The Fear Of Truth In George Orwell's 1984

In the face of fear people often betray the ones closest to them. Other automatically give up without the need of torture because the fear is so strong it controls the ability to make decisions. Fear is often a powerful emotion that come with selfishness and every person for themselves idea. Sometimes people can overcome the pain or fear for a loved one but in Orwell’s book 1984 shows how fear can override that love and can force people to betray the person closest to them. Fear causes selfishness and survival instincts to activate. A person who is the kindest person and is very altruistic in many different ways but when face with their greatest fear that person could fail or betray their loved ones. “All you care about is yourself,” in a crisis, a person might give up sensitive information or put another in harm's way(Orwell page, 292). Even after you can pretend that they did not mean or it was only a trick but at the time they meant every selfish word they said.

The fight or flight response. Humans have this instinct installed in them from the moment they are born. It tells people when to cower in fear, and when to stand up and fight. This instinct is what primarily keeps humans alive. The fight or flight response is also dependent on whether or not the person can handle making the decision in the first place. The person has to have enough inner strength to determine what is right in each and every situation. Through the use of imagery, Orwell argues that inner strength is only shown when one’s life is on the line.

There are many contradictions throughout George Orwell’s 1984; for example, in the Party’s philosophy, there is the belief that War is Peace. An example of a quote that explains the idea that war is peace is, “the very word ‘war’ therefore, has become misleading. It would probably be accurate to say that by becoming continuous war has ceased to exist...the three superstates, instead of fighting one another, should agree to live in perpetual peace...a peace that was truly permanent would be the same as a permanent war” (199). This quote explains that war is peace because as the three superstates live in peace forever, they are also living at war forever. Another contradiction in the Party’s philosophy is Ignorance is Strength. This means that if the people remain ignorant and not question the Party, they will strengthen their society. These contradictions are also examples of paradox because even though they seem self-contradictory, they reveal a truth. In addition, an important principle to the Party in 1984 is the term Doublethink. “Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them” (214). Contradiction plays a big role in Doublethink because a member of the Party is expected to accept two beliefs that contradict each other at the same time, and they have to control the direction in which their memories should be altered. Doublethink satisfies the needs of the Party because “ultimately it is by means of

A lie is neither a false proposition, nor a mistake, nor a mere fiction; it is a type of intentional fiction, a precise act that calls for a twist in reality. This act, the lie, produces effects. The cause-effect relationship of a lie affects an individual or group in a way that twists the personal reality of the subject(s) from the objective reality (the way that things truthfully are) (Raspa 105). Examples of how reality is twisted by lies are rather prevalent in today’s media. Leaders have always tried to manipulate the truth, with modern politics wanting to control the narrative. The most relevant of these examples is mutability of fact for which President Trump has become notorious. He lies, repeats the lie, and his urge to tell them purely reflect a present day Big Brother, from George Orwell’s 1984. When lies are told so often, and so repeatedly, fighting the lie becomes not simply more dangerous, but more exhausting than repeating it. The act of falsifying reality is merely a secondarily way of changing perceptions. It is, above all, a way of asserting power. This can be exemplified in one particular circumstance when Trump falsely claimed that millions of illegal votes were cast against him in addition to his administration making unfounded allegations that Trump’s inauguration had record attendance. In response, Kellyanne Conway, infamously coined the false number as “alternative facts,” as opposed to the actual statistics (Beale, We're living

Being structured on fear inhibits the possibility of a civilization's endurance. Fear can cause people to become unpredictable, to the point of sacrificing strong beliefs they once held. In 1984, Winston is determined to not sacrifice his relationship with Julia, as they both tell O'Brien that they are unwilling "'to separate and never see one another again'"(Orwell, 173), and when tortured, Winston holds on to the fact that he has held to his beliefs and not betrayed Julia(273). However, when placed in Room 101, facing his greatest fear, Winston quickly forgets his will to not hurt his relationship and his hope in the fact that he has not been unfaithful to her. When his fear gets closer, he exclaims, "'Do it to Julia...I don't care what you do to her'"(286). This exposure to Winston's greatest fear caused him to behave contradictory to his previous belief of loyalty

These contradictions throughout the society serve as a confusion of what is right compared to what is wrong throughout their society. The people don’t know whether to believe in the things their government says or not due to everything being a contradiction. For example when Winston starts writing his diary of thoughts against the government, it is due to the fact that he doesn’t know what is right or what he should do if he doesn’t agree with the government's opinions on different ideas. Therefore, he feels that the only thing he can do is what his mind tells him to do, and that is to write his thoughts down against the government in the form of his diary. The doublethink philosophy makes the people question what is right

Due to George Orwell’s many successful works, he has remained a recognizable and respected author from his first moments of fame until now. Orwell’s novels and essays touch on aspects of government and human nature that will always remain relevant. With America’s changing values and controversial times, Orwell’s warning seem more relevant than ever and prove that with strong ideas, a novel can remain current beyond lifetimes.

