Modes of Power in '1984' by George Orwell

1984 is, next to Aldous Huxley''s Brave New World, one of the central novels characterizing a dystopia. On first reading, the reader is surprised in which numerous ways parts of Orwell''s visions have become true. By reading about the Party manipulating facts and history in its own favour, the questions how and whether such actions are possible or even in action today emerge. But 1984 is not primarily a novel about the negative usage of modern technology or a political forecast but moreover a story about how to obtain and maintain power. The novel itself refers to former totalitarian systems and explains why they had to fail. This essay will analyze what mechanisms are shown and used to keep the Party in power. At first it will be examined how 1984 is narrated and in what way the reader is affected by this. Afterwards, three types of power underlying and shown in 1984 will be researched. Power through Vision will take a look at what part surveillance takes and how the panopticon-principle is applied in the novel. Power through Words names the ambitions of Newspeak and reflects how it influences the novel. Power through Mind concentrates on the procedure of doublethink and how it is shown to be possible in the novel.