1984 Language Analysis

599 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: An essay about the book george orwell in 1984

What would happen today if we began changing all of our history books? In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, that is exactly what takes place. The novel begins with a middle aged man, Winston Smith. Winston lives in Oceania, a dystopian society, where the Party controls everything. This includes what people in such society think, believe, see, and say. Can one believe that the destruction of language and the past can be used as tools to manipulate people into believing anything? The answer is yes, the destruction of language and what occurred in the past can be used as tools to make people believe anything and everything. The destruction of language and the past is used to show positive images within the government. In addition, society is forced and limited to speak one language. Finally, …show more content…

The Party created the Ministry of Truth to reconstruct media and literature from the past and present. The Ministry then provides information to the people that portrays a positive image of the government. Orwell states, “And the Ministry had not only to supply the multifarious needs of the Party, but also to repeat the whole operation at a lower level for the benefit of the proletariat” (43). Thus, the Party gives forth information primarily to benefit themselves and to portray a positive outlook. Additionally, the people of Oceania are limited to speak one language. The official language of Oceania is Newspeak. Newspeak was essentially created to make thought crimes unachievable and to lower the vocabulary of oneself. “...the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it” (Orwell 52). In addition, there is a limited amount of vocabulary for the people of Oceania to use, which lowers their thought process and limits the people to a one track

Show More
Related

  • 1984 Summer Assignment

    1093 Words  | 3 Pages

    Big Brother - Big Brother is the enigmatic dictator of Oceania. In the society that Orwell describes, everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities. The people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase "Big Brother is watching you", which is the core "truth" of the propaganda system in this state. In the novel, it is unclear if Big Brother is a man or an image crafted by the Party. In a book supposedly written by the rebel Emmanuel Goldstein, it is stated that nobody has ever seen Big Brother. His function is to act as a focusing point for love, fear, and reverence.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Video Mother Tongues: Languages Around the World (2007)

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    The next section of the film goes into the language families of Oceania: Papuan, Austronesian and Australian. These languages were spread throughout the region by seafarers over thousands of years. The diverse languages that make up this region are an excellent example of how languages developed into unique forms because of lost contact. These languages are roughly a quarter of the world’s languages but barely make up a tenth of the worlds population. Papua New guinea alone for example has more than 800 languages. One-fourth of all the world's languages are Austronesian, but the languages from this family are spoken by less than one per...

    Read More

  • 1984 By George Orwell

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    community that the Party has thrown away and disgraced. The official language of Oceania is Newspeak which shortens the vocabulary instead of expanding it.

    Read More

  • 1984 Should Be Banned Essay

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    Orwell reveals how ignorant people are due to Big Brother erasing history. In the beginning of the novel, the main character’s job is describe to be rewriting history, “By 2050, earlier. Probably- all real knowledge of old speak will have disappeared. The whole literature of the past will have been destroyed.” (Orwell pg.65) Literature such as Shakespeare will be destroyed due to the government’s censorship rules. 1984 is ban by the government in Russia, thus readers know that if government can censor this book, imagine what else the government can block. Later on in the novel, Winston explains to O’Brien about what will happen to history, “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” (Orwell pg. 313) Throughout history, it is obvious that our

    Read More

  • 1984 Synthesis Essay

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    Living through the war and its enormous political shifts, Eric Blair was a figure whose pessimism was significantly impacted by the postwar period. But what was born of Blair was a more significant person known as George Orwell, who challenged the political views of his time by writing 1984, which stands as one of the most powerful political novels of the Modernist era written to expose the horrors of totalitarianism and impact the political thinking of the 20th Century.

    Read More

  • Catch 22 Language Analysis

    1596 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nothing is ever as simple as it first appears. Because many people take great pride in the army and those who serve in it, the description of the army in Catch 22 has made the novel vulnerable to much criticism. In Catch 22, the army is portrayed as a bureaucratic system, and Joseph Heller has changed the perception of the army in the eyes of readers. The idea of keeping the army in the war depicts the evil nature of army commanders, therefore those who praise the army and its people have created the argument that the language used in Catch 22 is ludicrous and disrespectful, leading to the idea that the novel should be banned. However, the

    Read More

  • Example Of Individualism In 1984

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    Just changing a few small items in history can alter human belief. By constantly feeding the people fraudulent information and hiding the truth, the Party can get the people to believe almost anything; eventually leading to complete dominance over the mind. Orwell argues that society is completely oblivious to the constraints that are involved in everyday life. There is no individual in society and everyone remains the same. “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?”

