A Party of Sheep: How Big Brother Keeps Control
By: Yasmine Abdallh
In the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, Big Brother and the Party prevent the citizens of Oceania from effectively rebelling against the government by allowing them to have smaller, covertly controlled rebellions. The Party leaves holes in their control for the unorthodox members of society to slip through, essentially controlling them without the rebels realizing until it is far too late to escape the iron fist of Big Brother.
Two Minutes Hate is first introduced in chapter one of Nineteen Eighty-Four as a strange ordeal executed by the Party and practiced by the citizens of Oceania. The people of London are under constant threat by the Thought Police to monitor their thoughts because the Thought Police are as well. The pan optic threat placed on them by the Party keeps facial expressions and acts of anger, passion, sadness, or any other emotion under control. The telescreens prevent these expressions of emotion by creating a Panopticon of sorts, ensuring that people will act as if they are being watched, even when they are not. This is why Two Minutes Hate is such a shock to readers when it is first introduced. In a world where emotion is so greatly looked down upon, it seems baffling that the ruling party would force its people to be entirely overly-emotional for any amount of time.
Two Minutes Hate is perhaps one of the most blatant, though brilliant, forms of control used by Big Brother. By forcing the masses to rage for the two minutes, the Party maintains control of their minds. Even the unorthodox, such as Winston, are subject to this control. Though Winston is able to feel some amount of animosity towards The Party for a small portion of the two minutes, he is still unable to resist the passionate fury around him, particularly from the telescreens. Winston notes that, “At those moments his secret loathing of Big Brother changed into adoration, and Big Brother seemed to tower up, an invincible, fearless protector, standing like a rock against the hordes of Asia, and Goldstein,” (Orwell, 9) who appeared on the screen throughout the course of the two minutes. The forced rage invokes feelings of adoration of Big Brother that the people cannot resist. Those who had less mental blocks against it, such as the young and impressionable, or those who simply fell for the Party’s string of lies, would end the minutes of hate more assured than ever that their fearless leader was, in fact, the savior that he was idealized as.
Lowenthal writes in his criticism of 1984, “Our Peculiar Hell” that a totalitarian government such as Orwell’s “does not aim as keeping its subjects politically quiet, but at forcing them into active support of its ever-new campaigns.” (Lowenthal, 250). This is clearly shown in the novel, particularly in the character Julia, who is Winston’s lover. The youth of Oceania, including Julia, have been brainwashed from a young age to throw themselves entirely into the Party’s politics. “Children are encouraged to inform on parents…young women are encouraged to join ‘Anti-Sex Leagues,’” (Burkowski, 38) all in an effort to create a generation of obedient sheep. The Party, however, anticipates the innate rebellious spirit of youth and creates emotional releases and controlled rebellions to prevent the new generation from actually challenging the government. The young participate willingly in the leagues and political rallies, people like Julia helping to organize events such as Two Minutes Hate, but secretly, many of the “obedient” youths take part in activities deemed unorthodox by the Party. Julia, for example, partakes in intercourse not meant specifically for the purpose of reproduction, a shocking detail to realize, due to her scarlet Anti-Sex League sash tied firmly around her waist on display for all to see. The Party allows for small, harmless, secretive rebellions such as this from the youth of London, so long as they outwardly support the Party and its politics. This way, the Party has a flock of obedient sheep that feel fulfilled for having outwitted Big Brother, when in reality, Big Brother has more of a hold on them than anyone truly realizes.
Since their support of the Party is a sham anyways, the generations born after the rise of the totalitarian government cease to care about the politics, or even pay close attention. Quinn notes that, “a true hedonist, she [Julia] is not interested in history or politics, but in the love between her and Winston.” (Quinn, 257) The Party has made the youth into sheep when it comes to politics, and so they follow blindly, indifferent to what is actually going on, because they believe that they will never be able to combat the lies and propaganda anyways. They have begun to not care at all about the politics, and just go through the motions of supporting the Party in all its endeavors. To not care about the politics is a rebellion in and of itself in the eyes of the new generations, and so many of them choose to not follow any of it, which eliminates almost any chance that they will have of ever rebelling. To give up is to give in, in this case. The only people that still care about the actual consequences of the Party’s politics are those who know or knew history and therefore can remember a time in which the Party did not have absolute control and politics contained more than one party or side. These people, such as Winston, are not able to actually speak about it, though, and are kept silenced by the Party’s threats of being made to disappear. History is what makes politics relevant to people like Winston, and so politics are only important if history is important. Orwell writes, “How could you have a slogan like ‘freedom is slavery’ when the concept of freedom had been abolished?” (Orwell, 25) How can the people of Oceania fight for any sort of freedom when the only people who remember what it means are unable to speak of it?
