The book dubbed 1984 by George Orwell is not only popular but has been referenced numerously in popular culture in the modern world. The fact that the book was written in 1949 yet still manages to have an influence on today’s world shows how the ideas it contains were relevant then and in today’s world. The book itself contains a lot of messages to the audience, but the main message remains to be centered on politics and governance, which are significant elements of the day to day lives of individuals. Orwell’s book is set in the future in a place known as Oceania. Although looking at it now, it becomes evident that it is the past, during the time the book was written it was based on the future. Winston Smith is the main protagonist in the book, and we follow him through his plight dealing with a government that oppressed the people by controlling every aspect of their lives. Winston is a member of the ruling party in Oceania, and everywhere he goes the party monitors his every move in the privacy of his own home. This plot leads readers to ask the question of whether or not the phrase by Henry Thoreau ‘that government is best which governs least’ is true or false.
Orwell explores how a tyrannical government infringes on its citizen's privacy. Henry David Thoreau in his article dubbed civil disobedience was extremely vocal in condemning the government’s total control over everything in the lives of its citizens. In Orwell’s book, readers are introduced to the full-blown effects of tyrannical government and how it can impact citizens in the country. Orwell reiterates that Winston was being monitored by Big Brother day and night through the telescreens that were everywhere including his own home. Any sounds that Winston made above the level of a very low whisper would be picked up by the telescreens and transmitted to Big Brother for purposes of identifying those that wanted to challenge the government (Orwell 5). People in Oceania were living in fear since their every move was being recorded and this was an infringement of their privacy. The government that they had amassed a lot of power and wanted to maintain it by controlling how what the citizens said as well as how they acted. Consequently, the government crossed the line in trying to remain in power by resulting to infringement of the citizen’s privacy through surveillance of every aspect of their lives. With this in mind, the fact that Big Brothers party was in power in Oceania led the party to oppress the people by denying them their privacy, which then proves why a government should govern the least.
In addition, Orwell’s book portrays how tyrannical governments can attempt to not only control the people’s lives but also their thoughts to continue oppressing them. Aside from monitoring the citizens of Oceania, the government means of control such as introducing a fake language that citizens are forced to adhere to eliminate any chance of rebellion or revolution that would end the governments rule. Orwell states that in Oceania there was a development of a new language called Newspeak, which was set to take over all of Oceania. “Newspeak was the official language of Oceania and had been devised to meet the ideological needs of Ingsoc or English Socialism…” (376). However, people did not realize that Newspeak was an attempt by the government to control the people's utterances so as not to cause unrest due to the increase of the government's power and reach. Orwell explains that the primary objective of introduction of Newspeak in Oceania was never to provide a medium of expression, but it was geared towards ensuring that citizens could not think for themselves on the kind of government that was suitable for them (Orwell 377). Therefore, it was clear that the government of Oceania was determined to ensure that the citizens could not think for themselves to provide easy access and maintenance of its tyrannical influence over the people. In view of this, it is evident that restricting free thinking was another characteristic of the tyrannical government of Oceania to control its people. Subsequently, governments that try to govern everything including how people should talk do not have the best interests a heart for their people.
Another element that’s portrays the fact that governments that control every aspect of their citizen's life have a negative impact on them is the fact that the government of Oceania also controls the culture of the people. In the Book, there is the depiction of a character by the name O'Brien who talks to Winston about the kind of world that the government wants Oceania to become. He states the government is trying to build a world of treachery, fear, and torment. Through altering the cultures that most of the people of Oceania were used to like sex, marriage, and procreation, the government would try to ensure that the people would only be loyalty to the ruling party since they believed that these elements were distracting to the people. The government was convinced that time used thinking about children, family and orgasms could have been appropriately applied in ensuring that the ruling party succeeded in its endeavor of changing Oceania completely. “Children will be taken from their mothers at birth, as one takes eggs from a hen. The sex instinct will be eradicated. Procreation will be an annual formality…We shall abolish the orgasm…” (336). The ruling party in Oceania was trying to control every aspect of the citizen's lives to acquire absolute control of the nation. However, during the course of the government’s power-hungry antiques the citizens continued to suffer as they could no longer live their own lives s since they had to do everything in accordance to the instructions given by the government. Given this, the fact that that the ruling party in Oceania controlled all aspect of the citizen's life shows is explored in Orwell’s book as well as the impact it had on the people.
The fact that governments have a mandate to rule over people does not mean that they have a right to interfere with every aspect of their citizen’s life. Thoreau and Orwell explore this aspect by portraying how powerful governments ruling over every aspect of their citizen's lives affect the country since the government seize to be a democracy and becomes a dictatorship. As a result, members of the social experience poor living conditions since their fundamental rights and privileges are infringed upon. In essence, the phrase ‘government is best that governs least is true as portrayed in Orwell’s book.
Works Cited
Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Everyman's Library, 2009.
Thoreau, Henry David. Civil Disobedience. Broadview Press, 2016.
