1984 Doublethink Analysis

War is peace, Freedom is slavery, Ignorance is strength. These three phrases may contradict everything that you know and have been taught, but in the “negative utopia” of George Orwell’s novel 1984 these are

The main character in George Orwell’s 1948 novel, 1984, Winston Smith can be seen as many things. To some, he may be a hero, but to others he is a coward and a fool. Throughout the novel, Winston’s characteristics are explored, and readers are shown the reasoning behind Winston’s twisted mind. It is evident that although Winston thinks he had control over his own mind and body, this is an imagined factor. The world of 1984 is one of a totalitarian society, where no one can be trusted, and no one is safe, Winston being the primary example of one who trusted thoughtlessly.

This is shown in part 3 of the novel where Winston feels the full extent of the brutal power of the Party when he is taken to the Ministry of Love where he is tortured and brainwashed so he can’t remember things that have happened, he is made to be like everyone else in Oceania. This is shown when O’Brien tries to persuade him:

Granted the Party can warp laws and control knowledge, its greatest tool for taking away freedoms and controlling the public is its ability to revise history. This idea is displayed throughout the novel, and is fundamental to our understanding of how perfect the Party is. A prime example occurs when Winston is at his job at the Ministry of Truth, the manipulators of history and truth. He contemplates how he simply substitutes one lie for another in his daily work rewriting history, and explains, “And so it was with every class of recorded fact, great or small. Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which, finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain" (Orwell 36). This highlights the genius of the Party’s control; there is no history. As mentioned earlier, the Party controls all publications, and destroys all facts that are not helpful. Much of it is simply fake information that bolsters the Party. Thus, when Winston changes

George Orwell’s 1984 establishes a paradox in order to display an ironic discovery of truth. The slogan “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength” used throughout Oceania is crazy, but it is also truthful. A quote from the book states “until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious” (Orwell 70). This quote suggests that the citizens are locked inside this slogan of the party, and have been brainwashed into following the rules that they have in place. Secondly, war is peace demonstrates that being in war constantly keeps Oceania under control. A summary on 1984 says “The reason for the war is to keep their economies productive without adding to the wealth of their citizens” (Celona). This evidence shows how the party believes war keeps their country away from rebellion. Lastly, the statement “Freedom is Slavery” is a paradox shown throughout the novel. An article says “the society he lives in strips its citizens not only of their freedom but of their very humanity” (Becnel). This passage suggests that without slavery and control in Oceania, we would not know of freedom. Orwell’s use of paradoxes helps the reader to understand the true meaning behind the slogan used in 1984.

In the novel 1984, Orwell produced a social critique on totalitarianism and a future dystopia that made the world pause and think about our past, present and future. When reading this novel we all must take the time to think of the possibility that Orwell's world could come to pass. Orwell presents the concepts of power, marginalization, and resistance through physical, psychological, sexual and political control of the people of Oceania. The reader experiences the emotional ride through the eyes of Winston Smith, who was born into the oppressive life under the rule of Ingsoc. Readers are encouraged through Winston to adopt a negative opinion on the idea of communist rule and the inherent dangers of totalitarianism. The psychological

The pursuit of freedom and the longing for a better life and “knowledge give people power, and truth will set people free” are the common understanding of the human nature. In novel, the Oceania’s Party controlled life in a constant state of propaganda-induced fear through the four ministries of Peace, Love, Plenty, and Truth. Winston’s job at the Ministry of Truth involves revisions of historical documents and rewrites of news stories to reflect the Party’s infallibility. Because the Party was afraid of historical knowledge will form power that justify or encourage the present and the future. If history was idyllic, then people will act to re-create it; if the present was nightmarish, then people will be to subvert the present in order to create a good future. The fact of the matter, the Party, which carries out government policies in Oceania, rations food, issues clothing, and selects social activities. Both chocolate and tobacco are in short supply during this latest war. Public facilities were in shreds and patches, and most of people live in poverty. The

“I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery”(Thomas Jefferson). In the book 1984 the author George Orwell depicted a dystopian society where Oceania exhibited no laws, yet freedom only existed through limitations and bounded by watchful eyes of Thought Police. Terror and fear tear this world apart; family values become unworthy and limitations are tested. Winston is one of the intellectual characters who clearly acknowledges the distrust in The Party and Big Brother. He posses traits of a radical and to avoid being caught he hides his way to express himself. There is no freedom in 1984, because individuals have no freedom of speech, no choice in marriage, and no ability to testify against the intellectual standing, which only the party

