Up until now, it has seemed as though the party’s predominant mode of controlling its subjects has been through the mind (i.e. fear and manipulation). We know now that they also operate through the means of the body (i.e. torture).
This somewhat reminds me of a different dystopian story by Kurt Vonnegut called “Harrison Bergeron”. The last time I read it was in middle school, but from what I remember it was basically about a society where everyone was made equal by means of “handicaps”. For instance, a person who was too beautiful would wear a mask, or a person that was too smart would have loud radios disrupting their thoughts.
I think that 1984 accomplishes a similar feat. Both stories essentially work to destroy the individual by making everyone in society the same (whether that means intellectually/in beauty or in the way they think). Although whereas “Harrison Bergeron”’s society is quite open about physically handicapping and controlling their citizens, 1984’s society maintains the facade that they only control people through brainwashing (using physical torture as a last resort).
What do these premises tell us about dystopian societies as a whole? Is 1984’s society unique in any way (compared to “Harrison Bergeron” or Brave New World)?
I think what 1984 did that was different is that the Party pretty much openly accepts that their one goal has nothing to do with human "happiness". In BNW and Harrison Bergeron, not all humans are happy, but at least the societies ideals are trying to make it so that the human condition is as satisfying as possible. The Party in 1984 is explicitly trying to do the opposite.
ReplyDeleteGreat comparison. I had not thought about this connection to "Harrison Bergeron" but it does make sense. Maybe that's one of the scarier aspects of dystopia: control not just of mind but body. In BNW the body is controlled in the sense that it is "hatched" (and women's bodies are reproductively controlled).
ReplyDeleteThis one ties in nicely to the discussion we were just having, that dystopias are just failed utopias. They try to maintain some sort of vision (I'd guess, in Harrison Bergeron, that it was to keep everyone equal), but in reality they've kinda screwed it up.
ReplyDeleteI think that 1984's dystopian society presents itself in a "mental handicap". People's thoughts are restricted so much to the point that they have Thought Police. I think that your perspective was very interesting because it pointed out a way that the government is controlling its people. To choose between mental and physical control is like choosing between the lesser of two evils. I suppose, though, that I would rather have my physical ability being taken away from me rather than mental.
ReplyDeleteOne main difference is that the Party in 1984 is actively trying to reduce the scope of people's thoughts (through Newspeak, fear of being spied on, etc.). 1984 does this actively by restricting language, while BNW mostly does this by restricting people biologically (and they probably aren't actively making changes to the science itself due to Mond's philosophy). "Harrison Bergeron" sounds like it could be a mix of methods depending on what's most harmful to the individual. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think that the Party's control as a whole is sort of similar to the radios in "Harrsion Bergeron." In both cases the government are trying to handicap the people from understanding society. With doublethink and the surveillance that the Party does, they are manipulating everyone from understanding the world that they're in, just like if they had some load radio inhibiting their thoughts and true potential understanding.
ReplyDeleteI think of 1984 as begin a pretty standard dystopian setting, but that might be because so many other books have imitated it. Harrison Bergeron is a more interesting concept to me. In Harrison Bergeron the populous is controlled by the novel idea of keeping them uniform through physical handicaps, while 1984 just has a generic surveillance state and police force.
ReplyDeleteI think 1984 has the "right" idea of crushing the spirit. Physical punishments may be a short term deterrant from rebellion, but it will ultimately make people want to fight back more.
ReplyDeletei don't think making everyone equal is the goal here. Especially since 1984 has a built in class system. Rather, the point is to make everyone too stupid to actually go against the ruling class, too loyal to big brother. The brainwashing isn't to level the playing field, rather it's to make sure the people are too far below the actual people in power.
ReplyDeleteI also read "Harrison Bergeron" in middle school - totally creepy. I agree that "1984" pretends to only manipulate its citizens mentally, but if you think about it they're constantly controlling the bodies of their citizens too. They essentially forbid sex, control where people can and cannot travel, and even force the workout videos on everyone.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good point. The Party also seems to use physical methods of control in instances where people resist the mental manipulation. The Party employs physical torture and control over Winston's body in order "convert" his mental state.
DeleteUnlike Brave New World, I haven't gotten the feeling that the Party actually strives for the betterment of society. Many utopian books depict societies that are trying to eliminate inequality by making everyone equal, but that doesn't seem to be the goal of 1984 - rather, the Party seems to believe that if you make everyone equal, they will be unable to fight back, and thus the goal of the Party seems to have more to do with keeping power than utopian ideology.
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