Examples Of Doublethink In 1984

Doublethink

In 1984 by George Orwell, the Party uses doublethink in order to maintain total totalitarian control over the thoughts and actions of their citizens. By incorporating doublethink into their slogans the party consolidates their power. It guarantees that civilians internalize and truly believe in the “truths” they present even if they are completely illogical. The active acceptance of the Party’s ideology suppresses individuality and consciousness. Many eerie echoes of this can be found in Modern war propaganda and government action.

War is Peace:
The first slogan the party uses is, “WAR IS PEACE.” (6) The concept of war cannot exist within a peaceful society. However, the party uses these juxtapositions in order to establish that

The party makes all the decisions for the citizens thus freeing them from the burden of choice. Through this they are able to manipulate their citizens into conformity. Even in today’s policies we can see the echo of this idea that the government should be the one to choose things that affect the citizens. People are given the illusion of choice. In 1984 the Party views their truths as the only way to achieve freedom. However, it is evident that true freedom is the ability and capacity to say, “two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.” (103) according to Winston. To believe in objective reality is not something the Party wants, their citizens need to accept only their truth as real. If the party claims that 2+2=17 people would be obliged to believe and accept this as the truth. Winston claims that true freedom will lie in believing factual statements and not giving the party the power to churn reality and facts to their will. When he says “all else follows” it signifies that if one accepts this simple fact as true then they’ll eventually be led to other statements and assertions that allow them to be an independent mind from the party. The party won’t be able to deny or convince them that what they know is false if they can factually and logically say that 2+2=4 without

By limiting the amount of information their civilians have the party is able to make them believe whatever they want. They believe that by having people only know what is necessary then they won’t be able to dissent. The limitation of education in Oceania also makes it extremely easy for the party to oppress conformists rather than people who acknowledge the faults of the Party. This can be especially evident in the lives of the proles. The proles will never be able to rebel “until they become conscious” but at the same time “until after they have rebelled, they cannot become conscious.” (47) The meaning of “conscious(ness)” in this context is an implicit awareness of the nature of the Party. Through this Winston reveals a paradoxical relationship between rebellion and consciousness, one cannot exist without the presence of the other. By withholding information and “control(ing) the past” and “the future” (34) the Party essentially prevents individual autonomy through the restriction of thought. If the proles have no control over the future, as it’s evident that the Party has totalitarian control over the past, they have no way to determine what is true for themselves. They are left with only the Party to tell them what the truth is. By doing this the party prevents the large majority of them from ever becoming “conscious” and thus completely eradicating the threat of