Maybe some of you remember the piece Jules has written a couple of weeks ago on George Orwell’s dystopia Nineteen Eighty-Four, one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. If you enjoyed it - which I certainly did – this is your lucky day. That same novel also drew my attention, yet for a different reason. I have not been fascinated by the writer’s possible intention to ensure that we remember the importance of personal freedom and privacy, but by the possible intention which I picked up by reading it: ensuring that we are aware of our own truth, and the freedom to express it, to a certain extent. I will elaborate on this intention further below, but first I want to fresh up your mind by giving a short summary of Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Summary
The novel is set in an alternate reality 20th century London, which is now called Airstrip One. Together with the America’s, Australia, the rest of Great Britain and several other parts of the world, it is part of the greater nation Oceania. This continent is ruled by The Party, an ultra-authoritarian government led by the mysterious Big Brother. The Party regulates and monitors everything in the population’s daily life; work, marriage, upbringing, etc. Even the history and language of the nation are under control of that ‘omniscient’ government, to keep a thumb on the own will of the population. Or what is left of it, since no one really knows anymore what is truth and what is lie due to all the changes in ‘facts’ The Party has made over the years. “He who controls the present controls the past. He who controls the past controls the future.” Personal emotions are not tolerated, and enjoying the wonderful experiences of love is even forbidden. Instead The Party has embraced ultimate obedience, domination, hatred and fear.
In this frightening world a young Inner Party worker, named Winston Smith, has given his life for the ruling existence of The Party, working in the Ministry of Truth. His job is the burden of erasing and creating history, as to the will of Big Brother.
Although, that attitude is what he radiates to the outside world. Deep inside he becomes more and more aware of the cruelty and unfair methods The Party maintains. Because The Party can control, regulate and monitor the actions of its people, but it cannot fully control their thoughts. Winston starts to “inwardly rebel” and now only wants to escape the permanent monitoring and regulating of the government, and live an own life in which he can embrace his emotions (and especially love) - even though he knows that will lead to inevitable death. And so it happens; due to the constant monitoring and regulating, The Party can arrest Winston for his ‘unorthodox actions’, and knead him into a new slave of Big Brother. “Thoughtcrime does not entail death; thoughtcrime IS death”.
The Aspect of Truth
What drew my special attention in Orwell’s novel was the concept of truth. In his reality future society this value is altered in many aspects, which even makes the main character not confident about his own truth anymore; Winston does not even know in what year he is living, he only has a vague idea which no one else can confirm either. The Party regulates and monitors the society already for such a long period, that too many lies have become the real ‘truth’. As explained, The Party controls and monitors the actions of its population in various ways. Via constantly adjusting the past and present to the predictions and statements of Big Brother, so that He stays Godlike towards its people, they try to force ultimate obedience from their people driven by pure fear.
One of those altering manners is by adjusting the current language into one without ‘unnecessary words’; the so-called Newspeak. With such an adjustment meaningful grammar constructions, with which people can express their emotions and sorrows, fade away as well. Especially the disappearance of contradictions is highlighted in the novel, by the slogan “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength”. Without contradictions people cannot express themselves in a similar way as their emotions let them feel anymore. Therefore they can only use the censured amount of words and expressions The Party allows them to use, which does not give them the opportunity to express their real emotions. They only can and will hear themselves expressing the will of The Party, and if this action continues long enough they will even start to believe what they say, because they never hear something else anymore. Everyone will ‘agree’ with Big Brother, and thus his power will only increase.
Another way of altering the truth can be found in Winston’s job. He has to adjust the past to the predictions and statements of Big Brother. If Oceania is in war with Eurasia at this point of history, but it would be more convenient for whatever reason (for example, to keep control over the population driven by fear, or for certain resources) that Oceania is in war with Eastasia, Winston would have to change the news items into this new present, and erase the past war with Eurasia on paper to make the new war - which was of course already several years ongoing for the conscience of the population – the new ‘truth’. As if Big Brother has always been right and will always be right. Because “He who controls the present controls the past. He who controls the past controls the future.”
Yet the pinnacle of altering the truth to keep the own will of the people under control, is the fact that even the opposition is under the control of The Party itself. Opposition leader Emmanuel Goldstein, who has written the book - a compendium of all heresies, which circulates here and there – is held by The Party to be the Enemy of the People. However, when Winston is arrested by The Party and tortured by O’Brien to knead his own will back into ultimate obedience to The Party again, it appears that O’Brien is one of the writers of the book. Which means that both Emmanuel Goldstein and the book are created by The Party. That ultra-authoritarian government even controls their own opposition. But where does that leave the concept of truth, real TRUTH?
Conclusion
To be honest Orwell’s dystopia was quite shocking to me, since the story told in the novel could become our reality future if we are not aware of the actions of the powers that rule us. And although even such an ultra-authoritarian government as The Party could only control the actions of its people and not their thoughts, we still must be conscious of the fact that also that last bit of personal property does not come under control of one malevolent person, with crazy ideas on domination and ultimate obedience. People driven by such a powerful will, will always try to find a way to come to your thoughts as well, and brainwash you until you do not know which thoughts and emotions are you own and which ones are implemented.
And in the end I assume that this is also one of the intentions George Orwell wanted to reach with writing Nineteen Eighty-Four; ensuring that we are aware of our own truth, and the freedom to express it. If we would have not listened to survivors of the second World War for example - who experienced the horrible happening themselves and have formed their own truth about it- who knows what lies would have come into the world about what precisely happened in that period of time. Gladly, we have listened to the various experiences several people have had - although not every experience has been one to remember - to form a correct picture, to know the real truth.
One should always better derive his information from a first source, to make sure the stories told are not influenced by misleading untruths. Be aware of your own truth, before taking the truth of another for granted. Otherwise a lie becomes the truth.
Alexandra Danen, 1st year student, LUC
The LUC Dean's Masterclass is run each semester for the students who made the honour roll in the previous semester.
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