The Dystopian Society of Oceania in the Novel 1984 by George Orwell

Thirty-three years ago, the terrifying vision that novelist George Orwell dreamt of in 1949 never became the reality he foretold it would within the preceding ten decades or so. The year 1984 was presumed to plummet society into utter chaos, becoming a global dystopia in which everyone lived under the regulation and the dominance of one of three totalitarian superstates. Orwell poured out his predictions into the pages of his book, 1984, creating the fictional universe of Oceania in which the lives of Winston Smith and the other characters living in the superstate give the expression of being genuinely real, especially due to author’s the use of various literary devices. For instance, motifs such as the linguistic concept of Newspeak and the majority of society’s convergence of feelings towards the Party and Big Brother appear multiple times throughout the novel. At the hand of such persisting ideas, a major theme stands out - the lack of self-expression. Living under an authoritarian and oppressive government, party members such as Winston are compelled to pursue the socialist policies of Ingsoc. In the book it is written that, “The two aims of the Party are to conquer the whole surface of the earth and to extinguish once and for all the possibility of dependent thought” (Orwell 193). If the general populace of Oceania were to submit the Party, self-expression would be entirely eliminated because everyone and everything would be censored. With such motives made clear,

The ability to watch your every move, expression, and sound strikes fear in one’s heart. However, almost all citizens are brainwashed to believe that in their current situation, they are indeed free. “Who controls the past', ran the party slogan, 'controls the future who controls the present controls the past” (Orwell 37) is a perfect quote to describe how controlling The Party can be; it just shows that everything the citizens think is controlled by The Party, referring to altering history and changing how they think. Another quote that shows how controlling The Party is; “Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? We shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it.” (Winston 55) The meaning here is that, with a new language; Newspeak, you can restrict ideas instead of broadening them. When a language is less expressive, it is easier to control minds. As for the modern era, we lack the existence of giant telescreens used by Big Brother to manipulate and get into people’s heads and control them (an example of that is showing altered fake history and showing propaganda). Although just like The Party uses slogans like “WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” (Orwell 6) today’s media isn’t all that different when it comes to choosing what to show us, and sending subliminal messages. Anyone can be manipulated by the government into believing what they want you to believe. In this novel, Orwell felt it was the sad truth of

Absolute control over society is the central theme in the novel, 1984, by George Orwell. One method this power over society is exercised is use of language to manipulate and control people. The story features a society called Oceania, which is located in the European region. In Oceania, there is a form of totalitarian government called the Party which controls the entire society. The Party controls thoughts by making certain words or phrases illegal. In addition, any anti-party thoughts or motives are also deemed illegal. To control society, thoughts are monitored by telescreens which read reactions and record speech. A force, called the Thought Police, is also engaged to take power over and eliminate society’s individual beliefs. The

The fictional novel, 1984 by George Orwell is about a world run by a totalitarian government, called the Party, which takes away all the freedoms of its citizens by watching over them with high surveillance technology. In addition, the Party uses dishonesty and betrayal to expose people’s true feelings of Oceania, the country where the story takes place. Betrayal is seen throughout society in Oceania through government manipulation and actions made by Winston, Julia and O’Brien, the main characters. Winston’s true self-betrayal comes when he realizes his new passionate love for Big Brother, the leader of the Party and Oceania. The Party fears a rebellion against them, as a result they use different methods to eliminate trust between

When George Orwell wrote his novel, 1984, Hitler and Mussolini had recently been defeated in World War II, the nuclear arms race was warming up and the Soviet Union was a threat to the world. Although these are not problems in today's society, 1984 is still very relevant in current time, "The twentieth century will soon be over, but political terror still survives and this is why Nineteen Eighty-four remains valid today” (Ricks 5). In the novel 1984 the main character Winston is faced with challenges when he meets a woman named Julia. Julia makes him question his loyalty to the government. They are living under a totalitarian government that sees everything you do, hears everything you say, and knows everything you think. George Orwell’s novel 1984 is still relevant in today’s society.

The politics of Oceania in 1984 mirrors the tyrannies Orwell had witnessed in his lifetime, Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union, wherein there is an absolute governmental control of human life and disobedience means “vaporization.” In 1984, Orwell showcases how freethinking spontaneously evaporates under such circumstances, particularly through language.

