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Abuse Of Power In 1984 By George Orwell

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Step into the dystopian world of George Orwell's 1984 and witness the chilling consequences of a government's absolute power over its citizens. The government is named the Inner Party, ruling over Oceania, known as present-day England. The Inner Party rules through a figurehead named Big Brother. The main character Winston Smith belongs to the Outer Party and is the only person who sees past the Party's lies. The Inner Party legitimized its control of the Outer Party through surveillance which instilled fear and paranoia among the people in the Outer Party. Another way they validated their power was by limiting speech and thoughts to make the people conform to them. One of the many tactics that the Party uses is surveillance. Telescreens and …show more content…

The Party has erased all recollection of history. They can change the past to control the future. Syme, who was a coworker of Winston, talks about how "the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought[.] In the end, [the Outer Party] shall make thoughtcrime impossible because there will be no words in which to express it" (Orwell, 67). The Party's intentions shine through this quote. They intend to limit the range of thought and expression through Newspeak by eliminating words and concepts that could be used to express independent thought.The Party can validate their power and control of the Outer Party through censorship and limiting speech and thoughts. O'Brien, a person who holds an administrative position in the Ministry of Truth, informs Winston that "the Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power" (Orwell 332). The Party's ultimate goal of gaining and maintaining power requires limiting speech and thought. By limiting speech and thought, the Party can create a culture of conformity in which people are discouraged. By eliminating such words, the Party hoped to make it impossible for people to think rebellious thoughts, ensuring their control over the Outer

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This example explains the goals of Newspeak as a whole. Even in the future of the party the slogans and news will change to where only a few words will be needed to explain anything. This next quote goes in deeper about how old speak will in longer exist in the future. “"By 2050, earlier, probably – all real knowledge of Oldspeak will have disappeared. The whole literature of the past will have been destroyed.

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The Party, the totalitarian government in the novel, uses Newspeak to manipulate those living in Oceania. By eliminating most words from standard English, known as Oldspeak in the novel, the Party prevents Party members from committing thoughtcrime, or thinking beliefs that go against the Party. One of the constructors for the latest Newspeak dictionary, Syme, explains it by stating

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In the dystopian society of 1984, the people, separated by class, are all under the Party’s monitor. Telescreens, microphones, Big Brother posters, and the lack of privacy are common to all classes. Through these advanced technologies, the Party not only prevents rebellious actions, but they also deprive society of individual thought. In 1984, fear, punishment, and the deprivation of privacy are the controlling methods of cruelty that the Party utilizes to assert complete dominance and force both mental and physical obedience among the proles, Outer Party, and Inner party.

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Winston also had a secret notebook that he would write down his thoughts in which was not allowed by the party. Those who were younger than Winston had no memory of what life was like prior to the Party. The party's role on their people may be seen as irrational authority. Fromm gives an example of irrational authority when he writes, “The interest of a slave and master are antagonistic, because what is advantageous to one is detrimental to the other” ( Fromm 577). This is exactly what is happening between the party and the people.

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The surveillance the Party perpetrates on its citizens functions as a way to control the thoughts of people to maintain their control. For example, almost every area in Oceania, or Airstrip One, has a telescreen. These

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Without history on their side, doubts about the party would fester and eventually an uprising would topple big brother. This false history has become real for the people of the party. "The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth. " (1984, pg 95). Anyone who knew the real history of the world had been silenced by the party.

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In the 1984 society , people are purposely left to feel alone to make them fear getting caught by the Party. Although many people commit thoughtcrime, they will remain silent because they know the consequences of engaging in rebellion. This constant source of fear holds the community together and manipulates people’s thought processes. The government often leaves the people

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What this is saying is in order to stay in power, they have to manipulate the records of the past. That is actually one of Winston’s jobs as a follower of the Party. There was an instance when a person turned on the Party and was soon erased from history. Winston and others went back into official documents such as speeches and literally deleted the officer. By controlling the past this way, they control the future.

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George Orwell’s 1984 has resonated with many who have experienced first-hand what life is like under a dictator. The novel describes how everything is controlled and monitored by the government and how even mere thoughts can be detected by ThoughtPolice. Readers get to experience Oceania’s system of ruling through the eyes of an Outer Party member, Winston Smith. At first, Winston is adamant to destroy The Party and its figurative leader Big Brother, but eventually is captured and converted into a lover of Oceania’s system of government. Children, although not playing a significant role in this book, are mentioned as devious little spies.

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The party believe that destroying words will inevitably prevent power from slipping through their fingers. Values such as ‘honour, integrity, morality, etc’ cease to exist. In chapter five, Syme explains to Winston, “We’re cutting the language down to the bone. Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year”. Through this quote, it is easy to interpret that ‘Newspeak’ is merely used to restrict the freedom of expression.

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As a result, the people have very little capacity to rebel against the Party with regards to other concepts and subject areas, as they do not have the relevant words which allow them to think rationally and to articulate themselves clearly to others. Additionally, the Party is able to manipulate the way in which the people conceive reality, by making use of principles such as “doublethink” and “duckspeak”. With all these methods, the Party is able to control and make the people submissive to itself, thus allowing it to maintain its rule and authority. Essay In George Orwell’s novel, “Nineteen Eighty-Four”, the Party implements a restrictive language known as “Newspeak”, in order to manipulate and diminish the personal thoughts of the people.

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