The Party has complete control over documents and history, this allows them to change the past, present or future to make previously said facts more believable or truthful. One of Winston’s jobs in 1984 is to change documents from the past to make facts from the present true or predictions of the future more truthful. For example, during hate week, an announcement was made that the previously given information, that Oceania was at war with Eurasia, was false. Oceania was actually at war with Eastasia and Eurasia was actually an ally. Winston, along with everyone in his workplace, had to make sure that the records were all correct. They all worked non-stop until all of the ‘evidence’ of false history had been thrown out or changed. “... Oceania

Because of this belief, the Party controls all past history and changes it to be consistent with what is happening in the present day. They can also alter any past media that would arouse suspicion or distrust of the Party. Winston, the book’s protagonist, is even able to forge the existence of a nonexistent person. “Comrade Ogilvy,” he says, “who had never existed in the present, now existed in the past” (Orwell 47). The society under the Party’s control have no choice but to believe everything the government tells them. The Party is never wrong and has never done anything to cause harm, as far as anyone has proof. This altering of words and facts from the past allows the Party to keep control of the present and the people they

What is doublethink? Orwell describes doublethink as “the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.'; In 1984, doublethink is the normal way of thought, and as a result everyone understands it and practices it. Doublethink is different from changing ones mind, lying, and self-deception in many ways. Doublethink involves believing in the two contradictory ideas at the same time. This is different from lying because lying is saying something that is wrong and knowing that it is wrong but still saying it anyway. For example lets say you broke a vase. When your mother asks you who broke the vase and you say the dog did it that would be lying. The reason it is not

War Is Peace. Freedom Is Slavery. Ignorance Is Strength. The government slogan illustrates the sense of stringency that characterizes the world created by George Orwell. The vast power of the Oceanian government kept their people in constant paranoia through perpetual publicity, mangled violence and persistent manipulation in order to keep their world regulated as much as possible. The scene in the Novel 1984 is positioned in the expansive nation of Oceania, a realm of the future that replicates London. It is a totalitarian state that is dictated by an perplexing figure named Big Brother, who may not even exist. The government of this world is prevailed by the group of the Inner Party, and use their dominance by inhibiting everything

Why do people that hate each other so much work better together than people who love each other? People who love each other never get the job done it seems, but people that hate each other get the job done fast and efficiently, have you ever wondered why? You may say maybe they get it done so fast just to get it over with so they don’t have to work side by side anymore, but maybe it might be because they take their work seriously and rather work together side by side rather than do it alone and fail. In George Orwell’s Novel 1984 the society they live in is based on hate yet it survives because they hate their ruler so much they end up confusing it with love and they become loyal under Big Brother's watchful eyes, fighting to please him and continue with his bidding. If any one person in the society is to express their hate for him they are sent to a place like a prison or more like a reform center to learn to disguise their hatred again by basically confusing the people into thinking they love him they manipulate their minds and they create a loyal subject once again, this is why I believe a society based on hate can survive because can easily be confused for love and hate can make a loyal person besides their negative feelings for the society.

     War is Peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. These are the beliefs that the citizens of Oceania, in the novel titled 1984, written by George Orwell, live by. In this novel, Oceania, one of the three remaining world super powers, is a totalitarian, a society headed by 'Big Brother' and his regime, known as the ministries of Truth, Love, and Peace. A totalitarian government is defined as a government characterized by a political authority which exercises absolute and centralized control, and in which the state regulates every realm of life. This is the type of world that the citizens of Oceania must live in, ruled by fear and under force every day. The names of the different ministries for example,

In George Orwell's 1984, a light is shining on the concept of a negative utopia, or "dystopia" caused by totalitarianism. Totalitarianism is, "a form of government in which political authority exercises absolute and centralized control over all aspects of life…" and any opposing political and/or cultural expressions are suppressed. Having lived in a time of totalitarianism regime, Orwell had a firsthand account of its horrific lengths and negative affects. Within 1984, Orwell derives aspects of the actual government of his time to create, "The Party", "Big Brother", and the "Thought Police". Using these fictional recreations of reality, Orwell's 1984