War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. In the dystopian novel of 1984, these are the paradoxical “truths” everyone believes. Author George Orwell illustrates how the exploitation of language can lead to the full control of people—and their minds. This control seems to be a hauntingly plausible scenario, but fortunately, the world we live in today is far from the society of 1984.
Language is constantly changing in our modern day society. Words are twisted from repeated use and often taken for granted. However, the change in George Orwell’s 1984 is entirely different from the change we are seeing today; our language is revised by every person using it while Oceania’s language is monitored by a single oligarchy. Overall, ours is thriving and expanding, whereas in 1984, the language is diminishing and devolving. …show more content…
The ultimate goal of eradicating language is to curb the freedom of thought and destroy the public’s imaginative will, which in turn would lead to the perfect, obedient country Big Brother wishes to rule. The society is brought under totalitarian rule with no room for anybody to question authority; they can only accept what Big Brother has deemed appropriate, and in that sense, the evolution of language negatively impacts the citizens’ abilities to communicate. The dearth of available vocabulary limits their means of expression, which affects their capability to think and act for
Language is constantly changing in our modern day society. Words are twisted from repeated use and often taken for granted. However, the change in George Orwell’s 1984 is entirely different from the change we are seeing today; our language is revised by every person using it while Oceania’s language is monitored by a single oligarchy. Overall, ours is thriving and expanding, whereas in 1984, the language is diminishing and devolving. …show more content…
The ultimate goal of eradicating language is to curb the freedom of thought and destroy the public’s imaginative will, which in turn would lead to the perfect, obedient country Big Brother wishes to rule. The society is brought under totalitarian rule with no room for anybody to question authority; they can only accept what Big Brother has deemed appropriate, and in that sense, the evolution of language negatively impacts the citizens’ abilities to communicate. The dearth of available vocabulary limits their means of expression, which affects their capability to think and act for