This paper discusses how throughout the story of Winston Smith, a simple man with aspirations to live a better life, George
Orwell shows many of the moral inconsistencies of the
totalitarian and authoritarian regimes in the world. It looks at how the ruling class used a number of manipulative devices such as the rewriting of
history, the use of political icons, the use of extensive and oppressive propaganda, the exploitation of technology and the use of contradictory thinking, to control Winston and those around him, as did other ruling parties throughout history.