What did 1984 Steal from 1922

There have been many dictators in the history of the world. They have been mostly bad for the people of the society, reducing their ability to stand up for them self. Most dictators used fear and intimidation to scare their opponents into complying with them, but in 1984 they limited their vocabulary (newspeak) and twisted what they were saying to make it sound nicer (doublespeak) to get the people to comply with the rules. The Party in 1984 is influenced by past dictators because of the way they rule and maintain power.

First of all, the Party manipulates their people through trickery as the Nazis and the Soviet Union did in history. 1984 did this by using newspeak and doublethink. An example of doublethink in 1984 would be the war is peace campaign, because it is telling them that if they are in a constant war that they will be in constant peace (Doublethink video). One example is the use of newspeak to prevent the people from being able to verbally stand up for themselves. This happened because if can you dumb a language down, that will dumb the people down too. WWII the Nazis used trickery so they hide the truth (about the Holocaust) to protect the people.

Another time that 1984 was influenced by real dictators is by the use of intimidation. Though out history dictators used their military and law enforcement to make the people do whatever they please. One example of this was the use of Nazi soldiers to intimidate the people at the elections so they can get the outcomes they want. In 1984 the people were intimidated through the use of the Big Brother is Watchingposters posted all over. There was one on the house front immediately opposite. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into Winston’s own(Orwell 2). This poster makes the people not want to act out or mess up because they are constantly being reminded that they are being watched.

In addition to those statements the Party only cares about money power and not there peoples well being like the USSR did. One example of this would be how the USSR let 4 to 7 million of there own people die to starvation because they did not want to cough up the funds to feed their people. An example for 1984 is … There was no food except for a hunk of dark-colored bread which he had got to save for next breakfast( Orwell 4). This shows how the common people can not afford to eat well and the government knows this.

To add on to the previous statements, 1984’s people have no freedom at all just like the people in Nazi Germany. In Nazi Germany, army patrols would constantly make sure the people would follow the rules and not speak out against Hitler. In 1984 the thought police would do the same thing but they would also watch you through various forms of technology like the telescreen, and in Winston case the painting. This prevents the people from being able to speak out for themselves and have their own opinion. If the people in Nazi Germany spoke out against Hitler they would be killed on sight.

The final statement is that the people in 1984 have no privacy just like the people in Nazi Germany did not. In Nazi Germany, Nazi officials and soldiers could barge into anyone’s house with the slightest evidence of any rule breaking. In 1984 you are constantly being watched by the telescreen and variously placed cameras like the one in Winston’s favorite portrait. This makes it impossible to have any individuality. Also, this would be very un-easing knowing that you are constantly being watched.

In conclusion, the party from 1984 did take a lot after the dictators from history in the 5 reasons previously brought up. The similar tactics were trickery, intimidation, carelessness of peoples well being, and the reduction of privacy and freedom. There are also many similarities in today’s world with places like North Korea.

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