Higher Level Essay - International Baccalaureate English
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Course
Engels
Level
VWO / Gymnasium
Book
1984
This document contains the Higher Level Essay for the IB English (International Baccalaureate) exam program. In this essay, you will find the exploration of power in the dystopian novel 1984 by George Orwell.
Engels Bookreport / Boekverslag - 1984 - George Orwell
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Higher level Paper 1984 by George Orwell
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the
past.” ~ George Orwell. 1984. (P. 44).
Historically, governments have considered it beneficial to control people and organizations
that appear to have political influence, and because not everyone will abide by the ethical and
legal boundaries, governments apply a certain level of surveillance. The big debate between
man versus the state has its roots in the question of whether this control is required or desired.
1984 by George Orwell, published in 1949, is a dystopian novel written to serve as a canary in
the coal mine story with the purpose of warning readers of the dangers of a totalitarian
government using language to gain and maintain power. Just like how contemporary
governments generate data about their citizens that are kept someplace when we make credit
card payments, send emails, browse the web, make a phone call, or buy anything online, all of
this information about us is produced and kept in a database. An identical situation is present
in 1984, the Party watches their citizens through telescreens. Everywhere the people look in
Oceania they see the face of the Party’s omniscient leader, known as Big Brother. Although
many people would view brute force and physical strength as having total authority, George
Orwell's 1984 demonstrates that the power of language can be used to rule an entire country.
Oceania is completely under the party's authority. George Orwell wrote 1984 to make people
aware of the situation in Western nations who were still unsure on how to deal with the
emergence of communism. Orwell had seen firsthand the horrifying lengths to which
totalitarian governments in Spain and Russia would go with the use of language in order to
maintain and increase their power via propaganda. This paper will argue that 1984 serves as a
canary in the coal mine story which demonstrates that language could be used to manipulate
citizens into complying with the government’s ideology. This idea is explored via a debate on
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, propaganda, thoughtcrime and the constraints language puts on our understanding of thoughts
and ideas people can express.
Firstly, the Party's well-oiled and successful propaganda machine is a key component
in its control of Oceania and its citizens. The Ministry of Truth is in charge of spreading all
Party materials, which is ironically where Winston works. All data and information is
provided by The Ministry of Truth and is controlled by the Party. In other words, regardless
of whether information is accurate, the Party decides exactly what to tell the public. Due to
the efficiency of this propaganda apparatus, the Party is able to completely control the types
of information that are disseminated to the general public. To enhance their image, The Party,
for instance, alters numerous historical events in their favor. Additionally, they deceive their
populace into believing they are kind and compassionate. The novel's protagonist, however,
looks over this when he recalls: “It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to
thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grams a week. But only
yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was being reduced to twenty
grams a week” ~ George Orwell. 1984. (P. 58) As a result, the machine decides what reality
is.
This serves as a warning of modern-day propaganda. Propaganda has a number of
dangers since it can be used to manipulate people's behavior and shape their ideas quite
effectively. In other words, it can be used to encourage violence and disseminate hatred.
Propaganda not only misleads people, but it can also undermine democracy. The Party slogan
that was inscribed on the Ministry of Truth is an example of propaganda in the book and
reads,“WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”~
George Orwell. 1984. (P. 6). The slogan persuades people that living in the dark about what is
going on around them is the best option, that freedom will make them miserable and unable to
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