PUBLIC CEREMONIES IN 1984 AND WE Essay

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PUBLIC CEREMONIES IN 1984 AND WE

George Orwell in 1984 and Yevgeny Zamyatin in We show that totalitarian governments gain strength by making their citizens feel as though they are part of a greater whole. This is demonstrated by the governments repeated use of public ceremonies culminating in huge, propaganda-filled spectacles that increase loyalty towards the government and create a sense of unity amongst the people. Both novels also use public executions to show the scare tactics used by totalitarian governments that frighten people into compliance. 1984 and We show that grouping people together can cause them to forget their individual instincts, and totalitarian governments know how to take advantage of that weakness.

In Orwell.s 1984, the state of Oceania is ruled by Big Brother, a totalitarian military government who watches all aspects of the citizen.s lives through telescreens. Big Brother uses mass gatherings of people to promote allegiance to their cause and their values. They also rely on mass gatherings to breed hatred towards anyone who opposes their belief system, and to show what happens to those who resist their authority.

Every day, the people of Oceania are expected to attend the Two Minutes Hate. The workers at the Ministry of Truth all meet in a hall to watch a movie filled with propaganda towards Emmanuel Goldstein, a man who once contested Big Brother. The merging of Goldstein.s face with images of sheep and enemy soldiers has .uncontrollable exclamations of rage. coming from the mouths of the audience after just thirty seconds. They are trained to hate the man as well as the independence from Big Brother that he stands for. Even the novel.s protagonist, Winston Smith, temporarily forgets his doubts towards Big Brother and joins in the hysteria. Watching the movie .his secret loathing of Big Brother changed into adoration, and Big Brother seemed to tower up, an invincible, fearless protector. .

Big Brother also uses these gatherings to promote their modified language, Newspeak, which .narrow[s] the range of thought. by creating a small, rigidly defined vocabulary. By injecting the films with excessive amounts of Newspeak, Big Brother finds another way to control the minds of Oceania.s inhabitants. Furthermore, using Newspeak prominently in a film viewed by large groups of people helps Big Brother promote the use of Newspeak in casual conversation. Having just been exposed to the language, the jumpy people leaving the film are more likely to use it when talking to one another.

In We, Zamyatin shows a society where individualism is despised and total dedication to the One State is necessary. People must behave (and ideally think) as a single entity. Imagination and creative thinking are considered to be .worm[s] that gnaws out black lines on the forehead. . The totalitarian leader of the One State, an old man known as the Benefactor, uses public gatherings to encourage a machine-like mindset in the people where only logical, mathematical and precise thoughts are valued. He uses many different mediums, presented at assemblies, to ensure that the residents of the One State remain loyal to his party.

In the One State, giant meetings are held in auditoriums. Poets and songwriters are commissioned to write pieces that can be recited at these meetings, which usually begin by having everyone sing the Hymn of the One State. In We, arts and music play a major part in moving the people towards total devotion to their leader. Because music is viewed in a scientific light (they see .the mathematician as the cause, music as the effect. ), it is highly valued. The invention of a machine that creates sonatas according to an arithmetical formula is honored at one meeting. It is a tribute to uncreative, mass thinking. This is followed by the projection of a mechanical voice over a loudspeaker, which explains why a unified body of citizens is preferable to a group of individuals, and how the Benefactor improves life for everyone.

In the auditoriums, the citizens of the One State are bombarded with examples of how their government has improved life. One anecdote compares early Europeans (perhaps people of the 20th century) to savages, and praises the savage for his understanding of the cause-and-effect relationship. The people are told that the savage, in thoroughly understanding the consequences of his actions, .was about to take the first step on that great road. which leads to the supposedly ideal society presided over by the Benefactor. They relentlessly applaud the advantages of acting as a whole, so that when the people walk out in their orderly lines, their sense of self is overpowered by their desire to contribute to the group.

Both 1984 and We use series of smaller get-togethers that lead up to massive, propaganda filled shows where the power and superiority of the totalitarian governments are proudly exhibited. These unite huge groups of people in admiration of their leaders. Much time is spent preparing for these events, and they epitomize the way totalitarian governments influence the mindsets of their citizens.

Oceania.s residents in 1984 spend several months preparing for the celebration of Hate Week. Everyone takes part in the planning; some people collect funds to help finance the event while others compose music. Even the children help out by building giant repl