Christopher Sanchez INTL 3111-001 Robert Arnold May 10, 2012 The Power of Fear Implementing fear to control

a set society is a common theme we saw within novels we read in class. The fear of consequence for ones actions usually restricts those people from going forth with any forbidden acts they may think about assessing. This is seen commonly in totalitarian governments as well as socialist regimes. The act of a higher power putting forth fear into peoples lives is done to gain and maintain structure within their borders. We see this in not only governments such as the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or commonly known as the Soviet Union, but we also can find it in less formal groups such as the Mexican drug cartel. Much of the ways these groups implemented fear, can be found within the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. This novel expressed how much fear can have an influence on an entire nation and it seemed to make reflections to how the Soviet Union ran its regime. Examples that I will later introduce and elaborate on throughout this paper will help express ways in which fear is used; comparing back and forth with examples from the novel and real life situations that have happened in the past. In the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell did an adequate job in drawing my attention towards the totalitarian leader of Oceania Big Brother. I was not necessarily drawn to whom he was or the lacking of conformation that he even existed as an individual character; he could just be a made-up figure of power the inner party created for the people to fear. Nevertheless, I had more of a fascination on how much power one man can hold and his ability to control an entire republic through the implementation of terror, whether he was existent or not. Humorously one can think of it this way, how is it that an entire society is willing to follow harsh
1|Sanchez

totalitarian guidelines and avoid at all cost to breaking any laws within this society when the leader of the Republic fails to personally address to the public. Of course we read of Big Brothers pictures hung upon the walls of housing tenements but these can easily be propaganda. There is still a lack of conformation too if these portraits are actually him. All in all this shows how much power fear can hold upon a group or in this case an entire republic. Within the novel, the inner party of Oceania regulates and constantly watches over its citizens through telescreens making sure neither Thought-Crimes nor Face-Crimes are being committed. If any of the aforementioned crimes were committed the Thought-Police would grace themselves with their presence, resulting in the disappearance of the convicted without a trace as if they never existed. The severity of consequences is the primary reason to why the people dont suppress this totalitarian regime, in dread that something much worst may happen if one were to attempt such daring act. This to me has parallelism to a regime which was once known as the Soviet Union. During the era of Stalin, we saw a similar way of ruling with slight variations of course. Stalin had a public/secret police that reminded me greatly of the ThoughtPolice, called the NKVD. They were his eyes and ears that fiercely executed the rule of power of the Soviets. This force contained regular public police but was better known for its activities of the Gulag, which was a Soviet force labor camp. They conducted mass executions, deportations, and conducted political assassinations. In result of Stalin having this special police force he was able to sway people that it was his way or the highway regardless if you were part of the inner party or not. If anyone had any thoughts of going against the regime, or against any of his ideologies, it was off to the Gulag or to your death. There was even a time period during his era that was titled as a time of terror. During this time Stalin killed anyone who didnt meet economic quota, anyone who would vote against him, even those who had gotten close to him. I
2|Sanchez

see this as Stalin having similar ideologies as Big Brother, using fear as a tool to get what he desires and keeping things regulated. Its ironic that on the back of the book of George Orwells novel Nineteen Eighty-Four where you can find the texts description, it is said that the subject of the novel has to do with a negative utopia, Oceania. This creates another parallelism between the Soviet Union and Oceania. At first communism was the answer for the USSR and was to be seen as a system that would surpass the capital west in industrialization, national healthcare, and agricultural exports. This was the goal Lenin had envisioned after the October Revolution. Lenin seemed to have portrayed his intentions were more of an attempt into becoming a utopian regime, with hopes that the world would see communism as the way to go. After his death, Stalin convinced the people of the Union that he was Lenins right hand man, which was completely false. Lenin saw Stalin as someone he only kept around because of his excellent organizational skills. Other than that he described Stalin as someone who wasnt much of an intellectual and someone who should never be given power. This was the start of the USSR veering away from Lenins view of what communism should be, keeping some of his ideologies but expressing them in ways he did not intend. Stalin drove communism to a whole different level, leading it into a more aggressive form of government. A negative utopia is what the Soviet Union became; managing its union as if it came right out of the novel as Oceania. I aforementioned that the Mexican drug cartel had its own ways of using fear to gain what it truly wishes to possess, the title of becoming the worlds top drug trafficker. In recent years, the violence within Mexico with its war on drugs has increased significantly since 2006. Joaquin El Chapo Guzman is the leader of the drug lords, and with this title it helped assist him in to gaining the financial status as a billionaire. In Mexico it is very difficult to make a
3|Sanchez

living even if one may have earned prestigious degrees such as in architecture, engineering, or even in medicine. The country is in a rut where the economy cant seem to get back on its feet. In result, many are turning to and joining the cartel thinking it is the only way of making money to make a sustainable living compared to actual professions. The cartel not only has timed everything perfectly to induct more mules, but its use of fear to influence the country is where most of its power is coming from. I consider El Chapo as an undeclared dictator of Mexico, somewhat having a parallelism with Big Brother. He is someone who even the government of Mexico fears, allowing him to do what he pleases. El Chapo possesses a ridiculous amount of power over the country using his wealth to bribe the system of Mexico so that he is for certain things go his way. Anyone who intervenes or tries to betray the cartel in any way, will more than likely to be found by one of El Chapos men. Once caught they more than likely will be decapitated and thrown into the streets of a busy town to make an example of why you shouldnt mess with the notorious drug cartel of Mexico. This is also a way of recruiting, making people think that the only way to avoid getting caught in the cross fires is by joining. Its a growing problem, that isnt showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon. There are many ways people can obtain and withhold high statuses of power. In this circumstance I strictly gazed upon people of high statute and their use of intimidation to help implement a threshold of fear into a group who they wish to control. It was proven successful for Joseph Stalin which resulted to him maintaining a lengthy term with the Soviet Union, as well as it did for Big Brother and his sustainment of power over Oceania. The same goes for El Chapo who is currently still on the prowl, spreading poison and fear into innocent peoples lives. Fear is a part of human nature that gets expressed in times of endangerment, but its possible to convert those fears into bravery. And with that we can overcome anything.
4|Sanchez

Works Cited Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. New York: Signet Classics, 1977. Marples, David. Russia in the Twentieth Century. Great Britain: Pearson Education Limited, 2011. Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution. 3rd. New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 2008. Larsen, Kaj. "Mexico: A deadly beat." CNN. N.p., 02 Mar 2012. Web. 9 May 2012. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/02/world/americas/mexico-journalists/index.html>. Advertiser, Geelong. "US warns of Mexican Drug Links to Australia Drug Cartels Here." 11 Oct 2011. 1. EBSCO Host. Web. 10 May 2012.

5|Sanchez