How does the war in 1984 represent Oceania's total control over its people?

In the dystopian nation of Oceania, continual war is necessary to use up the surplus of production and keep the population in a perpetual state of hysteria. Winston reads in Goldstein's book that the Party is concerned with keeping the standard of living low and the masses occupied. Creating products that would improve the standard of living would eventually upset the hierarchy as the middle and lower class would not feel obligated to obey the upper class. With a massive population continually working, warfare becomes necessary to destroy the surplus. The proles are simply left to work long hours and occasionally become victims of random bombings, while the Party maintains an atmosphere of war to ensure hysteria among its members. Knowledge is neutralized by the principle of "doublethink" and emotions are controlled through weekly hate exercises. Essentially, the Party uses war to not only enslave the population economically, but also to psychologically control its citizens.

How do the Party's control mechanisms impact Oceania's inhabitants in 1984?

I think that the idea of the Party's need for control is absolute.  For the Party, the ability to control all aspects of the Oceanian citizens' lives is of vital importance.  The Party is only able to be successful when it controls everything in the lives of its inhabitants.

I think that one point to make here would be to include the discussion of technology.  The ability to control thoughts and infuse thoughts through "Two Minutes Hate" and other forms of surveillance and mind control are ways in which the Party is able to have a profound impact on the inhabitants of Oceania through control.  The Party understands clearly that its success only rests in controlling free will of the people.  In being able to use technology in the form of social control and surveillance and being able to ensure that all thoughts are geared towards substantiation of the party, it is able to exercise a great deal of control in the lives of its people.

At the same time, I would suggest that the Party's mechanism of control is seen in the lack of a personal life for its citizens.  The Party ensures that they hold complete control over the lives of its citizens in ensuring that there is no private life for them.  Everything is public.  The outlawing of sex and denial of personal emotions is a way in which the Party is able to ensure it has a large impact on the lives of Oceania citizens.  This need for only a public life and never a private one is another way in which the Party ensures that it casts a large impact through controlling the worlds of the citizens of Oceania.

Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.

What technology does the Party use to control Oceania's people in 1984?

It becomes very quickly evident that the strange future dystopia that Orwell presents us with in the opening chapter of this novel is built around control and scrutiny of its populace. Not only are we provided with the rather disqueting image of a police helicopter that looks into people's windows, perhaps the most important form of technology that we are introduced to at the start of this book is the dreaded telescreen, which we are told can never be turned off:

The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.

The utter and terrible uncertainty and fear of being under constant surveillance therefore dominates the novel and our awareness as readers from the very opening pages. The telescreen, as becomes very clear when Winston and Julia discover one in their hideaway all too late, is perhaps the most important example of technology that is used in this novel by the Party to control and suppress its people.

How does the Party control Oceania's citizens in 1984?

Oddly enough, the Party controls the citizens of Oceania by not having any laws, a fact Winston thinks about at the beginning of the novel. Not having any laws can make anything a crime. For instance, though there is no law against buying a journal and writing in it, Winston knows that if he is found out, he will get the death penalty or, at the very least, 25 years in a hard labor camp. The lack of any laws or boundaries on distinguishing the legal from the illegal keeps people in a constant state of self censorship: anything they do or think is potentially a thoughtcrime or a crime against the state.

The state also controls people through marriage. As Winston notes, it is impossible to get permission to marry a person you might actually show any signs of loving or being compatible with. The state tries as hard as possible to keep couples alienated from each other and to reduce sex to a weekly pregnancy ritual done out of duty to the Party. It doesn't want couples to enjoy sex or each other's company, as that might draw their energies away from Big Brother or the Party.

The state also expects everyone to be busy with "voluntary" committee work during the week, in addition to working at paid jobs. Nobody should have any private time to think or ask questions.

Finally, the state is trying to reduce the English language to the least possible number of words to reduce people's ability to formulate sophisticated or nuanced thoughts.