By making politics something untouchable to the people of Oceania, or at least useless to fight against, the Party has eliminated the idea of revolution. To revolt is to possess an idea that contests the current set of ideals and then to fight to make the new idea a reality. The masses have no interest in a new ideal or a new political party to contest the new one. They are disinterested and threatened. All that the people are concerned with is personal rebellion and their trivial ways of experimenting with unorthodoxy.
The Party leaves a large population of Proles outside their territory, practically calling out to the oppressed to explore. The Party provides for the needs of its people, but leaves many smaller, non-essential things out of their rations – things that can be found easily in the Prole markets. The Party has created a hole in the separation of Proles and the Party (both inner and outer portions). The Party allows their citizens to slip into the Prole’s city to buy things and witness near-freedom. This allowance is another form of defiance to both the young and old, but also a trap. This trap is laid out by the Party to discover who actual the threats to their society are and who are harmless “rebels”. To punish every person that rebelled would be to eliminate the rebellion entirely and let the emotion build up in the masses until revolution was possible, so instead, the Party allows for the rebellion in the harmless sheep and picks those who actually remember enough of the past to effectively influence those around them. Those threats are then transformed into the Party’s biggest supporters, which allow Big Brother to keep his position of power with no opposition at all. The Party eliminates those very few truly unorthodox people who remember what the world has the potential to be, so there is never even a slight chance for things to change. Meanwhile, the sheep that never had the potential to resist the brainwashing from Big Brother are still keeping control of the masses through the miniscule rebellions.
These allowances from the Party to defy them quietly are what prevent the masses from revolting. Where rebellion is possible in this nation, revolution is not, thanks to this tactic of relieving its citizens of pent-up emotion. The citizens are forced to relieve themselves of anger through Two Minutes Hate, and any leftover passion or emotions at all are released through believing that they have duped their oppressors. Those who manage to resist any part of this, or even retain any independent thought are made into avid supporters by force, while the rest are allowed to exist as they are, so long as they at least pretend to be a sheep. It is only when the disguise slips that the Party steps in to stop the rebellions.
References:
Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1949. Print.
Richardson, J M, and G F. Engholm. Orwell X 8: A Symposium. Winnipeg, Canada: R.P. Frye, 1986. Print.
Orwell, George, and Irving Howe. Nineteen Eighty-four; Text, Sources, Criticism. New York: Harcourt, 1963. Print.
Quinn, Edward. Critical Companion to George Orwell: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts On File, 2009. Print.
In the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, Big Brother and the Party prevent the citizens of Oceania from effectively rebelling against the government by allowing them to have smaller, covertly controlled rebellions. The Party leaves holes in their control for the unorthodox members of society to slip through, essentially controlling them without the rebels realizing until it is far too late to escape the iron fist of Big Brother.
Two Minutes Hate is first introduced in chapter one of Nineteen Eighty-Four as a strange ordeal executed by the Party and practiced by the citizens of Oceania. The people of London are under constant threat by the Thought Police to monitor their thoughts because the Thought Police are as well. The pan optic threat placed on them by the Party keeps facial expressions and acts of anger, passion, sadness, or any other emotion under control. The telescreens prevent these expressions of emotion by creating a Panopticon of sorts, ensuring that people will act as if they are being watched, even when they are not. This is why Two Minutes Hate is such a shock to readers when it is first introduced. In a world where emotion is so greatly looked down upon, it seems baffling that the ruling party would force its people to be entirely overly-emotional for any amount of time.
Two Minutes Hate is perhaps one of the most blatant, though brilliant, forms of control used by Big Brother. By forcing the masses to rage for the two minutes, the Party maintains control of their minds. Even the unorthodox, such as Winston, are subject to this control. Though Winston is able to feel some amount of animosity towards The Party for a small portion of the two minutes, he is still unable to resist the passionate fury around him, particularly from the telescreens. Winston notes that, “At those moments his secret loathing of Big Brother changed into adoration, and Big Brother seemed to tower up, an invincible, fearless protector, standing like a rock against the hordes of Asia, and Goldstein,” (Orwell, 9) who appeared on the screen throughout the course of the two minutes. The forced rage invokes feelings of adoration of Big Brother that the people cannot resist. Those who had less mental blocks against it, such as the young and impressionable, or those who simply fell for the Party’s string of lies, would end the minutes of hate more assured than ever that their fearless leader was, in fact, the savior that he was idealized as.
