Totalitarianism and Censorship in 1984 and Fahrenheit 451

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  1.         "WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" (Orwell, 1984 pg.17).

        The Dangers of Totalitarianism: A dystopian novel, "1984" written by George Orwell, attacks the idea of totalitarian communism (a political system in which one ruling party plans and controls the collective social action of a state) by painting a terrifying picture of a world in which personal freedom is nonexistent. Orwell criticizes totalitarianism of all types and brings up questions concerning social status of citizens and the role of politics in the society. Orwell's main goal was to warn of the serious danger totalitarianism poses to society. He goes to great lengths to demonstrate the terrifying degree of power and control a totalitarian regime can acquire and maintain. In such regimes, notions of personal rights and freedoms and individual thought are pulverized under the all-powerful hand of the government.

        Censorship; Mass media dictatorship and ant intellectualism: In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses "artificial stimulus", such as television and radio, to provide the reader with a feeling of how isolated the public is and how their minds are being controlled by the government in the twenty-first century. He uses technology and drugs, to show the forcefulness of the government in his novel. One of the most important themes that occur in both novels is that of alienation and isolation, which is best shown through the main character of each novel. A predominately totalitarian government has used censorship as a means to destroy anything they do not agree with showing the readers how terrible government censorship and mindless conformity can be.

  1.         After seeing many of his fellow writers and other entertainers being "blacklisted" by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950's, Ray Bradbury criticizes the censorship of the early 1950's by displaying these same themes in his futuristic dystopia novel Fahrenheit 451. Published in 1953 during the Cold War, the novel reflects Bradbury's concerns about censorship and conformity during a period when free expression of ideas could lead to social and economic ban.

        Correspondingly, Orwell having witnessed firsthand the horrific lengths to which totalitarian governments in Spain and Russia would go in order to sustain and increase their power and the accompanying destruction of civil liberties, honest government, and economic strength, he designed 1984 to inform the Western nations still unsure about how to approach the rise of communism. In 1949, the Cold War had not yet escalated, many American intellectuals supported communism, and the state of diplomacy between democratic, (a political system where the people rule [Wilson G3]), and communist nations was highly vague. Orwell was deeply disturbed by the widespread cruelties and oppressions he observed in communist countries, and seems to have been particularly concerned by the role of technology in enabling oppressive governments to monitor and control their citizens. Orwell portrays a state in which government monitors and controls every aspect of human life to the extent that even having a disloyal thought is against the law.

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  1.         Several conflicting frames of mind have played defining roles in shaping humanity throughout the twentieth century. Vision of a bright future held by humanity was taken advantage of by the promise of a better life through sacrifice of individuality to the state. In "1984" by George Orwell and  451 by Ray Bradbury, clear opposition to these elusive obstructions was voiced. These books established the atmosphere and seductiveness of "utopia" and fear of the consequences of acting in the non-prescribed way through character development. A single character is alienated because of his inability to conform. The characters struggle to hide ...

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