1984: analyse af magt, overvågning og manipulation

Most people in this world have their rights, their freedom and overall a relatively free life, however some do not and live dystopian lives. Some people lack freedom and previous dictators have been one of the reasons why. The enormous lack of freedom and unfair inequality is greatly depicted in George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984”. Numerous hours of constant surveillance messes with the story’s main characters and demonstrates the horrifying possibilities of a totalitarian world. Especially the power that the party possesses shines clearly though and our understanding of the importance of power possession is intensively increased by reading the text.

In the novel “1984” the government’s power is very important. They use their huge power in favor of themselves and only themselves. The citizen’s minds are controlled by propaganda, which is without a doubt the deadliest weapon that the party possesses. The citizens are filled with filthy lies and false information, constantly affected by the crazy number of telescreens hanging around the city they live in. The party intend to make the citizens believe that the things they tell them are correct. For instance, the party’s slogan “WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”. is a perfect example, because the idea behind this particular slogan is to convince the citizens that what they want, is exactly what they already have. As an example, only war can make peace, harmony etc. therefore peace is no longer peace. It becomes war. The slogan does a great job at convincing the citizens that the things the party does not want will end up making them unhappy and they slogan therefore changes truth. The consequence of this is in favor of the government because no one will ever consider rebellion. Another core slogan is “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”. This slogan creates fear among the citizens as it reminds them that they are being watched at all time. But the slogan also has power attached to it, because it also reminds the citizens that they are safe, because “Big Brother” protects them.