Lowenthal writes in his criticism of 1984, “Our Peculiar Hell” that a totalitarian government such as Orwell’s “does not aim as keeping its subjects politically quiet, but at forcing them into active support of its ever-new campaigns.” (Lowenthal, 250). This is clearly shown in the novel, particularly in the character Julia, who is Winston’s lover. The youth of Oceania, including Julia, have been brainwashed from a young age to throw themselves entirely into the Party’s politics. “Children are encouraged to inform on parents…young women are encouraged to join ‘Anti-Sex Leagues,’” (Burkowski, 38) all in an effort to create a generation of obedient sheep. The Party, however, anticipates the innate rebellious spirit of youth and creates emotional releases and controlled rebellions to prevent the new generation from actually challenging the government. The young participate willingly in the leagues and political rallies, people like Julia helping to organize events such as Two Minutes Hate, but secretly, many of the “obedient” youths take part in activities deemed unorthodox by the Party. Julia, for example, partakes in intercourse not meant specifically for the purpose of reproduction, a shocking detail to realize, due to her scarlet Anti-Sex League sash tied firmly around her waist on display for all to see. The Party allows for small, harmless, secretive rebellions such as this from the youth of London, so long as they outwardly support the Party and its politics. This way, the Party has a flock of obedient sheep that feel fulfilled for having outwitted Big Brother, when in reality, Big Brother has more of a hold on them than anyone truly realizes.
Since their support of the Party is a sham anyways, the generations born after the rise of the totalitarian government cease to care about the politics, or even pay close attention. Quinn notes that, “a true hedonist, she [Julia] is not interested in history or politics, but in the love between her and Winston.” (Quinn, 257) The Party has made the youth into sheep when it comes to politics, and so they follow blindly, indifferent to what is actually going on, because they believe that they will never be able to combat the lies and propaganda anyways. They have begun to not care at all about the politics, and just go through the motions of supporting the Party in all its endeavors. To not care about the politics is a rebellion in and of itself in the eyes of the new generations, and so many of them choose to not follow any of it, which eliminates almost any chance that they will have of ever rebelling. To give up is to give in, in this case. The only people that still care about the actual consequences of the Party’s politics are those who know or knew history and therefore can remember a time in which the Party did not have absolute control and politics contained more than one party or side. These people, such as Winston, are not able to actually speak about it, though, and are kept silenced by the Party’s threats of being made to disappear. History is what makes politics relevant to people like Winston, and so politics are only important if history is important. Orwell writes, “How could you have a slogan like ‘freedom is slavery’ when the concept of freedom had been abolished?” (Orwell, 25) How can the people of Oceania fight for any sort of freedom when the only people who remember what it means are unable to speak of it?
By making politics something untouchable to the people of Oceania, or at least useless to fight against, the Party has eliminated the idea of revolution. To revolt is to possess an idea that contests the current set of ideals and then to fight to make the new idea a reality. The masses have no interest in a new ideal or a new political party to contest the new one. They are disinterested and threatened. All that the people are concerned with is personal rebellion and their trivial ways of experimenting with unorthodoxy.
The Party leaves a large population of Proles outside their territory, practically calling out to the oppressed to explore. The Party provides for the needs of its people, but leaves many smaller, non-essential things out of their rations – things that can be found easily in the Prole markets. The Party has created a hole in the separation of Proles and the Party (both inner and outer portions). The Party allows their citizens to slip into the Prole’s city to buy things and witness near-freedom. This allowance is another form of defiance to both the young and old, but also a trap. This trap is laid out by the Party to discover who actual the threats to their society are and who are harmless “rebels”. To punish every person that rebelled would be to eliminate the rebellion entirely and let the emotion build up in the masses until revolution was possible, so instead, the Party allows for the rebellion in the harmless sheep and picks those who actually remember enough of the past to effectively influence those around them. Those threats are then transformed into the Party’s biggest supporters, which allow Big Brother to keep his position of power with no opposition at all. The Party eliminates those very few truly unorthodox people who remember what the world has the potential to be, so there is never even a slight chance for things to change. Meanwhile, the sheep that never had the potential to resist the brainwashing from Big Brother are still keeping control of the masses through the miniscule rebellions.
These allowances from the Party to defy them quietly are what prevent the masses from revolting. Where rebellion is possible in this nation, revolution is not, thanks to this tactic of relieving its citizens of pent-up emotion. The citizens are forced to relieve themselves of anger through Two Minutes Hate, and any leftover passion or emotions at all are released through believing that they have duped their oppressors. Those who manage to resist any part of this, or even retain any independent thought are made into avid supporters by force, while the rest are allowed to exist as they are, so long as they at least pretend to be a sheep. It is only when the disguise slips that the Party steps in to stop the rebellions.
References:
Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1949. Print.
Richardson, J M, and G F. Engholm. Orwell X 8: A Symposium. Winnipeg, Canada: R.P. Frye, 1986. Print.
Orwell, George, and Irving Howe. Nineteen Eighty-four; Text, Sources, Criticism. New York: Harcourt, 1963. Print.
Quinn, Edward. Critical Companion to George Orwell: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts On File, 2009. Print.