1984: Government's Attempt to Control the Mind and Bodies of Its Citiz

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The novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is an American classic which explores the human mind when it comes to power, corruption, control, and the ultimate utopian society. Orwell indirectly proposes that power given to the government will ultimately become corrupt and they will attempt to force all to conform to their one set standard. He also sets forth the idea that the corrupted government will attempt to destroy any and all mental and physical opposition to their beliefs, thus eliminating any opportunity for achieving an utopian society. The novel shows how the government attempts to control the minds and bodies of it citizens, such as
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In the novel, Winston Smith talks about the people not being human. He says that "the only thing that can keep you human is to not allow the government to get inside you." (page 137). The corruption is not the only issue which Orwell presents, both directly and indirectly. He warns that absolute power in the hands of any government can lead to the deprival of basic freedoms and liberties for the people. Though he uses the Soviet Union as the basis of the novel's example, he sets the story in England to show that any absolute power, whether in a Communist state or a Democratic one, can result in an autocratic and overbearing rule. When government lies become truths, and nobody will oppose, anything can simply become a fact. Through the control of the mind and body the government attempts, any hopes of achieving an utopian society are dashed. The peoples' minds are essentially not theirs' anymore.
The government tells them how to think. Conformity and this unilateral thinking throughout the entire population can have disastrous results. Orwell also tells us it has become a "world of monstrous machines and terrifying weapons.
Warriors fighting, triumphing, persecuting... 3 million people all with the same face." (page 64). George Orwell was born in India and brought up with the British upper class beliefs of superiority over the lower castes and in general class pride.
A theme very prevalent in his novels, Nineteen Eighty-Four

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