Doublethink
George Orwell’s novel 1984 is a famous dystopian novel set in a place called Oceania. Oceania is under the control of Big Brother the represented leader of the nation. Big Brother rules Oceania with an “all seeing eye” approach that keeps all of the citizens in line. The government closely resembles a totalitarian rule but with even more restrictions that are unimaginable. Big Brother’s surveillance is so intense it could even control an individual's thoughts and ideas. All of the surveillance is in practice to keep the people’s attitude pure and loyal to the party. The novel follows a middle aged character named Winston Smith. Winston is a citizen living in this totalitarian government and is under 24 hour surveillance just like every other person who lives in Oceania. With all this mind control and brainwashing Winston believes there is something more. Winston understands and undermines all of the compelling aspects to the twisted government he lives in. Aspects such as the language that is spoken and forced upon. The way surveillance is set up in every person’s room so they can be watched and heard at all times. Every now and then the party broadcasts propaganda on the television that almost everyone watches called “hate period”. Also the party even controls history and information collected from before the take over of Big Brother. The more important idea presented though is “Doublethink” it enables the party to control all of these aspects presented. The most important premise to understand is the simplicity of Newspeak and the controlling aspect of Doublethink is what keeps the possibility of rebellion or disobedience to a minimum.
Newspeak was created to keep emotions out of the civilians vocabulary so ther...
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...nk is used to turn Winston against Julia and lose his battle against Big Brother. With Doublethink they made Winston believe and accept false accusations made against him.
However the newspeak language leaves out the meaning of what words truly express. Without the use of expressive words people won’t be able to function properly. In the end this should be Ingsoc’s failure. The society will grow to the point where everyone would be confined to obeying Big Brothers every command. Without the freedom of affection the people of Oceania will become depressed and inefficient for the community. Also Doublethink leaves room for the peoples curiosity to find the truth like the how Winston Smith wanted.
Works Cited
"Doublethink - George Orwell."netcharles. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2014
Orwell, George . "Principles of Newspeak." Principles of Newspeak. N.p., n.d. Web. 20