in his dystopia.
 control of literature/media
■ manipulation of public opinion
 propaganda: political campaigns
 banned books from libraries
 in People’s Republic of China, some of the largest media companies are agencies of
the government (CCTV, People’s Daily, Xinhua)
 certain taboos (ex: not allowed to question Communist Party of China)
 current Cuban regime very restrictive of media
 Castro’s regime maintains monopoly of information, confiscates property of
independent media
 invasion of privacy
■ monitoring of public communication
■ “I Spy”
 purpose: to maintain security of nation (i.e. to maintain status quo)
 government tap into telephone wires, e-mail messages
 “Since 9/11…has eavesdropped—without warrants, or permission from the courts—
on about 500 Americans a day”
 shows less obvious manipulation/control of citizens, but clearly prevalent
■ though not exactly the same as Orwell imagined, technology has progressed to the point
that telescreens and hidden microphones are possible (and do essentially exist) today
 population control
■ cultural stigma against sex: East Asian societies, religious (e.g. Muslim)
■ government control: e.g. China – limit on family size/number of children
■ sexual oppression in Nazi party
 desired population control/modification (to maintain “purity”) --> party remains in
power
■ genocides preserve current groups in power
 Armenian: justification (propaganda) as liability, threat to security
 Rwandan: prevent a rise of power of another ethnic group
 similar controls: Hutu Ten Commandments – no intermarriage, more rights to
one group
 propaganda: hate-radio broadcasts to arouse population to violence
■ “Saboteur”
 Mr. Chiu simply argues with a police officer
 immediately apprehended, thrown in jail
 deprived of a trial, civil rights
 falsification of past/information (seen by witness reports)
 similarly to Winston, Chiu was not killed—only forced to admit he was wrong
 Works Cited

Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Penguin Books Inc., 1949.

Thomas, Evan and Daniel Klaidman. “I Spy.” Teen Newsweek 23 January 2006: 4-5

Jin, Ha. “Saboteur,” The Bridegroom. New York: Vintage International, 2000.