It is no accident that the Founding Fathers of America made the First Amendment to the US Constitution to embody the idea that a free citizenry must have the right to express themselves freely. Freedom of speech and freedom of thought go hand-in-hand. Therefore, it is also no accident that in George Orwell’s 1984 novel, the government of Oceania created “Newspeak,” a government-mandated language aimed at curbing unsanctioned thoughts. In 1984, the political party uses this newly developed language to subliminally coerce civilians into submission and completely eradicate any chance of rebellion within the state. In Oceania, Newspeak is a method of manipulating civilians’ minds. In the book’s appendix, Orwell elaborates on the core principles of Newspeak, one of which is to make it “seldom possible [for civilians] to follow a heretical thought further than the perception that it was heretical” (Orwell 299). Similarly in chapter 5, Syme, someone who works for the government, admits to Winston the true intents of the Inner …show more content…
Telescreens are stationed practically everywhere and are intended to not only convey announcements to the public, but also to oversee activities happening throughout the state. The most prominent appearance of the telescreen is in chapter 10 of book two, when Winston and Julia were caught committing a thought crime. The moment they uttered the words “we are the dead” (Orwell 221) a voice sounded from behind a painting which hid a telescreen. They had been caught by the police. In the later chapters of the book, it was revealed that Winston had been watched since the beginning of his rebellious journey when he had written in his diary, though he knew that doing so was not tolerated. The punishment is that Winston and Julia are sent to prison where they are essentially forced to abide by the government’s ideas of what thoughts and words are