Farahat 1!

Diana Farahat
Professor Derohnessian
English 113b
6 May 2015
Project Space: George Orwells 1984
George Orwells dystopian novel 1984 takes place in London, and it is about
totalitarianism. In this book, London is a dark depressing place. The people of Oceania are
always being watched by Big Brother through a telescreen in their homes. The Thought Police
also watching them. Furthermore, they have cameras and hidden microphones everywhere.
People in this dystopian society are not entitled to their own thoughts, and they are prohibited
from doing many things. They are always being controlled and are forced to believe things that
may not even be true. If they were unable to follow the actions and rules given to them, they
would have to face punishment from the police. The Thought Police may take one away and
throw him or her in a forced labor camp. People view schools as an authority and the right path
for success. It is still a totalitarian government since certain things can relate to George Orwells
dystopian world. Beginning with the power entitled from the principal, deans and students and
the power of education and information that students receive as well. Shifting to the control over
teachers and students, watching their every move to make sure they are doing their job. Just like
in 1984, schools have power and control over many people in it. If students were not able to
follow the rules that they were given and play their roles, they would have to face consequences.
In George Orwells 1984, Big Brother symbolizes power and control. There are hundreds
of posters of Big Brother all over town with a quote which says, Big Brother is Watching You."

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It is a reminder to people that they need to be aware of their actions, what they say and do
because they are always being watched. In school, the Dean or principal would represent Big
Brother because he or she has the highest power in school in which he or she takes control over
the space and the students. If a student was to misbehave or there was a problem it would be
reported to the Dean. He would decide the punishment for the student depending on the situation.
If the problem happens to be bigger, it would be reported to the principal as well, which may
lead to further punishment like suspension or being expelled from the school. In 1984, the
Thought Police would throw the people of Oceania in forced labor camps if they refused to
follow the law. This shows how in two distinctive spaces an issue can be handled in different
ways. On page 19, Winston emphasizes Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed
forever. You might doge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were
bound to get you. Winston also discusses how people would disappear mostly around night time
if they were to commit thought crime. Winston emphasizes
It was always at night the arrests invariably happened at night. The sudden
jerk out of sleep, the rough hand shaking shoulder, the lights glaring in your eyes,
the ring of hard faces round the bed. In the vast majority of cases there was no
trial, no report of the arrest every record of everything you have have ever done
was wiped out, your one-time existence was denied and then forgotten.
(Orwell 19)
The concept of punishment in 1984 can also be related to Michel Foucaults Discipline
and Punishment. The space in Foucaults reading is a prison, and he emphasizes the discipline
and punishment that the people to the town would get if they were to leave town because it was

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prohibited. If a person left town. he or she would be sentenced to death for not obeying the law.
He states,
First, a strict spatial partitioning: the closing of the town and its outlying
districts, a prohibition to leave town on the pain of deaththe division within the
town into distinct quarters, each governed by an intendant. Each street is placed
on the authority of a syndic, who keeps it under surveillance; if he leaves the
street, he will be condemned to death" (Foucault 1)
This is where power and control play a part and can relate to both 1984 and schools. If people
and students were to not obey the rules, they would have to face punishment. The punishment
and discipline portrayed in Foucaults reading would be more severe and harsh compared to in
schools. Where as in schools suspension would take place and in 1984, people would be arrested
by the Thought Police for such crime and become non-existent.
Security demanded from the higher chair also plays a role of power and control in 1984,
Foucalt, and schools. In 1984, people were always being watched through a telescreen and the
Thought Police had cameras set up all over town. In Foucalts reading, the syndics and
intendants were a form of security and look out to make sure that no one leaves town or
disobeys's the laws. In schools, there are many cameras to make sure that the students are safe,
and that they stay on campus all school hours. However, cameras can be bad because they cross
the privacy lines and make students feel uncomfortable. They make students uncomfortable
because they know that they are always being watched so they dont have the freedom to express
themselves. If any problems were presented in the form of security, this is where control would
come in, in order to inspect and solve the issue.

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In George Orwells 1984, the Party members of the society of Oceania must watch the
2-minute hate which is a video that shows the enemies of the Party. Winston emphasizes
As usual, the face of Emmanuel Goldstein, The Enemy of the People, had
flashed onto the screen. There were hisses here and there among the audience.
The program of the Two Minutes Hate varied from day to day, but there was none
in which Goldstein was not the principal figure. (Orwell 12)
The Two Minute Hate can relate to the comparison of the excellent students and terrible students
in classrooms. Teachers tend to give good students as an example to bad students. The teachers
dont intend to tell the bad students that these are the students you should hate because they are
better than you just like it is being done in 1984, but it leads the student to developing a
jealousy towards the other student in which they form hatred. The good students turn out to be
the enemies for the bad students. Teachers dont realize that, they just believe that the
misbehaving students should learn a few things from the good students and by giving them as an
example it would be helpful to them.
Apart from the Two Minute Hate in 1984, another thing that the citizens of Oceania were
required to do is watch the government program on TV as well as the news. It is difficult for the
Party members to think their own thoughts because they are always being controlled and being
told what to do and what to believe. They are constantly filling their heads with propaganda.
Students are not able to express themselves and learn the things that they are most motivated and
interested in. They learn specific things in school because it is a requirement and they know they
have to because their parents said its the right thing to do. Parents view school differently
compared to students. People believe that education is important and without it we wouldn't have

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doctors, lawyers, nurses, etc. That may seem true but not in all scenarios. One needs to have an
interest in learning and have the motivation as well to dedicate themselves to the goals that they
have set for themselves. However, many people go to school because they are being told that it is
the appropriate thing to do not because it is a choice that they made. And in 1984 the party
members are being told what to do and what is right and wrong so it does not give them a chance
to provide their personal ideas or have their individual beliefs.
In Tim Mainhards journal, Teacher Control and Affiliation: Do Students and Teachers
Agree? he emphasizes the relationship between teachers and students and how in order to be
capable of taking control and maintaining power through teaching; teachers need to make sure
that the students understand them clearly and see their perspective. He also introduces the
Teacher Interpersonal Circle which shows both teacher and student perceptions of a teachers
Control and Affiliation in class" (Mainhard 18). He explains, studying student percpectives of
teaching can contribute toward the understanding as the interplay between teacher behavior and
student outcomes" (Mainhard 18). It is important for teachers to be able to view their student's
perspective and has everything in control in order to succeed. Mainhard emphasizes the research
that was done, which shows that students who receive more Teacher Control and Affiliation
show greater cognitive achievement, stronger engagement, and more positive subject-related
attitudes (Mainhard 19) This views how power and control can work both ways in order to
maintain an understanding. But is the information that teachers are giving students true or is it
just required to be taught because it was said so by a higher authority for power and control?
George Orwells dystopian novel and schools are both a totalitarian government. Power
and control take place in both spaces. However, some people may disagree about the way these

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spaces are structured and how people communicate with one another, yet schools are still
considered an autocratic society. In 1984, power and control take place during most of the book.
Where the people of Oceania are always being controlled by the highest people in the Party.
Same goes to teachers being controlled by deans and students being controlled by teachers. Two
different spaces but are very similar to one another.

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Works Cited

Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Pantheon , 1977.
Print.
Mainhard, Tim. Teacher Control and Affiliation: Do Students and Teachers Agree?. The
Journal of Classroom Interaction 46 (2011): 17-26. Print.
Orwell, George, and Erich Fromm. 1984: A Novel by George Orwell. New York: Signet Classics,
1950. Print.