Introduction
George Orwell published a dystopian novel in 1984. He formed a totalitarian authority over both the ocean and earth, having a unique historical setting .a dystopian novel, as demonstrated by most authors, uses its content to foretell how the current conditions can erupt into an unstable political society. The language used by different dystopian authors can be used to demonstrate how languages can be used to corrupt the mind and control and abuse of authority by those in Government. This essay will focus on how the writings of George Orwell how language can be used to manipulate alongside technological developments leading to dictatorial democracy. In conducting this research, I used the textual analysis method, which involved careful reading and analyzing 1984. George Orwell has shown the disparities in the triple states that he has formed in the novel: Eastasia, Oceania and Eurasia.
Use of Language to Portray a Dystopia Society in the Novel 1984
In the Novel 1984, George Orwell has written about the cumulative events that he had witnessed and imagined from 1936. He has undergone terrible situations that made him go against any form of totalitarians society. He experienced terrible moments, especially when he has traveled to Catalonia in the face of civil unrest, which made him realize the effect of fascism. He also witnessed the second war, which was a repeat of what he had witnessed in Spain. He was against the war has had already experienced a similar ordeal. With such experience, Orwell demonstrated how influences through language use are used in dictatorial governments ( Turkey et al.,2020). Corruption of language in the novel has been demonstrated as a psychological abuse source and the controlling of mental power. In the novel, the application of language focuses on fascists movements.
The author has depicted the importance of language in human beings' thoughts and how it's regularly used to control the state of mind. The importance of language is to structure how one expresses them and how they compose those expressions. According to Turkey et al. 2020, organizations that apply language use should relook how the same language is used to deter the formation of political crisis. language use should be controlled to avert such a crisis. In the Novel, The Party wants to replace the use of English with Newspeak. With the new language, the common citizens will neither comprehend nor questioning any aspect of the Government. Thus, The Party will have absolute control over all the aspects of the country.
Further, Orwell has established a correlation between language manipulation and fascism. According to George 2017, language has been used in many political platforms by distorting a political event by creating new vocabularies only understood by a few. The use of language in a secretive manner to prevent creating a clear inner picture is also associated with totalitarians. Such hidden messages corrupt the minds of individuals. In the novel, Newspeak was used to corrupt citizens' thoughts as the majority did not fully conceptualize it. The change of vocabularies of a language to suit a certain context has detrimental effects.
Use of Propaganda to Portray a Dystopia Society in the Novel 1984
Propaganda uses biased and politically influenced information to undercover the real political situation in a country. The Novel 1984 has depicted propaganda as a weapon to have control over the general public. The law enforcing agency, the Big Brother, was used as strong propaganda by creating enmity against Goldstein. There are several incidences in the novel where propaganda has been used to take advantage of the general public against the productions of The Party in support of Big Brother corrupting the local citizens' mindsets such that they can never think of staging protests. Other dictatorial regimes similarly apply this concept to prevent the citizens from overthrowing them; the citizens are mostly fed with propaganda and always kept in a state of confusion; hence, they do not conceptualize what is happening.
Additionally, Big Brother used broadcasts to spread their propaganda. The televisions aired on their screens on how the day's Government was effective, responsible and efficient in its governance. However, this was all faked lies to impress the public. Similarly, Big Brother used the televisions to play military chants to instill patriotism (Zabaat, 2017). This strategy was effective as mass media effectively spread any information that reaches a wider audience ( George, 2017). The citizens were left in a confused state due to the information they saw on the televisions; thus, they could not conceptualize any rebellion plans against The Party.
Also, propaganda is witnessed in the Novel 1984, where Winston is under the torture of O'Brien. Their main intentions were to do away with people's ideologies and replace them with their rebellious plans by the people. Although the people knew Big Brother was used to protecting the people, this was not the case. By displaying the biased information on the mass media, the general public did not realize that Winston was under torture.
Still, in the novel, the fascist Government used biased political information in the Two Minute Hate, a television program that was constantly aired on the screens. The Two Minute Hate was programmed so that everyone had interests in it, thus failing to participate in resistance activities. In this program, propaganda is used to brain-wash the people by what they see in the media. The citizens build their trust in their leaders hence giving room for the totalitarian governments.
Use of Technology to Portray a Dystopia Society in the Novel 1984Dictatorial regimes use technological advancements to help them stay in power and spread their ideas as they know the power and importance of technological advancements. For instance, in the novel, the Party uses technology as a weapon to spread its ideas, such as the televisions (Awan & Raza, 2016). In a program, Big Brother is demonstrated as a strong law enforcing agency, hence depicting the Party's authority and control. Also, George 2017, argues that Big Brother is keen on the movements of every person. Thus technology is used to oversee the activities of citizens. