Use Of Language In George Orwell's '1984'

Words: 680
Pages: 3
Open Document
Language is a kind of solipsism. For Wittenburg and Whorf, a language is a “house of... consciousness”1 from which the external world is encoded and assimilated through the frosted, distorted glass of its windows. It is a culturally relative concept, encoding the collective ideas of justice, history, religion and identity of the native speakers which are then projected on to the world. Thus by imposing a language, one imposes and limits a mode of thought. Orwell's Newspeak in his novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, illustrates the attempt to recreate what Marx would dub 'the language of real life'2. The 'philologist' Syme, busying himself with the “destruction of words”3 may well consider himself the destroyer of worlds as he linguistically dismantles unorthodox thought and creates Ingsoc's totalitarian reality. …show more content…
This can be compared with the early 17th century conception of language, in which thinkers and writers of the time aimed to remove double meanings and interpretations, tightly binding the sign and the signified. Starting from the premise that language creates thought, the totalitarian regime of Ingsoc requires Newspeak as the sole medium of expression as it completely denies any plurality of meaning. Any mode of thought, apart from Big Brothers, is negated. It attempts to make “heretical thought... literally unthinkable”4 through is severely paring down the vocabulary, providing an appropriate linguistic channel for “the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of Ingsoc”5. Newspeak is defined by the strictly prosaic systematisation of language; for example, it removes synonyms and antonyms in order to create an entirely binary code. Bad becomes 'ungood'. Dark is replaced by 'unlight'. Adjectival meaning is formed by adding the suffix 'ful' – 'speedful'. Variety and nuanced are entirely removed from the language, so in theory these qualities can be removed from thought
Show More

Related Documents: Use Of Language In George Orwell's '1984'

Oppression In 1984 Orwell Analysis

Oppression in 1984 In 1984, George Orwell writes what life was like after World War II with tyranny in several countries. Orwell wrote 1984 with hope that people would read it and prevent the totalitarian type of government from rising to power in future generations. George Orwell's quote, “Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable” brings out an important issue in 1984. The government controls everything in Oceania, making the atmosphere oppressive. This…

Words 526 - Pages 3

Oppression and Dehumanization in George Orwell's 1984 Essay

12 April 2012 Oppression and Dehumanization of Society in George Orwell’s 1984: The Manipulation of Technology, Language, Media and History George Orwell uses his novel 1984 to convey that human beings, as a species, are extremely susceptible to dehumanization and oppression in society. Orwell demonstrates how a government’s manipulation of technology, language, media, and history can oppress and degrade its citizens. In 1984 the political manipulation of technology oppresses the people…

Words 1628 - Pages 7

The Prophecy Of A Detrimental Future

25 September 2013 The Prophecy of a Detrimental Future George Orwell foreshadows the malice of dystopian societies to warn the modern era of excessive governmental control’s detrimental outcome. Dystopias deal with a government having the power to prohibit the right of its citizens. English socialism, or IngSoc, was the type of government the Party in 1984 used to torment and to manipulate the behavior of its citizens. Orwell wrote 1984 to restrain people from developing a government that manipulates…

Words 1114 - Pages 5

Reality Check George Orwell 1984 Analysis

Reality check! George Orwell wrote 1984 in 1948 as a political satire of a totalitarian state and a denunciation of Stalinism. George Orwell wrote this novel to predict the kind of society of society humans will inhabit. A society where the government is dominant and the people are oppressed by anxiety, hatred, and cruelty. The Party lead by Big Brother every citizen is monitored through omnipresent surveillance and mind control. So has that kind of society Orwell mentioned in 1984 arrived? Of course…

Words 1245 - Pages 5

Examples Of Double Thinking In 1984

1984 By Brian Lee, Coleman Smith, Yong jo George Orwell’s intention “War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength” are the three mottos of Oceania. These quotes are great examples of “Double thinking”, which is defined as: the mental capacity to accept opposite opinions or beliefs at the same time. Even though Oceania is in a constant state of war, the citizens think there is peace as well. The citizens have been brainwashed by the state, so they will obey whatever the state tells them…

Words 1633 - Pages 7

Comparing Orwell's Novels To A Dystopian Novel

Atwood’s and Orwell’s novels share the fundamental idea that control of language and thought are crucial to dystopian novel. George Orwell’s ‘1984’ was written after World War Two building on people’s fear of the political stability of the world. His novel includes the all-powerful Big Brother, which monitors and controls Oceania, where the novel is set. Margaret Atwood’s delve into control of thought and language is through religion. Her novel set in the near future religious state, Gilead, in…

Words 1910 - Pages 8

George Orwell Research Paper

George Orwell: The Prophesier George Orwell once said, “freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear”, that, essentially, “speaking the truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act”. (“George Orwell”) Orwell’s words reveal his political views in the absolute truest form. His uninhibited writing style forced readers to not only to listen what he had to say, but to also recognize his writing as the truth. Although his veracity was supposed to be accepted without…

Words 2343 - Pages 10

George Orwell 1984 Analysis

It has been almost seventy years since George Orwell’s novel, 1984, was first released to the public. Despite the years that have passed since the novel’s inception, the ideas behind Orwell’s fictional story are as prevalent and important as ever. In my view, the fundamental political message of 1984 is how the creation of a mass surveillance state erodes the trust of the people, and ultimately makes the state more fragile. This message has become a central issue throughout the American public and…

Words 1511 - Pages 7

1984 Figurative Language Essay

constant surveillance. Where a wrong thought or expression of the face could lead to torture in prison.That is what George Orwell’s 1984 perfectly simulates of cold hearted totalitarian governments do.George Orwell’s 1984 uses symbolism, figurative language, and imagery to convey the theme that discipline is used to manipulate the people of Oceania for complete control. 1984 uses symbolism to display the way totalitarian governments, The Party, manipulates its people.“You asked me once what was…

Words 637 - Pages 3

Role Of Totalitarianism In George Orwell's 1984

George Orwell’s novel, 1984, is set in a dystopian authoritarian society run by a communist government. The novel follows the life of Winston Smith, man working for the government that he hates. In a society where every action and speech is monitored by the government in order to to maintain conformity by finding those with signs of resistance and killing them off. Historical and current occurrences and statistics are monitored and altered by the government in order to create the facade of a healthy…

Words 768 - Pages 4