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Totalitarianism

 

            
             Would you want to live in a society where you were watched every second, where you didn"t have the freedom to say or think freely, or where "if you wanted to keep a secret you must also hide it from yourself"? In the novel 1984 the main theme is this horror of living in a totalitarianism society. .
             The entire novel paints a horrifying picture of what a fanatical, state-controlled society can do to the individual. Broadly speaking, an authoritarian system is one in which society is governed by a dictator or oligarchy not constitutionally responsible to the people. Totalitarianism is something of a sub-category of authoritarianism where the ruling group has complete and total control over every aspect of life, whether personal or public, and the individual is expected to conform. Totalitarianism differs from dictatorship or tyranny in its mobilization of political participation, its quest for the complete restructuring of both the individual and society, and its aim for unlimited, not just political, control. There are many tools the government employs to create stability, and in the novel the author presents the tools to the reader. The main tools are fear, language, information control and censorship, a paramilitary secret police organization, and the institution of community groups (such as youth or cultural organizations). So, can someone still have freedoms under such a government? In the novel it appears there are no freedoms. There exist no physical freedoms, emotional freedom, or even freedom of thought.
             Physical freedom is the freedom is the freedom over a persons own body. This includes the freedom to move, eat, associate, etc. In the novel people had the freedom to move but only certain movements were allowed. A person had the feedom to go where they wanted but there were always reprocousions for making the wrong movements. In the novel, Winston had the freedom to go into the antique shop but he knew what could happen to him if he was caught buying something unusual.


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