1984 Essay.

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A totalitarian government eliminates luxuries in order to gain power and appreciation from his or her people. This is because people often grow to be unappreciative of the luxuries they are being provided with. So, by taking away or even eliminating a luxury, it forces people to be more appreciative and thankful for it. Even more so, they show love towards the provider in which case is the totalitarian government or leader. If the leader is gaining love and thankfulness from their people, it is equivalent to gaining power. For example, Big Brother always had a necessary article that the Party shops were unable to supply. This made people more cautious and careful with the supplies they had. There were even demonstrations to thank Big Brother when he would reduce a ration, like he did for chocolate. There were very few people in Oceania like Winston who believed that this rationing was a bad thing and that they were being cheated on.

It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for the raising of the chocolate ration to twenty grammes a week. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grammes a week… Was he, then, alone in the possession of a memory? (Orwell 61,62)

For all their life this is all they have known, that the things they receive is the best they can get, Big Brother gains appreciation through rationing and taking away necessities, and few Oceania people see how it could be wrong that he is doing so. Therefore, Big Brother yet again is gaining power through demanding as seen to be a backwards society.

A totalitarian government takes away a persons basic physiological needs to reduce the chance of them gaining power over the government. According to Maslows Hierarchy of needs, a human has certain needs to fulfill to be able to grow and motivate. In this triangle there are five different levels; starting at the bottom, Physiological, Safety, Love/Belonging, Self-Esteem and at the apex, Self-Actualization. The theory suggests that the most basic needs must be fulfilled for a person to be able to successfully fulfill needs at a higher level. The basic Physiological needs are breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis and excretion. Without these a human cannot function properly. So, by the government taking away some of their basic needs it ensures his people will not ever make it to that next level or have the courage or confidence to try and achieve power over the government rule. For example, Big Brother takes away many basic needs of a person. He rations their food. Sex is shunned and is not permitted for pleasure, only to reproduce. By taking away sex this takes away emotional bonds leaving most people only to have love towards Big Brother, this being his main goal. “The only recognized purpose of marriage was to beget children for the service of the party. Sexual intercourse was to be looked on as a slightly disgusting minor operation, like having an enema” (Orwell 68, 69).

Without these basic needs it prevents his people from gaining the confidence to potentially get a group of people together to revolt the government, If these basic needs were given, Big Brother may no longer be at he apex of the triangle.

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