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.

Fear, although it may not seem to be, is an ever constant emotion that is going through everyone during many moments of their day. Some may not admit to it and others will let you know whether it may be a phobia, fear of presenting in front of the boss, or just not wanting to go through something alone. Power is always through those that have a greater role or have the urge to make a change to the higher power. In at least every book or movie, there is one person that shows their fear and/or power to the audience which brings them more to their character. Power can, in the slightest way, bring fear into others to change the way that they behave and create an even bigger power to rule over. In the movie V for Vendetta, fear is shown through the movie as, fear in the main character herself, Evey and her actions, the people apart of the London government with the power of V’s government and the rising of Lewis Prothero and symbolism of both fear and power within the movie. In comparison, George Orwell's novel 1984 shows in great length of fear through the main character Winston Smith shows his fears by going against Big Brother, government of Oceania taking over the lives of innocent people and symbolism of both fear and power within the novel. Power and fear show great comparison in these to classic government feuds by two people that fear the most.

In an article by The New York Times, the author suggests that George Orwell’s 1984 was “a chilling exploration of absolute depravity.” Orwell’s purpose in writing 1984 was to warn the people of the dangers that could come from becoming a totalitarian society. Throughout 1984, Orwell exposes the dangers of a totalitarian society, such as the psychological torture and the physical brutality that one would experience living in such a society.

Strolling around town and everywhere one walks, the billboard " BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU ", beams down into one's innocent soul. In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the symbol "BIG BROTHER" represents a controlling and intimidating presence in Oceania and is also a clear reflection of society today.

Before every sporting event at Bexley High School the announcer says, “we live in a country with freedoms like no other”. He is right. We do have freedoms that aren’t afforded any other place on earth, but as Americans we often take those freedoms for granted and assume we have them even when we might not. Often times we are being oppressed not by a law, but fear. This control by fear is used both by the government in George Orwell’s 1984 and by modern American media and politicians.

Based on events from the past and what is shown in 1984, I believe a society focused on fear and hatred will not be able to flourish. O’Brien argued, in the novel, that The Party has control over external reality because nothing exists outside the mind, only The Party exists (Orwell). Winston responded to this by saying that a society that lives on fear and hatred would have no vitality, it would disintegrate, and it would commit suicide (Orwell). I personally agree with Winston because a society needs to breathe or have freedoms in order to survive. In essence, I believe a society based on hate and suffering, such as what O’Brien described, could not exist for long, and the intoxication of power and thrill of victory could not be enough motivation for people to continue living without friendship or love, and I could not live in such a suffering society.

Erich Fromm states that 1984 serves as a warning for future generations. It warns of what will come if we continue trade our free will -the very essence of what makes us human- for advancements in technology unless we attempt to prevent it. Today, we are throwing George Orwell's warning aside. We are slowly letting technology take control, as it becomes a necessary in our daily life. Due to this we see our own Big Brother like organizations forming presently which can track our every move, similarly to how Big Brother - the political party which controls Oceania with an iron fist and watches what everyone does using telescreens- can follow Winston's - the protagonist in 1984- every move. Furthermore, similarly to how Winston ignorantly questioned Big Brother's existence, people today question whether these organization actually tracking our every move and are ignorant of what's happening right in front of their eyes.

The Party also uses the element of instability to keep the public on its feet. One day the ration of food is lower than the next, and they're praising on the news channel the amount of food they are allowed. They're never at war with the same country, but people are not encouraged to notice these changes since they are trained to just accept them as the beaten-down manipulated robots that they are. This is how corrupt Oceania's society is. The ones with the power and the voice have all the say and everyone else in the society follows and accepts. Everything is aseptic in Oceania. Also, there are no emotions since people are afraid of the surveillance on the street and the telescreens in their homes. The Thought police are everywhere, therefore,