Alison Lilly
Zero Period English 10H
Rinder
4/4/17
Individuality Within a Totalitarian Society
George Orwell's novel 1984 discusses a dystopia in which a system of totalitarianism has been adopted. The work is about a communist land in which each person in denied the privilege of thinking and speaking freely. The government's oppression is shown through Mike Pence when he conformed to what others in his political party believe. This control is also seen in the idea of "doublethinking." The government's power is also seen through the destruction of documents and withholding of information to the public. Orwell displays how individualism cannot exist within a totalitarian society.
Orwell displays the lack of individuality within a totalitarian society by portraying the change in reality. The image of the real newspaper being "dropped...into the memory hole to be devoured by flames" demonstrates how easy it is to hide the truth and cover up reality (Orwell 51). Such an image conveys the government's control of information and history in order to assert that a government where an individual is forbidden to be unique is wrong. An example of governmental figures losing their own ability to decide what they believe can be seen in Mike Pence. Before being adopted into Donald Trump's political team, Pence repeatedly stated that he agreed with everything Hillary Clinton believed in. However, he later contradicted himself, saying that he had never like Clinton. Mike Pence's change in opinion portrays how since he was opposing Clinton, he needed to conform to the thoughts and beliefs of the other people on his political team. Orwell's demonstration of the change in reality is seen in real life, thus conveying the power of the government over an individual's thoughts.
Orwell creates vivid images so as to display the lack of individuality in society. The negative connotation of the repeated word "doublethink" depicts how the Party has taken control of each individual's mind so that each does not have the mental capacity to think two opposing thoughts at the same time, thus allowing the Party to have absolute control over the beliefs of the people. This...