“Newspeak was designed to. . .diminish the range of thought. . .by cutting the choice of words down to a minimum” explains George Orwell, the author of a dystopian fiction novel, 1984 (Orwell 300). Orwell designs a society in which a totalitarian government rules, depriving people of their thoughts. The story gives us a look into the life of the main character, Winston, who seems to face issues with reality control. Today, we will delve into the depths of this novel and explore Orwell’s views on the nature of language. In simple terms, Orwell suggests that language, if used in a certain way, has the ability to influence people and compel them to alter their thoughts. With this statement and supporting evidence, it can be concluded that the effective use of language can give individuals power to modify or reshape opinions that will allow for change in society.

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

Throughout George Orwell’s 1984, there are many peculiar, compelling events that take place, depicting Orwell’s presumptions of what society would be like during the year of 1984. Up until page 285 in the novel, there are many powerful movements, shifting the plot of the novel to another level. These powerful movements help create a dramatic climax in the novel, allowing the reader to develop a full sense of knowledge. The main character, Winston Smith, still has a rebellious attitude towards the Oceania government, having a relationship with Julia, and keeping a secret journal. Towards the end of “Book Two”, the Oceania government breaks into their room and begin beating Julia and Winston. Before long, Winston realized that Mr. Charrington is a member of the thought police. Both Winston and Julia are petrified by this atrocious event because it has momentarily changed their lives for the worst. This important event serves to prove that the Oceania government is aware of every single action and word of their everyday citizens.

In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, Oceania’s dystopian hate-based society is run by “Big Brother”. Everyone in this world was watched by the government and . One aspect of Oceania’s society that O’brien and Winston disagreed on was whether it could survive the way it is. A society based on hate cannot survive. Societies based on a negative purpose have existed before and they have never been everlasting. It can fall in many ways having to do with the people as a whole. In a world like this, there could be a rebellion that has not been brainwashed, which can affect everything. A culture full of freethought will overrun a hateful society.

In the unsettling novel, 1984, George Orwell discloses the devious tactics of the totalitarian “Party” over Oceania in its attempts to subdue its citizens and achieve all aspects of control. One of the innumerable factors of control is language. Newspeak, the official language of Oceania, plays an important role in the stature of the super-state and its inhabitants. By utilizing Doublethink, Newspeak successfully controls anyone who fluently speaks it. The language extremely restricts the people and their rights to communication. This is palpable through its division into three separate categories, each enclosing meticulous rules and regulations. By eliminating words presumably unnecessary to society, any act or thought of rebellion against The Party or Big Brother diminishes. George Orwell indirectly warns us of

The government “fixes” history information in order to make them look better. By controlling the present, the government is able to manipulate the past. And in controlling the past, the party can justify all of its actions in the present. The government uses technology as a way to control by using hidden telescreens and microphones around the city to monitor its subjects at all times. 1984 reveals that technology even though technology can be perceived as moral good, it can be manipulated and used as evil. One of orwell’s most important messages in 1984 us that language is of central importance to human thought because it structures and limits the ideas that that individuals are capable of formulating and expressing. Newspeak is used as an english replacement enforced by the party with the goal of eliminating the ability to question the parties absolute

George Orwell, the writer of many highly regarded literary works, is extremely interested in the power of language, mainly how it is abused. By analyzing two of his works, 1984 and Politics and The English Language, it is clear that Orwell is using his writing to bring awareness to the dangers of the manipulation, misuse, and decline of language. In 1984 he demonstrates how language can be used to control thought and manipulate the past. This is proven throughout the novel by examining the language of Newspeak and how it is key to controlling the totalitarian state, and how using language to alter and manipulate history can shape reality. In his essay Politics and the English Language Orwell

In Orwell’s 1984, he displays psychological manipulation through Oceania’s government which it uses to control its citizens. This includes the use of propaganda, control of content, and ethnocentrism. The Party’s methods of control relates to real life events repeated in history such as the Nazi Regime from 1933 to 1945 headed by Adolf Hitler and common patterns in cultural history.

In “1984,” Orwell describes a terrible society where totalitarianism reaches the top. In this circumstance, personality and freedom are strangled and thought is controlled. The most frightening aspect is that citizens have no sense right and wrong. Without a doubt, the reason why these happen is the governing of the Party, which is controlling everything in the country, Oceania. Orwell uses the control of language to show the idea that the Party solidifies its dominant position.