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Knowledge And Critical Thinking In George Orwell's 1984

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As a former President of the United States and a Founding Father, James Madison believed liberty is an institution that must be protected by knowledge and critical thinking. Without knowledge, people become pawns and rely on more insightful people for instruction. George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, depicts a liberty-deprived, totalitarian society. The novel illustrates the importance of accurate information and critical thinking as the authoritarian government deprives its citizens of their right to the truth in order to control them. Knowledge is power. In order for for a democracy to flourish, its citizens must remain knowledgeable. The people must have access to unbiased and accurate news, so they can participate in the democracy by
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846 Words | 4 Pages

If a government no longer promotes furthering one’s wisdom, as in 1984 and “Harrison Bergeron”, they are essentially removing a person’s ability to advance in society and their predisposition to question authoritative figures who have compromised morals. Orwell and Vonnegut both prove that if a government possesses the power to limit the extend of a person's knowledge that government no longer has to worry about the population becoming an organized force. Furthermore the use of not only psychological manipulation, but in addition, physical torture are, by both governments, implemented as ways to control its citizens. For instance in 1984 any citizen who oppose the government are threatened with being vaporized, in other words completely being erased from history.

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498 Words | 2 Pages

In pages 166-167 in part 2, chapter 7 of George Orwell’s 1984, he uses diction and imagery in order to create an earnest tone to vividly illustrate Winston’s love for Julia. In this passage, Orwell creates an earnest tone by using diction in order to show Winston’s affection for Julia. In this section of the book, Winston and Julia are discussing what they would do if they were caught by the Thought Police. Winston says that they will try to break them and force a confession out of them, however, he says that the only thing that really matters is that they should not “betray one another” (Orwell 166).

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504 Words | 3 Pages

During 1984 by George Orwell, the main character, Winston, yearns to remember what life was like before ‘the Party’ took over. However, as the government has brainwashed people and begun to control their minds, Winston finds himself unable to remember or have any proof regarding the truth about the past. In this particular passage, Winston reflects on how the party controls everyone, seemingly hopeless about ever knowing the truth instead of being controlled by the Party. He considers how ‘the Party’ possesses the capability to turn any lie into the truth, just because of the fact that they are the governing force in the society, and they declare how people should think. As people’s minds are what shape our world, when the government controls people’s minds, the government ultimately shapes the world.

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404 Words | 2 Pages

The word humanity refers to the human race as a whole and the qualities that make us human, such as the ability to love and have compassion. In our modern world, we take human nature for granted, but in George Orwell’s 1984, he shows us a society in which there is no humanity, and those that fight for it die trying. The totalitarian government, known as the Party, uses isolation, fear, and lies to destroy the humanity in their citizens and maintain absolute power over Oceania.

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Joseph Goebbels once said,”Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident they are acting on their freewill”. This statement is proven to be true in 1984. The author, George Orwell, creates a fictional dystopian society in which the population is manipulated into thinking they live in a great world, whereas the government has full control over them. In 1984, George Orwell’s prime message, supported by the article called Liberty in North Korea by Hae Re, was the lack of individualism gives power to the applicable leader, which is conveyed using the characters speech and symbolism. Orwell’s dystopian society showed the author 's message through what a character was saying and symbolism.

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1789 Words | 8 Pages

News is how we learn about what is happening around us. In our communities, in our country, and throughout the world. We rely on newspapers, radio, television, and online sources to give us the facts about the news. We expect to be informed of situations, and not swayed by the bias of those reporting this information. In a perfect world, we would be given the facts at face value, but unfortunately, the news we are given are heavily stained with biases and other manipulative techniques to sway our view point.

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Totalitarian governments have consistently been searching for a method to obtain absolute power. It took Stalin years to find a system powerful enough to keep the people repressed until his downfall of the USSR. Hitler’s ideas were strong enough to maintain power for roughly ten years before he became to greedy. The required manner achieve power, to the extent of absolute control, is known to the party. The awareness of what needs to be done is the single distinguisher from past totalitarian governments that the party holds.

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Sex creates an extremely exclusive bond between two individuals; it’s an unspoken contract of trust and love. Not only are sexual experiences private, but they also fulfill humanity’s instinctual desire and promote individuality. However, when this intimacy is either erased or condemned by society, individuals lose touch with that vital part of their humanity and individuality. In 1984 by George Orwell, sexuality plays an important role in both Oceania’s totalitarian government and Winston’s rebellion against his oppressors; as he explores his sexuality, Winston revolts against the Party’s manipulative political control, the destruction of individuality, the absence of human connection, and the practice of sexual puritanism.

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798 Words | 4 Pages

George Orwell is a well-known and respected author from the 20th century. 1984 is one of Orwell's’ most famous and controversial books, being banned in schools around the United States due to political conflict, as well as sexual content. The book is about a character named Winston who lives in a society where the government is modeled as one person (Big Brother) and is the leader of the people. Big Brother controls the people's thoughts, actions, and the society in which they live in. Everyone is under constant surveillance and the nation is involved in an ongoing war.

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“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge” - Stephen Hawking. People tend to believe they know more than they really do. They turn to the news, books, music, or even art to learn about the world surrounding them. What people don’t understand is everything you learn from the media is being told by another person just like yourself. Someone with feelings and emotions and most likely a different opinion and agenda than most people.

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1404 Words | 6 Pages

The idea of freedom in 1984 In modern politics, we are very accustomed to word such as “fake news.” Politicians use statistics and make statements that are not based in any facts, present them as hard evidence for their stances, and watch as people instantly believe what they say, simply because they are in a position of power. That is why George Orwell’s novel, 1984, is more relevant today than it ever has been before. In the past, people have viewed this novel as simply a story, a different look at how history could have been changed.

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Fahad Alrebdi Mr. John Smallwood ENG4U September 6, 2014 Julia and Winston In Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell presents the protagonist, Winston Smith and his lover Julia in Oceania, under the rule of Big Brother. Under this totalitarian regime, both characters are Party members. Winston works in the Records department of the Ministry of Truth while Julia works in the Fiction department of the Ministry of Truth.

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1563 Words | 7 Pages

Language and thought were always seen as two different processes, where thought was always taken as the main process. Language was just seen as means of communication, a process of expressing our thoughts to other people, and so, a thought came first, which means that language was developed as that thought was put to words. But then, we later realized that the way a person speaks affects the way they think, and that people of different languages think in different ways. That is why in George Orwell’s 1984, the INGSOC Party used language to manipulate and eradicate personal thought for political purposes; they developed a new language called Newspeak, with the intention and aim of obtaining total control and make any other thought impossible. The Party’s replacement of Oldspeak by Newspeask made many thought words impossible and was therefore used as a mechanism of control.

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878 Words | 4 Pages

In 1984, George Orwell writes about a dystopian society called Oceania with a totalitarian government. Winston, the main character, is an Outer Party member and works for the government who is under the rule of “Big Brother” and the Inner Party. The Party’s purpose is to rule Oceania with absolutism and have control over its citizens by using propaganda, censorship, and the brainwashing of children. Today, many modern-day countries use these techniques to maintain their power including: North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Nazi Germany. First, North Korea and Oceania use propaganda to encourage patriotism to make themselves look better to citizens in order to keep a totalitarian rule.

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1539 Words | 7 Pages

Our history or our past is what defines our existence in the present. It decides what measures we should take to safeguard our future. Through history we identify with who we are, where we come from and what defines us as a person. Take our history away from us and we are left alienated and confined to a world that is meaningless. George Orwell 's novel 1984 is a 20th century political novel, that depicts a dystopian society built on a totalitarian ideology.

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