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Examples Of Doublethink In George Orwell's 1984

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Could a world where a God of power is worshiped-and men are malleable through fear, hatred, and cruelty ever exist? In order to comprehend the world of George Orwell’s 1984, one must be able to grasp the significance behind the idea of doublethink, in the structure of society in Oceania and our own. The Newspeak(a new “politically correct” language that focuses on limiting vocabulary and erasing independent thought.) word doublethink focuses on believing two contradicting ideas to both be true. As Orwell defines it, doublethink is “ to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them,”(Orwell p.176). Conclusively, doublethink is a cognitive technique that allows the user to bypass their conscience by conscious deception and allows them to continue with the justification of honesty. To …show more content…

However, the beauty of doublethink transcends just its psychological uses in mind control and economical uses in expressing falsified data to control people in 1984 and delves into the realm of metaphysics and philosophy. Orwell's references a great deal of other philosophies including Solipsism, Idealism, Eternalism, Presentism and The Brain in a Jar. While each has its own uses, Presentism and Eternalism are key to the existence 1984. Presentism argues that the past and the future are imagined concepts, while only the present is real. Whereas, Eternalism (the exact opposite of presentism)states that all time exists simultaneously(or is multilayered), but the measurement is determined by the observer. I cannot think of a better example than this, since each theory is completely true of 1984. For nothing exist except the present, yet the opposite is also true in that it can only be determined by the observer and in Oceania there is only one observer the

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George Orwell Contradictions In 1984

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In Oceania there are four ministries, Ministry of Truth, Peace, Love, and Plenty. Winston works in the records department of the Ministry of Truth, his job involves “revising” and “fixing” records in newspapers to uphold the Party’s rendition of the past. He is agitated by this control of history, for example the Party claims that they are allies with Eastasia and at war with Eurasia, but what Winston remembers is the opposite. This contradiction is referred to in Newspeak as doublethink which is “the act of holding, simultaneously, two opposite, individually exclusive ideas or opinions and believing in both simultaneously and absolutely.” Winston does not want to live in a society with a prohibitive government.

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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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Rhetorical Devices Used In 1984 By George Orwell

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Throughout the twentieth century, many authors wrote their perspectives on the world’s future. Novels such as Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley told of realities in which governments took extreme approaches to take control of its citizens’ lives, but a particularly alarming publication was George Orwell’s 1984. Written near the start of the Cold War in 1949, which saw the massive proliferation of nuclear arms and expansion of governments that polarized the globe into an East and a West, Orwell depicts what could happen if citizens allowed their governments to continue this power grab unchecked (Bossche). He uses rhetoric to recreate abstract concepts in the world’s dysfunctional political system as tangible entities in the plot.

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Examples Of Doublethink In 1984

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In the book 1984 the idea of doublethink is for a person to believe in two very different idea and to think that both of the the ideas are true. The Party has created the idea of doublethink so that they would be able to control Oceania. Doublethink is essential to the Party because it control the citizens of Oceania. The Party use doublethink to brainwash all the citizens and to make them believe in all the information that they what that citizen to believe instead of information in reality “doublethink the mutability of the past and denial of objective reality and to use Newspeak words”(page 196). The Party has also given the people of Oceania information that might have become useful for things the Party are trying to do, but when the Party

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Individuals suspected of committing thoughtcrimes were detained, subjected to torture, and often murdered by the Thought Police. The Thought Police monitored residents' thoughts and actions through surveillance and psychological manipulation. “There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.” (5) The central protagonist of 1984, Winston Smith, was too afraid to look at the telescreen that would be watching him.

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In the world of George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, the totalitarian regime of one of the three superstates, Oceania, was known as “The Party” . In order for “The Party” to constantly maintain complete control of the minds of the party members, they instituted principles such as “doublethink” (as described in this quotation). The principle of “doublethink” is instilled in the minds of party members since birth. In essence “doublethink” allows for two opposing thoughts to reside in one’s mind while both are taken as the absolute truth. By instituting this principle “The Party” is able to control the minds of the masses simply by stating a fact because party members are taught that every word spoken by “The Party” is truth.

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Doublethink is simultaneously holding two contradicting opinions at one time. This is a real life situation in which Winston and the reader encounter doublethink without realizing it on the surface level. Winston knows deep down how he really feels and what life could be like in his dream state, while Winston is forced to act a certain way and believe certain things in the real world. Having two contradicting beliefs, while knowing one is the better belief and choosing not to believe it for the benefit of the Party is the exact definition of

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In the book 1984, by George Orwell, Winston Smith is living in an oppressed, dystopian, society where every means of a citizen’s life is monitored and controlled by the government. As the story develops, Winston learns how the Party is able to keep everything just the way it wants. He also learns that the most important elements in the government’s system are communication and language. One such instance is the Party’s attempt to replace the language of Oceania with Newspeak. In 1984, Newspeak is being carefully altered and developed to perfectly fit the needs of Big Brother and the Party.

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With Doublethink, citizens accept without question that there can be conflicting histories or facts. They accept the “contradictory beliefs” and eventually succumb to the version the government wants them to believe. In Airstrip One, the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth employs people to create false records. Once these false records are created they are immediately hailed as truth as a result of Doublethink. Also, Oceania’s mottos, "War Is Peace; Freedom Is Slavery; Ignorance Is Strength" are embraced and believed by the citizens because of Doublethink.

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Within the world of Oceana The Party controls everything, every thought, every action, every piece of clothing purchased. One of the mind programs that was enforced by the Party was something called “double think – which means that one simultaneously accepts two things that contradict each other and see them to be true.” This concept known as Double Think gives the government complete control.

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George Orwell’s 1984: How Doublethink is the Most Powerful Weapon for Control Being able to believe two paradoxical statements at one time sounds impossible but it is more common than believed. It is called doublethink, which is the ability to hold two contradictory beliefs on a topic and wholeheartedly believing them both at the same time. This term was coined by George Orwell and it becomes the main tool for control over the citizens of Oceania in his novel 1984. Orwell created a totalitarian future in hopes it would serve as a warning to preceding generations as to how the government can metamorphose into having complete power over a population to the point where they even control the thought process of the human mind.

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