1984 Mind Control Compared To Society Today

Essay, Research Paper Renee Brindo-Vas Period 6 / March 8, 200 AP English The Normality of Mind Control Mind control is more common then many people think. Take Television, for instance. Most people won’t admit that commercials and TV shows influence them, but of course they do. People buy cars, peanut butter, and soda because of the advertising they see in newspapers adds, magazines, and billboards. Many people don’t realize that the information they receive is chosen by someone else. Someone else controls how much information you get about this political scandal and that new cleaning product. The novel 1984 by George Orwell deals with government corruption and mind control. In this novel, it is the “party” that decides what the population of Oceanea believes. By reading this novel, people are more likely to question their government or higher power and not assume that they are always in the right. The “party” of the novel 1984 can be compared to many mind controlling aspects of the modern world. The novel 1984 is about a society that is built into three different classes of people: the inner party members, the outer party members, and the probes. The inner party members control the information the other classes receive and live in luxury while the rest of the population lives a miserable life. This society is built on the idea that a constant war will create a lower living standard and therefore leave more food, money, and comforts for the inner party members to hoard. The inner party of Oceanea has so much power of the minds of the people that they are able to convince them that their memories are false. The inner party is constantly changing documents and changing history to their need as of the moment. One day they are at war with one country, and another day they are at war with another country, and that is the way it has always been. This may leave readers to wonder how much of the history they have been taught is truly what happened. The United States government has most definitely left out information of high school textbooks that wouldn’t be good for the general people to learn. This does not mean that the United States government is as an extreme example as the Inner Party of Oceanea. It simply means that people should keep an open mind and not always accept everything that is taught to them. The people idolize “Big Brother” a figure which may never even have existed and will probably never die. The main character of the novel, Winston, is smart enough to realize that the society in which he lives is corrupt. Winston rebels by falling in love (marriages must be approved and sex is looked upon as work). Winston’s wife refers to sex as “our duty to Big Brother.” In the end, after Winston has gone through the actual physical brainwashing, he has been taught to accept everything he is told and whole heartedly supports the government. In the beginning of the novel, he hates everything that Big Brother stands for. In the end, “He loved big brother.” This example shows how much power the government has over the minds of the people. They have taken the fun and creativity out of everything imaginable. And then there is the modern world, which idolizes the fast lives of movie stars and supermodels. Does this mean that everything is just a joke, something to believe in for the benefit of others? Of course not, but it does mean that any intelligent person could understand that many things that the American culture idolizes is just plain silly. This novel is an extreme example of government corruption and mind control. It does make the reader think that maybe humans are more gullible then they realize. This is enough to make one paranoid. Anyone who comes from a society full of mind control such as the media, cults, gangs, fashion, and even “Big Brother” is liable to think twice about the reality in which they live after reading 1984. Hopefully, George Orwell novels about the normality of mind control has influenced readers and will continue influencing readers into thinking for themselves.