Moreno 1 Valentina Moreno Professor Vana DerOhanessian English 114B 2 April 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 have 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

Moreno 2 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, 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 is a threat to their space. Injustice is the right term for a totalitarian order in society, 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

Moreno 3 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, to enclose, to deprive of light and to hide - it preserves only the first and eliminates the other two. 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,

Moreno 4 if the police is present no one will drive recklessly, if the police car isnt visible to the other 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, 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, this is a common factor that other totalitarian countries of the past have used to mold and break the humans 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

Moreno 5 government and its leaders was strictly curtailed, punishable by arrest and incarceration in a prison camp. The government distributed all radio and television sets; citizens were forbidden to alter them to make it possible to receive broadcasts from other nations. Those caught listening to foreign broadcasts were detained and sentenced to long prison terms. North Korean citizens faced restrictions on travel both within the country and abroad. Thousands of North Korean nationals who fled to China in search of food and employment were often forcibly repatriated to North Korea by the Chinese authorities. They were routinely beaten and sent to detention facilities on return. Those suspected of being in touch with South Korean NGOs or attempting to escape to South Korea were more severely punished. (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 groups or 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 has various forms of successfully using violence to maintain control over a country, it doesnt 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, 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, 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

Moreno 6 Middle Eastern countries, 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 has 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.

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.

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