The Party, as far as possible, tries to control people by robbing them of any chance to have a satisfying private life.

How does the Party control Oceania's citizens in 1984?

I would add that one of the key elements they use is "reality creation."  It's part of their "who controls the present controls the past; who controls the past controls the future."  Citizens never know if anything that they were told was "true" yesterday is true today --- or if it ever was true.  If people make their decisions based on the available information, and the information can be manipulated to get the citizens to believe anything, then they are under the governments control with a shot being fired --- by their side, at least.

Although this seems a bit "much," I think we have to be very careful that this is not happening in our own society.  We are being told that so many situations are critical, that previous administrations have so messed things up that nothing short of radical action will "fix" things --- but do we know that the picture of the past we are seeing is accurate? do we know that the solution being presented is the only one? the best one?

There was a time when there was so little information we could not make a decision.  Today there is so much information (but not necessarily knowledge) out there that it's just as hard to make a decision.  Giving up and just going along seems to be an option too many people are taking today ....

How does the Party control Oceania's citizens in 1984?

In a word, fear.  The Party uses the Two Minute Hate to work up the citizens against their "enemies" and then they go home to families that aren't based on love, but convenience.  They marry an arranged partner and give birth to children who are taught to spy on them.  Case in point, the Parsons who live in the same apartment building with Winston.

The Party also uses the element of instability to keep the public on its toes.  One day the ration of chocolate is lower than the next, and they're praising on the news channel the amount of chocolate they are allowed.  They're never at war with the same country, but people are not encouraged to notice these changes...they are trained to just accept them as the beaten-down "worker bees" that they are.  This is how a socialized country is...the ones with the power and the voice have all the say and everyone else in the society follows suit.

Everything is sterile in Winston's world, also.  There are no emotions since people are afraid of the cameras on the street and the telescreens in their homes.  The Thoughtpolice are everywhere...don't you dare have a thought or a moment of disagreement with the establshment.  The government in Oceania is always right...and fear (and the Ministry of Love, of course) keeps the citizens in line.

This is why your freedom of speech is so important, and why a democratic society is best.  We may not always agree with one another, but we have the opportunity to discuss, argue, compromise, and come to an agreement when all parties are able to voice their views.  A socialized government is never a good idea for anyone but those in control.

How does the Party control Oceania's citizens in 1984?

The Party uses surveillance, thought control, endless war, and endless propaganda to control Party members in 1984. 

As we learn early in the novel, the television screen in every one's apartment is not only a way for residents to watch television. Through the screen the Party watches them:

Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard.

The Party also alters history to maintain control. Winston's job is to rewrite old newspaper stories to align with whatever is the so-called "truth" at the moment. In this way, the Party hopes to maintain total control over the truth, which, of course, in its hands, is a lie. More importantly, the Party has been trying to cut down the number of words in the language to a bare minimum. To do so, it is creating a language called Newspeak. It believes that without many words to choose from, people won't be able to formulate thoughts that oppose the Party.

Endless warfare diverts people's attention from the misery of daily life and gives the Party a rationale for maintaining an oppressive police state. As long as there's a war effort to justify it, the Party can demand people work long hours and live on tasteless food rations and Victory gin.

Finally, ceaseless propaganda supports all of this. From the endless posters proclaiming "Big Brother is watching you" to the daily "Two Minute Hate" sessions directed at the "enemy of the people," Goldstein, the Party keeps people's minds full of what it wants them to know. The Hate sessions also target people's aggressions away from the Party and toward other enemies.

Winston can not turn off the television in his apartment. The telescreen can invade people's lives and thoughts at any moment. The following is an example:

The voice from the telescreen paused. A trumpet call, clear and beautiful, floated into the stagnant air. The voice continued raspingly: ’Attention! Your attention, please! A newsflash has this moment arrived from the Malabar front. Our forces in South India have won a glorious victory. 

With such endless distractions, constant surveillance, dumbing down of discourse and propaganda, the state keeps an iron grip on its Party members.