The Power Of Language In 1984 By George Orwell

Orwell designed Newspeak to demonstrate the importance of language to ideas. Orwell thought literature was dying out, which he connected with dying language (Kazin 235). Language is not only the means by which an idea is expressed, but also the means by which an idea is thought. The purposes of Newspeak are to allow for the expression of thoughts Ingsoc deemed proper and make impossible the expression of thoughts Ingsoc deemed heretical (Kendrick 344). According to Orwell, control of thought follows control of language. The government in 1984 means to control the language, and

In this excerpt from 1984, by George Orwell, Winston Smith, a worker for the ministry of truth, has been caught for committing a thought crime and is being taken to room 101 for punishment. During the passage, Smith desperately tries to escape his punishment. Through the use of rhetorical devices such as repetition, imagery, and details, the tone of urgency is revealed

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

Throughout the story, you see the way that the pig, Squealer, gives information to the “lowly” animals. He tells them what the leading pig, Napoleon, wants them to know, but he tells it in a way that it seems they are benefitting. Squealer had a way of persuading the other animals to listen to him, through his actions and manipulation. “The best known among them was a small, fat pig named Squealer, with very round cheeks, twinkling eyes, nimble movements and a shrill voice. He was a brilliant talker, and when he was arguing some difficult point he had a way of skipping from side to side and whisking his tail, which was somehow very persuasive. The others said of Squealer that he could turn black to white.”

Tone Orwell creates a melancholic tone when he describes Winston’s thoughts after he goes against the Party. In the novel it states “He was already dead, he reflected” (27).The word dead has a negative connotation because it is usually associated with loss. In this passage the word “dead” has the connotation of lost hope.

“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.

The want to communicate with others is instinctual to all animals; communication is necessary to survive. As infants, humans coo, gurgle, and cry to communicate their immediate needs to their providers. However, the provider does not exactly know what their child needs, due to the child’s inability to explain their distress through words. As the child develops and learns to speak, this communication barrier is broken. Words, even in their most pure and basic form, are used for the sole purpose of expression. However, expressing oneself can have many goals and outcomes. In his treatise Rhetoric, Aristotle writes about using words to express one’s self for the sole purpose of persuading an audience. In his novel, 1984, George Orwell uses the

In the totalitarian society of Oceania, people are controlled in every possible way. Big Brother, the main leader, constantly uses persuasion and language to maintain power over the people. Newspeak, the language of the state, uses incomprehensible words to keep the thought of rebellion and freedom out of the minds of the people. For example, they remove all of the alternative words for things so that there is only one word you can use for each situation. This makes innovative thinking impossible, because people can't imagine anything different from what they know, so they are less likely to rebel. Thinking against the party is called 'thoughtcrimes’; the aim of the party is to eventually acquire complete control over people's thoughts so that

A form of communication called Newspeak is used in Oceania, which is a modified version of language that is enforced upon the people in order to limit their expression. These strict laws are set in Oceania, and must be followed; a group called by the people in Oceania. Therefore, when the governing system is not followed, Thought Police are used to prevent thoughts that oppose the nation, and to place fear into the citizens of Oceania. These several aspects in system of government in the novel 1984 have adequately prevented a large part of the people from thinking against it.

The Party uses Newspeak as a means to limit the ideas of the population in George Orwell’s 1984. Language holds a very strong position in both written and verbal communication. Stephen King recalls in his book On Writing that Amy Tan once said to him, “...no one ever asks about the language…” Language plays perhaps the most important role when it comes to human communication. The words one chooses to express a thought can greatly change how people interpret what they are trying to say. Choosing the right words to use is of great importance because choosing the wrong ones can lead to undesirable situations. At the same time, having access to an immense vocabulary of words is what allows communication to be so fluid, free, and precise. When

In the novel 1984, George Orwell displays the governments’ ideas towards dominating an abundant number of citizens. The destruction of words practiced in Oceania and its language of Newspeak guarantees mild phrases with hollow meanings. The Party uses Newspeak as manipulation by narrowing and reducing of words redundant thought in the existing English language by the government, resulting in a smaller range of vocabulary. The government, also known as the Party force the obliteration of traditional words and their significance. The party does not believe that their acts are unethical or immoral and therefore they seize to enforce the change of vocabulary in order to control the thoughts of the citizens of Oceania to prevent any rebellious thoughts.

Since without language thought is nearly impossible the party believes that by altering the language they can impose their untrue reality. They will be able to restrict it to the point that even a person’s thoughts are manipulated; things such as individualism and imagination will cease to exist. Which ultimately will give the Party total control over society. The newspeak engineer also goes on to state “ In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible because there will be no words in which to express it.” (55) This quote proves how vital control of language is to the party, it is the key to becoming a controlled state. By creating the element of Newspeak in 1984 Orwell is warning against the potential consequences of manipulating language to benefit people in power and how this can eventually lead to a totalitarian state.

A new language meant to replace Old English by the year 2050 and eventually eradicate diverse expression through thought. The sole purpose of newspeak is to “[cut] the language down to the bone” (49) and eliminate “nonessential” words. By shortening vocabulary, as said by Blakemore, “the Party’s linguistic thought is paradoxically anti-linguistic” (349). It believes by cutting down on vocabulary, the human thought process will be reduced as well. Orwell explains the basic concept of Newspeak as “narrow[ing] the range of thought…

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.

Hopelessness, deep and gaping ever lasting hopelessness. If the course of humanity fails to change, to this everyone will succumb. That is the message that George Orwell has left for the future, and it would be in humanity's best interest to heed. Winston Smith of 1984 lived in a world that had been consumed by the everlasting abyss of injustice. Eventually this world became too much for our hopeful protagonist and thus, like the future that is bound to a horrific fate, he succumbed. “It was like swimming against a current that swept you backwards however hard you struggled, and then suddenly deciding to turn round and go with the current instead of opposing it” (Orwell 248). No one in this world is any different than Winston, they will follow his path like all of those before them, following the five stages of Kübler-Ross. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance make up the cycle that every feeble life will follow and that Winston grew to know all too well.