1984 Essay - Party's Similarity to God

Ashley Ducrepin
H.E 10 - Mr. George
03.20.09
1984

Throughout the world many people practice different religions where they look to someone of great importance. In most religions practiced, God is the center of worship. Ultimately, God is the most prominent figure in their lives and these people dedicate their lives to fulfilling all of God’s desires. Naturally, this raises the question of why he is so important and well-respected. When speaking about God, there are many great adjectives to describe him but there are three that explain why he is so powerful. The most commonly-used depictions of God are his omnipresence, infallibility, and omnipotence. There is nobody on earth who possesses these qualities and this is why God is so well-respected. However, in the novel 1984, George Orwell introduces us to a British society under a totalitarian regime where the political party in charge (known as “The Party”) strives to be as dominant as God. The Party is as dominant as God because of their inhumane-like qualities and their portrayal of a perfected society.

“Omnipresent: present at all places and at all times” (Webster’s Collegiate Thesaurus). Despite the fact that God is this transcendent force that cannot be seen or heard, he is still felt and is considered omnipresent. We cannot see him but God is present at all places and at all times. Clearly, this is physically impossible for any human being yet the Party is able to gain this quality. One of the most helpful instruments the Party utilizes to aid in their quest to be omnipresent is a telescreen. The telescreen is a TV that can watch people’s every move, receiving and transmitting simultaneously. They help capture any citizens that may pose a threat to the Party. These telescreens are everywhere and there is no escaping it: “It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time” (3). It allows them to be present even when they’re not physically there similar to God himself. The Party uses not only technology but humans as tools to keep the society in order. The thought Police are called to arrest anybody committing thoughtcrime. Thoughtcrime is the act of thinking a thought that goes against the Party in any way: “thoughtcrime does not entail death; thoughtcrime IS death” (28). Surprisingly, one of the most important assets to the Party is children. Because children are so easily manipulated, the Party used them as spies to capture even more criminals: “The children…were systematically turned against their parents and taught to spy on them and report their deviations” (133). With all this assistance, the Party’ s objectives are reached easily.

A world where nobody makes mistakes? It sounds impossible, but again God defies the odd by making people believe he is infallible. We as humans accept the fact that we make mistakes and may never achieve perfection. The Party, on the other hand refuses to believe this: “Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right” (155). An example of a false claim the Party would make is that two plus two equals five. Everybody knows two and two make four however the Party is always correct ergo two plus two equals five. God is always described as flawless but in a good way – separate from the Party’s demonic intentions. The Party utilizes their status to make people believe in their infallibility. In the narrative, the main character’s occupation is to alter history. He updates Big all Party records so that they match new developments. The Party calls it rectifying history but the past is really being abolished and false information is being spread: “in the late Fifties, it was only the helicopter that the Party claimed to have invented; a dozen years later…it was already claiming the airplane” (153). There is no way to prove the Party wrong and so they remain in their hierarchical status.

“The two aims of the Party are to conquer the whole surface of the earth and to extinguish once and for all the possibility of independent thought” (193). The Party is looking to gain control over everything and everybody. Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past. They’re not only interested in controlling the present but all time periods and the Party has exhibited success in this. As they continue eliminating words in their dictionary they “shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed will be expressed by one word” (53). Ridiculously enough, the Party is able to control what all these people are thinking. With all this power, the Party is somewhat like God. The Party is omnipotent. Their ability to alter the Past and convince people that what they’re doing is right reinforces their flawlessness. To keep people thinking that their modified version of the Past is the truth, anybody that shows signs of contradiction to that fact must be eliminated. The Party is “something unalterable, like the sky” (131) and they are willing to kill in order to remain as powerful as they are. Citizens would disappear in the middle of the night and their records are eradicated as if they never existed. The Party can make people vanish with ease so it’s almost as if these people are not really living. The fact that The Party is able to be present at all times and is infallible enforces their invincibility.

God is usually looked to as this honorable force with more power than a man. Conversely, the Party has exhibited their inhumane-like qualities to remain in power and control everything. God is known for creating this earth and the Party uses its power to make people believe that they’ve created things like the helicopter or airplane. Since the Party is always correct, there is no way of proving them wrong. Thus, the Party is the most powerful and an important aspect of these peoples’ lives. Their life is dedicated to obeying all of the Party’s rules and if they dare go against that, they’ll simply be vaporized. The Party is extremely intelligent, they’ve acquired the right characteristics to gain as power as they have. They’re aim is to have the ultimate power and in order to become that powerful they needed to be molded into a Party inspired by God.