    Read More

  • 1984 Argument

    592 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel 1984 by George Orwell can be viewed as prophetic or, at the very least, a logical extension of some governments’ control in Orwell’s time. The story is about a middle class man, Winston Smith is a low-ranking member of a ruling Party in London, Oceania. Everywhere, even in individual homes, the Party watches its people through telescreens; a television with a camera inside. Everywhere he looks he sees the face of Big Brother, the Party’s omniscient leader. The Party controls everything in Oceania, even the history and language. The Party is introducing the implementation of an invented language called Newspeak, which prevents rebellion by eliminating all words related to it. Even thinking unorthodox thoughts is a treachery to the government. Such “thoughtcrime” is the worst of all transgressions (sparknote.com).

    Read More

  • Dangers of Totalitarianism in Orwell's 1984

    1586 Words  | 4 Pages

    The government also aims to remove any possibility of a rebellious thought by inventing Newspeak. Newspeak is a language set to replace English as Oceania?s official language around the year 2050, because many texts and manuals have to be translated from ?Oldspeak?, or English. Using Newspeak, humans are unable to expand their thinking and knowledge. Rather, instead of inventing a language to extend the limits of human thought, Newspeak shrinks it until it is just enough to grasp ...

    Read More

  • George Orwell’s 1984 and Stalin’s Russia

    2134 Words  | 5 Pages

    In doing this, the Political Party is in complete control over the citizens’ minds, blasting what they want each individual to think (Orwell, 6). They psychologically stimulate each individuals mind, limiting their ability to think and have a mind of their own. In a similar way, Stalin’s created “The Poster” and The Pravda (the Russian newspaper controlled by the government during Joseph Stalin’s regime) to twist and manipulate the minds of people into believing that what they were saying was absolutely right and true. Using this power, Stalin and his regime would get people to do anything for them. (Basgen, 2010).

    Read More

  • Desdemona's Language Analysis

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the play “Othello”, by William Shakespeare, the characters are given unique, consistent traits that are portrayed through each of their dialogues. Shakespeare bequeaths each one of his characters with their own language. All of the character’s sole forms of language are generated for a specific purpose in the play. The distinctive traits given to each one of their languages are understated yet still complex. One character in particular that demonstrates this complexity is Desdemona. She has a consistent pattern and idiosyncrasy of using strong nouns when referring to Othello.

    Read More

  • Psychological Manipulation in 1984

    1923 Words  | 4 Pages

    Psychological manipulation the Party uses on the citizens is one of the first themes Orwell exposes in this dystopian society. The Party maintains this manipulation by constantly overwhelming citizens with useless information and propaganda.

    Read More

  • Dystopian Literature Essay

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Ministry of Truth ensures that the people of Oceania believe what is told on the telescreens by showing propaganda that portrays what has been said as true. All four ministries do the opposite of their names. For instance, the Ministry of Truth tells lies, the Ministry of Peace causes war, the Ministry of Plenty causes starvation, and the Ministry of Love tortures people (Orwell 4). To emphasize the irony behind it all, the Ministry of Truth's motto is "War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Ignorance Is Strength." As part of teaching people to hate freedom and other things that would not be allowed in their "perfect" society, they have Hate Week.

    Read More

  • 1984 Analysis

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    The idea of the future has been explored for as long as writers have been writing. The interesting concept about the future is that it will always remain a mystery. The future is always changing and never ending. In George Orwell’s 1984, Orwell ruminates on his thoughts and ideas of what the future will be like. Orwell wrote the book around 1950 during the writing era of postmodernism. Postmodernist books often expressed thoughts of the future, as well as other themes. 1984 describes the future as a place where the Party has taken over and controls everything and everyone. The residents of Oceania have no control over their bodies, their relationships, or even their thoughts. Oceania is a place of war and control. The protagonist in 1984 is a middle-aged man named Winston. Winston is one of the only living people who realize that the party is changing the facts, and he wants to do something about it (Orwell). Winston deals with the struggles of hiding from the law and who to trust. In 1984, George Orwell uses the themes of physical and mental control, forbidden love, and a “big brother” figure to exhibit characteristics of postmodernism.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Animal Farm By George Orwell

    1774 Words  | 4 Pages

    “When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself ‘I am going to produce a work of art.’ I write because there is some lie I want to expose and some fact I want to draw attention to.” George Orwell investigated themes of power, totalitarianism and leadership in relation to Marxist theories throughout his novels yet seemed to direct them at a range of audiences. Investigate the extent to which Orwell alters his communication of the lies he wishes to expose and how they are conveyed to the reader through literary devices. Literature is an essential part of society in the present day and enables the communication between multiple parties in a written form.

    Read More

More about 1984 Language Analysis

Open Document