Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Treatise on Tyranny

Abstract

George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four portrayed the societal antithesis of modern liberalism, and in so doing, established the adjective "Orwellian" in popular use. Orwell's novel thematically represents conceptual frameworks of tyrannical governance. Recently, questions regarding a crisis of democratic liberalism have prompted debate, discussion, and study. This article investigates how Orwell characterises the processes by which totalitarianism develops, delineates the nature of autocratic governance, and describes how totalitarianism achieves continuity. Further, this article parallels the typologies of tyranny, developed in Nineteen Eighty-Four, with the modern world. I seek to detail the ways in which Orwell's novel is a cautionary, critical commentary of totalitarianism relevant to contemporary society.