Power In 1984

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In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the society of Oceania is divided by social status into three separate groups, the Inner Party which has utmost governmental power, the Outer Party, the working class of Oceania, and the Proles, a lower class considered significantly inferior to the others. The Inner Party being the most powerful sect of society has complete and total control over the citizens of Oceania, exercising their power to limitless extents. In the process of seeking to exert total control over society, the Inner Party’s condemnation of basic humanitarian liberties and freedoms results in its citizens total loss of all humanity and human emotion. In turn, the citizens of Oceania follow their leaders mindlessly, blind to their oppression …show more content…
When Orwell introduces the reader to Big Brother, he is described as the face of Oceania, his eyes watching you no matter where you are. “It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran”(Orwell 1). In many ways, Big Brother is the embodiment of everything the Party stands for, their ideals, values, and above all else, their power. His undeniable presence and unyielding power as the authoritarian role over all society exemplifies the Inner Party’s absolute invasion of personal privacy, while at the same time their embrace of nationalism. In addition to Big Brother, the Party maintains control over society through telescreens which can monitor citizens at any time, and the Thought Police, the agents and policemen of the Inner Party whom carry out their every will, punishing whoever has committed a crime against them. “There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment” (Orwell 2). In their invasive ploy to maintain the loyalty of every citizen they deem of reasonable intelligence, the Party restricts their livelihood leaving the majority of society in their control as a result of their own fear. This not only limits the feeling of safety and security, but all demonstration of emotion with the knowledge that you could be punished at any moment for showing any emotion that is not in regards to affinity for the

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