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Examples Of Propaganda In 1984

Decent Essays

“War is peace, Freedom is slavery, Ignorance is strength.” George Orwell’s 1984 depicts a dystopian state which is controlled by a totalitarian government. The government uses propaganda as a cornerstone of exploiting people and remaining in power. Techniques such as doublethink, slogans, newspeak and laws are cunningly used by the regime in order to maintain authority. Every action of an individual is controlled by the state through the use of fear thus restricting an individual from using their own intellect in order to make effective decisions. The propaganda evident in 1984 can be compared to the propaganda found in the film Goodbye Lenin. In the novel 1984 there are numerous propaganda techniques used by the government, one of which is …show more content…

Glittering generalities can be found in the names of the various ministries. “Even the names of the four Ministries by which we are governed exhibit a sort of impudence in their deliberate reversal of the facts. The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation.” The ministry of truth, the place where Winston works, is not as the name suggests but rather the department in charge of lying to the people and providing them with false information as well as destroying records of the past. This also shows the propaganda technique of disinformation in which people are provided with inaccurate information in order to control their minds. Then, there is the ministry of plenty, which controls the amounts of rations and resources supplied to the people but instead of ensuring everyone is provided with adequate supply, they oversee any shortages leading to starvation. Ministry of love, just like the other ministries contains a positive connotation in its name but instead they are known to torture and punish people. This ministry introduces a sense of fear into society and prevents anyone from carrying out any form of rebellious activity. Finally, there is the ministry of peace which involves itself in war and the name ties in with the slogan “War is peace.” The ruling party uses the technique of card

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