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Valentina Moreno
Professor Vana DerOhanessian
English 114B
5 May 2014
Creating and Establishing a Space
Throughout the centuries, we as a human civilization have been effectively living in a
space that was established long ago by our ancestors, but through time there have been many
men hungry and lustful to establish a different space and power. In Nineteen Eighty-Four by
George Orwell, the main character of the novel called Winston finds himself captive of a new
established totalitarian space and unable to break free from the grasp of the party. In Michele
Foucaults Panopticism a theory of punishment, discipline and surveillance, there is a
reoccurring theme between using violence and a trap setting in order to change the will of an
individual. Space is something that is created, and often times has been manipulated past and
present in countries like North Korea; because space is manipulated in a totalitarian country,
forms of violence, brainwashing, oppression of human rights and fear are essential forms in
establishing control and power.
Power is oftentimes obtained when a country or individual acquires more territory from
other regions around them. If we think for a minute, a pattern can be found that most of the wars
throughout history have to do with dominant countries getting hold of smaller or weaker
territories. It is a natural instinct for mankind to establish its dominance by obtaining land from
the defenseless. It is also seen that violence takes an effective role in the progress of gaining
land. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, we see the party strive for complete control and victory over the
other two great powers in the book; Eurasia and Eastasia. We see Oceania, a totalitarian country
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of the novel, is in constant war with the opposing territories often throughout the story. Orwell
gives a great example of previous territories such as Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia that are
reflected as the dictatorial country of Oceania, demonstrating how nations strive to gain more
land in order to gain more power. It has always been a common variable that more land
establishes a greater power over the shoulders of a totalitarian group or individual. Even so, there
is much more when it comes to control and power.
At times gaining land wont fully grant complete authority over space, most likely some
sort of factor will have to come in place to open the opportunity to allow a totalitarian space to
resume its course. It is War and famine that are the backbone of a totalitarian society; being one
of the most effective methods in dominating the country as a whole when it is being attacked by
other forces. This is a continuous theme in Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four, where Winston
discovers that Oceania is at constant war in order for the party to force its power inside the
society. The party uses the war as an excuse to take such measures of complete control over their
members, and misleading their supporters by telling what they do is for the greater good. Power
over the citizens then allows those in command to turn against its civilians and by any means use
violence on those who they believe are a threat to their space. Injustice is the right term for a
totalitarian order in society, and in reality the powerful are only doing this to keep themselves
above the weak. An example is when OBrian, a leader-figure of the inner party, reveals the true
purpose of the partys motivation over its citizens, to oppress those against the space they
established. Taking away the essence of safety and peace in a space allows other misleading
corruptive forces to settle in the mentality of its residents.
Patriotism, a form of showing devotion to ones country, is a great form of manipulation
or brainwashing inside a totalitarian space. Many countries that live in such ways have gained
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support from civilians, cases like these reduce the possibility of revolting against a powerful
space. In Hate-Week, we see the people of Oceania giving their full support in loathing the
partys traitors, and even the very picture of Big Brother brings the citizens to cheer and adore
their leader. This might be the least violent action a totalitarian space may achieve but it is the
transition to converting the innocent into evil. Many countries turn to the young for the full
support or patriotism towards their country, and often times the children do so. Children are easy
to fool and control, mostly because they are small and still havent had much experience in
society, making them vulnerable to the worlds corruption. It is the very presence of the party
that has a heavy influence on children in Orwells novel, where the children learn quickly that
their parents are capable criminals and can be a thorn to the party. The child spies also
understand that their love for the party means that they must expose their parents for the crimes
they have committed against the party. This is almost similar to previous totalitarian countries
that used children as a form to show their power and control into what is symbolically the future.
Though the totalitarian space has managed to influence or trick its residence by nonviolent
means, it is merely a segment of how it functions.
Captivating a space and keeping it under control can also be a measure of establishing
power in a totalitarian manner .We see reoccurring forms of control and a trapped setting in
Foucaults work, such as in forms of prisons or institutions of the 1970s. Foucault mentions in
his writings that, Full lighting and the eye of a supervisor capture better than darkness, which
ultimately protected. Visibility is a trap. Meaning that maintaining the subject monitored and
unaware of when theyre being watched allows the subject to behave in a way that theyre
expected too. This is similar to how people drive when a police car is driving near another driver,
if the police is present no one will drive recklessly, if the police car isnt visible to the other
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drivers then there will be a few who dont obey the laws of the road and they will be easily
stopped for any violation in the road. This is almost like a predator keeping their prey in sight
and unexpected of the attack they might face. Making sure that civilians are unaware when
theyre being watched also establishes fear, allowing them to make mistakes when theyre doing
something against the space they reside in. Often times catching a civilian when they least expect
it, is not a reliable way to teach a certain behavior to a person but it does inflict fright on the
subject if the consequences are threatening.
Fear and pain are one of the most persuasive mechanism to get an advantage over
someone weaker, totalitarian countries like North Korea oppress and punish those who are
against their space. Violence takes a major role in countries where human rights are not present,
and often times the people have no say and are branded as enemies of the country. Amnesty
International reported that North Korea is a country with deadly concentration camps, which is a
common factor that other previous totalitarian countries have used to mold and break the human
beings theyve denounced as traitors. Keeping the individuals they find harmful to their
corruptive government, locked and killed is the crudest ways a space can allow a leader to
demonstrate its power. Previous and present leaders of North Korea such as Kim Jong-il have the
control over citizens rights, survival and even their very own lives. This is the ultimate
settlement of a totalitarian state or space, where the complete submission and property over the
country belong to one or few individuals. Heartless men like these are even capable closing any
opportunity of freedom and human needs Amnesty reports:
The authorities imposed severe restrictions on freedom of speech and
assembly, despite constitutional guarantees of these rights. Criticism of the
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government and its leaders was strictly curtailed, punishable by arrest and
incarceration in a prison camp. (Amnesty International)
It is unjustifiable for North Korea and other countries alike to use violence, fear,
brainwashing and other means to establish control and power. Amnesty brings up the harsh
reality of the individuals who have forced their power and control over a nation. Even so it has
been a mark throughout history to use violence in totalitarian space.
Though a totalitarian force has various forms of successfully using violence to maintain
control over a country; it wont affect the whole country entirely. Often times there can be a
certain group that is being targeted and not the whole country, such as Hitler did in Nazi
Germany. Occasionally a group of people target a specific type of community, in which most
countries did this with the Jews. Spain with its Spanish Inquisition targeted those who did not
convert to their religion and kicked out or killed Jews, and the Roman Catholics discriminated on
Jew and influenced hundreds of years of mistreatment of Jews from other countries. Even up to
this day Jews are oppressed by Middle Eastern countries, and often times citizens of a totalitarian
country might only attack a specific type of people.
Molding an entire country and establishing a new space isnt an easy task but this doesnt
mean that it hasnt been done before. Foucault argues that keeping subjects trapped in a
monitored and in a well-lit setting is way to keep the subject in behavior. In Orwells Nineteen
Eighty-Four, a totalitarian space is established where many factors, violence being the effective
one, are used to keep the people of Oceania from rebelling. Many countries like North Korea
have stripped humans from their natural rights and continue to use violent force to maintain the
space that they have built. It is evident that space and violence are two factors that have
coexisted with one another, and mostly will continue to be used by future totalitarian spaces.
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Works Cited
Foucault, Michel. "Discipline." Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New
York: Pantheon, 1977. 195-228. Print.
Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-four. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.
"Annual Report 2011." Amnesty International. Amnesty International Ltd Peter
Benenson House, 2011. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.