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George Orwell's 1984

Living in a society with limited freedom of expression is not, in any case, enjoyable. A Totalitarian

society is a good example of such a society, because although it provides control

for the people, it can deny them a great deal of freedom to express themselves.

The fictional society in George Orwell's 1984 also stands as a metaphor for

a Totalitarian society. Communication, personal beliefs, and individual loyalty

to the government are all controlled by the inner party which governs the people

of Oceania in order to keep them from rebelling. Current society in America

is much more democratic. It contrasts with Orwell's society of 1984 because

communication, personal beliefs and the people's loyalty to the government

are all determined by the individual.

In order to keep the people of Oceania

in conformity with the desires of the governing Inner Party, the Inner Party

controls several aspects of the people's lives. Communication, for one, is

controlled for the benefit of the nation. Newspeak is a modified version of

language that is enforced upon the people in order to limit their expression.

Syme and Winston, two middle-class workers in Oceania, discuss the concept

of Newspeak. Syme reveals that he supports the system, demonstrating how he

has been brainwashed by the Inner Party who enforces the system.

"It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words... You haven't a real appreciation

for Newspeak, Winston... Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to

narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thougtcrime literally

impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. (p. 46)"



One can detect from this quotation that the people of Oceania, as a group,

have been brainwashed by the Inner Party to use only Newspeak. Syme, for one,

understands the purpose of it, and he still complies with the system because...