“War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength.” (4) Language can be viewed as a creator of power because of the Party’s manipulative slogans, Winston’s journaling, as well as the Party changing history. These ideas and manifestations have brought manipulation, as well as drive for furthering one’s hidden intentions. The Party’s assertion of distraction and manipulation gives a false sense of security to the proles, because it ensures that the proles remain content with their lives and do not challenge the status quo. The Party’s manipulation of depicting the “people and animals a[s] free” (72) serves as a distraction, diverting attention away from the oppressive regime of the Party. By portraying the proles as free, the Party …show more content…
As he asks the old man in chapter 8, he feels “A sense of helplessness [that] took hold of [himself]. The old man’s memory was nothing but a rubbish heap of details,” (92) which displays Winston’s sense of desperation to figure out whether life was truly better or not before the revolution. Although the old man is unable to give a clear answer, Winston yet again repeats himself again as he questions if he did not make himself clear, to which the old man gives an unclear answer to his original question. Winston’s response to the old man's responses displays Winston’s ignorance as the old man answers his question. Although the old man doesn’t provide a straightforward answer, the old man answers in simplicity, giving Winston a lens to see what life was like before the revolution. Although Winston was ignorant of the old man’s answers, he will still be aware of his answers, and gain further knowledge about the past, as knowledge is