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Persuasive Essay On George Orwell's 1984

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Imagine if the past was always changing to fit the views and morals of current society. What if we wrote every bad event out of textbooks to appear more progressive. That seems crazy because as a society, we can’t deny the past because it’s what formed our culture, our morals, and values. But, in 1984 by George Orwell, that’s a reality. Winston, a man who works for the government, or the Party as it’s called in the book, has the job of editing historic documents to fit the Party’s agenda. Winston becomes disenchanted by the Party’s ways of maintaining control over the people of Oceania by feeding the citizens propaganda so that they will mindlessly follow whatever the Party says is true. Therefore, Winston begins to doubt the party because of their destruction of the past and its events, ruining people's ability to think and be independent. …show more content…

They implemented what is called “Newspeak”, reducing the number of words available for use. Winston realizes “the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought mak[ing] thoughtcrime literally impossible” (Orwell 52). Winston believes that thought should be free, and if the government is criminalizing and limiting thought, there will be no room for change in society. People can’t demand change if they don’t have the language to do so, saying something is Ungood really doesn’t have the same impact as saying something is bad. Winston sees the implementation of newspeak as a way to control the population and get them to sit down and shut up because there is no way for them to speak out when the official language they speak is created and curated to prevent that. Winston is also of the opinion that the destruction of the past is not a healthy or safe way for Oceania to operate because he knows that the moment we stop learning about the past is the moment history begins to repeat

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Winston’s explanation of the Party and these beliefs illustrates the corruption they experience for they are unable to think for themselves and are forced to accept whatever they are told to believe. Orwell uses diction to convey a theme of totalitarianism

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Winston’s duties consist of editing and rewriting history with respect to the announcement of Oceania’s new enemy. Wiston is not bothered by his lying in furtherance of The Party’s goals, but is genuinely proud of taking part in society. This furthers the power of manipulation that The Party has because it convinces Winston that he was doing a good deed rather than promoting lies to the people. This manipulation is promoted more frequently throughout this novel is eventually accepted when Winston ends the novel saying, “He had won the victory over himself. He loved

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In 1984, written by George Orwell, the past is seen or portrayed to be a very crucial part of the understanding of the novel. A few examples that illustrate this theme of the past are Winston's job as a records editor at the Ministry of Truth, O'Brien destroying the photograph of three one-time party members, and the use of Telescreens. Winston's occupation entails the destruction of past records, which solidifies the theme of purging the past in the novel. One example of this is demonstrated when Winston is describing the Records Department. He says, “the records department, after all, was itself only a single branch of the Ministry of Truth, whose primary job was not to reconstruct the past but to supply the citizens of Oceania with newspapers, films, textbooks, Telescreen programs, plays, novels- with every conceivable kind of information.”

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Winston has an imaginative mind and later in the book he claims that the “power that would one day overturn the world” lies “in the proles”. He feels that the fate of the Party would lie in their hands and “when their time came, the world they constructed would not be just as alien to him” since “at the least it would be a world of sanity” (220). Winston expresses one of his heroic qualities through displaying his vision for the good of

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Winston and Julia sticking together is the most important thing because it shows who they are. They are in love with each other and they are the only thing either of them has going for them because of the life they live. If they did betray each other then they both would go down for the crimes they committed and so does anyone else they know that knows about there crimes. Not confessing is also important because it shows that they are human and care for each other. "If you feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can't have any results whatever, you've beaten them" (Orwell 166).

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In 1984, “The Party,” their system of government, uses media manipulation to rewrite history. They change people’s perception of the past by changing the story of history, just like with Eurasia and Eastasia. Winston, the protagonist of 1984, works for The Party by rewriting articles including one that reads “Oceania was at war with Eastasia: Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia. A large

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In Winston’s believes, liberation is an entity hidden behind a mist of futility, an endless cycle of failed uprisings caused by the insolence of the general masses. The cycle also represents the situation that Winston finds himself within, regardless of his awareness he is still paralyzed by the irrational animalistic instinct to cower in fear of the party’s promised punishment. Resulting in his apathy towards revolution which causes him to abstain from any true revolutionary undertaking; as a result, the cycle of despair continues infinitely. Moreover, the paradox may highlight the extent of Winston’s indoctrination by the party. Winston views the revolution as fantastical due to the Proles oblivious nature, which is an assumption that is made by Winson as a result of party propaganda, which states that all “proles and animals are free”.

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With the Party’s propaganda and absolute control, the people of Oceania no longer have a memory of the past; however, the paperweight is beautiful and purposeless, which is a great representation of the goods in the previous time. Thus, Winston hopes he could get in touch with the past by having this paperweight which comes from the past. Under the control of the Party, it is almost impossible to get anything from the past like this paperweight, that is why the paperweight attracts Winston so much. Also, the paperweight represents Winston’s hope in rebelling against the Party, which is beautiful and useless. It is commonly believed that Winston desires to reconnect with the past because he dreams the past is like the secret world in the paperweight which has happiness and freedom rather than the government’s control.

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Winston reflects back on how the party alters the history of the country: “the lie passed into history and became truth” (Orwell 34). Although Winston knows that Oceania and Eurasia were in alliance before, he also believes that they did not have an actual alliance because of what the Party imposes onto the citizens’ memories of the past. Orwell’s use of the word “passed” possibly shows that the lies they create can easily to history and be masked as the truth. It can be inferred that Winston now knows exactly how the party paralyzes anyone from actual thinking, which is by changing the history.

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“In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face (to look incredulous when a victory was announced, for example) was itself a punishable offense (Orwell 60).” Governments should never reach this level of control over their citizens. Controlling the facial expressions of your people by threatening them with punishment is overstepping your boundaries as a government. Governments like the one in North Korea and the government in 1984 by George Orwell are guilty of this. However, governments should not give their citizens complete freedom.

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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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Most people have taken a history course at some point in their life. They walk into class, take notes on the lecture, and study for an exam. No one ever questions if the information they are receiving has been altered from the truth. They memorize the data they have learned, then pass it on to others. How is everyone so sure the information we read in textbooks is true?

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They say a child is easier to influence than an adult; do you know why that is? A child is like a blank slate, uninformed of anything , therefore malleable contrary to an adult. 1984 is a dystopian novel written by George Orwell. The most convenient way to keep the population in check is by having an uninformed proletariat; reasons being that the proletariat cannot unite, they become easier to manipulate, and it is easiest course of action. If a person does not know an idea exists, then he cannot execute that idea.

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“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter”.-George Washington. Although the dystopian world of George Orwell 's 1984 does not have any laws, it doesn 't make it free. People are constantly being monitored by telescreens and their own children, they are punished for even thinking something remotely negative or expressing emotions, and they are brainwashed into thinking that their oppressors are helping them and giving them more than what they need. Freedom is having the ability to think for yourself and express your opinions. First of all the people in 1984 are constantly being monitored by telescreens and even their own children.

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George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four depicts a dystopian totalitarian society and explores the interlinking concepts of time, memory and history through the examination of the ability to manipulate by censoring information and via propaganda. It also examines the power of memory and history in influencing and controlling people’s lives. This essay will explore these themes through the disillusioned protagonist Winston and his life under dictator rule. In the novel the Party controls every aspect of their citizen’s lives. They tell them what to think, how to behave and who to love all through the help of the Ministries of Truth, Peace and Love.

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