How Does George Orwell Use Language In 1984

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The concept of language manipulation is often utilized by the dominant political force of a society to take control over their citizens. This concept has been used throughout history by various political figures such as dictators. The manipulation of language is a very powerful tool and plays an important role in the way a society is governed. Language itself plays a huge role in any society, and when that is altered or falsified everything changes. In George Orwell’s 1984, the Party’s use of language and the way they manipulate it aids them in keeping the power over the whole society. The Party, in attempt to maintain power over the society, crafted a new, simplistic language called Newspeak. They aim to control the amount a person can …show more content…

They are so powerful that they have been able to utilize language manipulation to make its members believe what the Party wants them to believe. When Winston and Syme are having lunch together and discussing the new edition of the Newspeak Dictionary, Syme says “‘It's a beautiful thing, the Destruction of words. Of course the great wastage is in the verbs and adjectives, but there are hundreds of nouns that can be got rid of as well. It isn't only the synonyms; there are also the antonyms. After all, what justification is there for a word, which is simply the opposite of some other word?’” (Orwell 51). Syme is just proof of how dominant the Party is over the society. His mind has been completely taken over by the information that the Party wants all the members to know. He …show more content…

Winston’s job in the Ministry of Truth as a clerk in the Records Department is very crucial to the Party. This job is one of the main aspects that allows the Party to continue to hold all of its power. The Records Department is responsible for destroying the evidence that the Party does not want divulged to the public, and the workers are accountable for falsifying the documents for the public. With the description of the job at the Records Department, it mentioned that “The Times … have been rewritten a dozen times still stood on the files bearing its original date, and no other copy existed to contradict it. Books, also, were recalled and rewritten again and again, and were … necessary to put right in the interests of accuracy” (Orwell 40). The Party alters the past to secure their power in the present and the future. Their dominance is again revealed by the fact that they change the most miniscule information to make sure it conforms to the society that they have created. Winston and all of his fellow employees are so used to this daily routine that they do not even know what they are doing due to the Party’s power over the whole society of 1984. The Party’s dominance over all of the members in the society is because of their ability to strategically use language

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