Doublethink In George Orwell's 1984

1984 examines a future under the rule of a totalitarian society. One of the unique notes about Orwell's 1984, is the views that Orwell presents on humanity, and human nature. Orwell presents humanity as divided into two sides- the dominant, and the submissive, with few quickly-eradicated anomalies in between. Human nature, however, is universal, and all humans

George Orwell’s book - 1984 - is mainly about how people are struggling under a totalitarian regime in London that has set out strict rules that it uses to control the people and remain in power. He wrote this book in 1949 right after the end of the second world war. Orwell’s purpose for writing this books was partly a reflection on his present - the war-torn countries, the communist governments and the sheer politics of his time. He was also predicting the fate of the world in the future as it relates to his present. In the process, he created words like thought crime, thought police, proles and several others that have entered common use soon after. The fact that some concepts like doublethink, memory holes, newspeak and telescreens that

Complete control over a society can brainwash the citizens into believing the government laws and ways of life are normal. George Orwell's 1984 portrays a Utopian society in which the people of Oceania are blind to the world outside the controlling party. Reality control and surveillance of the citizens plays an important role in 1984 by George Orwell because of the negative Utopia that is illustrated by the use of paradox, symbolism, and imagery.

A shocking number of 40 million people were executed during Joseph Stalin’s reign of Soviet Russia between the years 1924 to 1953. Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, plays an important role in George Orwell’s novel 1984. Orwell’s novel depicts a totalitarian government that controls the lives of the people in Oceania by supplying false propaganda and monitoring their everyday life. As a matter of fact, Orwell writes his novel based on the events that occurred in Soviet Russia during the reign of Joseph Stalin. The author includes similar aspects to that of Soviet Russia in his novel to warn his audience the dangers of a totalitarian state. George Orwell’s dystopian society illustrates the negative effects that a totalitarian government

George Orwell's 1984 is a dystopian novel where everything is overseen by the government. There are telescreens and surveillance cameras everywhere, watching the citizens' every move and the citizens' do not have any privacy whatsoever. In this dystopia, called Oceania, there is a lot of contradiction regarding the governance of the Party. A big part of this contradiction includes the 4 Ministries and their slogans.

Throughout the novel, Orwell makes it clear that The Party needs doublethink to abstain the amount of power they have. Doublethink is where one believes in two contradictory beliefs or opinions. The way the Party fulfills their need of the people using doublethink is with constant propaganda and sayings. The slogan “Ignorance is Strength” is especially controlling. If the people are kept ignorant, the Party remains it’s strength. Another example of doublethink and propaganda would be the slogan “Freedom is Slavery”. The people believe they are free, but in reality, they are slaves to the Party; they do as they are told or consequences are present. As long as people use doublethink, the Party will remain intact. While Winston is being tortured,

George Orwell’s concept of doublethink indicative of a fascist worldview through the use of portrayal of a totalitarian government that controls citizens and suppress any form of expression or individuality. The totalitarian government was the main reason the setting had become a dystopia. Winston Smith was constantly had tension between his conformity shown exteriorly and his rebellious views interiorly. He knew what the Party was doing was wrong but he continued to conform by changing records and obeying Big Brother. The Party caused citizens like Winston Smith and Julia to doublethink due to their totalitarian ways, they were against the government however they conformed to not meet the same fate Syme had, by being vaporized and vanishing from all records like he didn’t exist.

“It was not easy to preserve inscrutability when you did not know what your face looked like. In any case, mere control of the features was not enough. For the first time he perceived that if you want to keep a secret you must also hide it from yourself. You must know all the while that it is there, but until it is needed you must never let it emerge into your consciousness in any shape that could be given a name. From now onwards he must not only think right; he must feel right, dream right. And all the while he must keep his hatred locked up inside of him like a ball of matter which was part of himself and yet unconnected with the rest of him, a kind of cyst” (Orwell, 231).

George Orwell’s masterpiece, 1984, undoubtedly is unlike many others. In its articulate language and fluency, Orwell certainly makes a point throughout the entirety of the novel, about a society such as that of communism and how it can control and manipulate the minds of the common citizens. Using characteristics such as mindful maneuvering, communication in terms of newspeak, and uprising in a dystopian society, Orwell undeniably make aspects of his novel different, realistic, and even impossible to engage the reader.

In his novel 1984, George Orwell created a nightmare vision of the future in which an all-powerful Party exerts totalitarian control over society by forcing the citizens to master the technique of "doublethink," which requires them "to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancel[] out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them." (3) Orwell's doublethink is usually regarded as a wonderful literary device, but, of course, one with no referent in reality since it is obviously impossible to believe both halves of a contradiction. In my opinion, this assessment is quite mistaken. Not only is it possible for people to believe both halves of a contradiction, it is something they do every day with no apparent difficulty.

Throughout part one of George Orwell's 1984, Winston Smith is characterized as a convict of thoughtcrime. He thinks negatively of Oceania's Party and silently rebels by writing his beliefs in a diary. Although writing isn’t considered illegal, detection of such action is punishable by death (6). While writing down whatever came to mind, Winston wrote the line "DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER" over and over again, later exclaiming how he didn't care if he was shot in the back of the neck for doing so (18).

The name Oceania in this post will refer to 1984's Oceania and not current day Oceania.

“IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” is one of the party’s key phrases. This means that having uneducated, oblivious people, contributes to the power of the party. The citizens of Oceania must believe everything the government tells them in order to be controlled. People who refuse to believe these lies, or try to let people know the truth, are considered enemies of the party. This is considered thoughtcrime, and anyone who is found guilty is subject to ‘vaporization’, and will never be seen again. In 1984, George Orwell uses characterization of the protagonists, Winston and Julia, and plot to explain how in a society built upon countless lies, it is a crime to think or spread the truth.

“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.” There have been many methods of data collecting that the United States has done, Closed Circuit TV being one of those that has been acknowledged for quite some time. One may be able to spot this methods at local convenient stores or in populated intersections or areas. Coupled with the National Security Agency (NSA), a data collecting agency for the United States, and how they monitor, collect, and process information for counterintelligence purposes. Furthermore, the Counter Intelligence Agency (CIA), collects, analyze, evaluate, and disseminate foreign intelligence, the agency who has been under pressure due to the torture report that was released to the public. Room 101, Thought

The Book 1984 was written by George Orwell shortly after W.W.II. I think this book really shows us what would happen if the government gets too powerful. It was written long ago and set in the future, but I feel like the message is still very relevant today.