Nineteen Eighty - Four Test Response Essays - Nineteen Eighty-Four

Nineteen Eighty - Four Test Response Essays - Nineteen Eighty-Four Nineteen Eighty - Four Test Response Nineteen Eighty - Four TEST RESPONSE: TOPIC THREE (3) In the appendix of Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell warns against the enormous power a regime can hold once it has control of the language. Winston, on the other hand, believes he is free as long as he can hold on the mathematical axiom, 2+2=4. Unfortunately, Winston grossly underestimates the sheer power held be Oceanias totalitarian regime. With the Inner Party at the helm, Oceanian society has been deliberately drawn down to a deep, inescapable socioeconomic morass, with Party exercising its conscious aim of nurturing a state of unfreedom and inequality. Having learnt a great deal from totalitarian regimes that had failed in the past, the Inner Party became a small ruling group that was determined to create a societal structure that would ensure the Party maintained a permanent stronghold over Oceania and its people. Unlike their predecessors, the Inner Party was comprised of people who were less avaricious, less tempted by luxury, hungrier for pure power, and above all, more conscious of what they were doing and more intent on crushing opposition. From this steely resolve of the Inner Party to be the eternal guardians of power in Oceania stems the wide and varied sources of truth and power held be the totalitarian regime. Collectively, these sources present a frightening combination that, fundamentally, serves to destroy the essence of the human spirit and to ensure the ruling group an endless reign of power. As Orwell details in the appendix of the novel, control over language is one of the major sources of truth and power held by Oceanias totalitarian regime. The introduction and steady implementation of Newspeak as the language of choice for Party members, meant that the Party effectively assumed control of the boundaries of human expression and thought. The elimination of words and phrases considered unfavourable to the Party and its ideals made it extremely difficult to express conflicting or derogatory views towards the Party. And, with this suppression of free thought through language, the Party is also able to eliminate unwanted ideas, emotions, and ideals associated with those words. The embodiment of the slogan Ignorance is Strength is another source of power for the totalitarian regime in Oceania. The Party exploits the basic idea that ignorant people are content people; simply because they have no standard of comparison. Although life is far from rosy for members of the Outer Party, they are, nevertheless, satisfied with their existence. Primary reasons for this are that Party members are led to believe that standards of living are constantly improving, and that their cooperation is imperative for the continual war effort to succeed. Thus, the Party achieves an assurance to their stronghold over members by eliminating feelings of dissent and dissatisfaction towards the Party with imposition of obligation. Another unmistakable source of power for the Inner Party is their thorough and seemingly infallible surveillance and compliance network, comprised of the Thought Police, omnipresent telescreens, Youth League Spies and the mutual fear of the consequences of unorthodoxy, which virtually ensures widespread conformity. And, since the party has comprehensive control of the present, they also have an equally extensive control over the past, and thus truth. All historical records and print media is endlessly fabricated and tailored to conform with the Partys current position, further enhancing the Partys power over the people. Another important source of power for the ruling group is war. In becoming continuous, war has ceased to exist in Oceanian society. And, as it consumes the products of human labour that would otherwise be used to increase the standard of living for Outer Party members, war ensures the permanence of the current order in Oceania. The abolition of interpersonal relationships, the destruction of family, and the removal of all endearing emotion from the sexual act left widespread insecurity, which the Party exploits to nurture a mutual emotional attachment to Big Brother. However, none of the aforementioned ploys of Oceanias totalitarian regime would be possible without the indoctrination of Party members with the skills of doublethink and crimestop. Particularly doublethink, which renders Party members infinitely malleable to the will of the Party, thus ensuring that the Partys goal of permanent power seems infallible.