What the governemnt on 1984 did to control Winston's thoughts.

Essay by arussianniteHigh School, 10th grade March 2005

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Dmitriy Simonoff

Past totalitarian nations have come to power without admitting to themselves their true cause for coming to power. Ruling governments in the past took over nations saying that they want to take power to give it back to the people, in the novel 1984, by George Orwell, the ruling body is self proclaimed, The Party, which has one motive for everything they do, power, and to keep this power to themselves to achieve immortality. The book describes what true power is, power over mind not matter. The Party currently controls the past, present, and future and only wants to control more, and the only thing left to control is human thoughts. With all of the Party's technology, workers, and influence they do not know how to control the mind. Thus lacking in their goal almost completely because, as O'Brien mentions, power over matter is not nearly as important as having power over human thought and the human mind.

Everything throughout the book is based on a reoccurring concept of power, which the ruling Party defines. The concept of power is unknown to the common citizen which has not yet been enlightened to the ways of the Party. To the Party power is an ultimate goal; power is what makes them immortal. To reach their goal of immortality the Party refers to the only immortal one, G-d. G-d had absolute power over people, and it is what the Party wants to achieve: to control their thoughts, actions, beliefs, workings, and everything else. Thus the Party believes that the only way to have real power is to get both sides of it. In the eyes of the Party the struggle for matter has been won, while the struggle for control of the mind has just begun.

Everything throughout the...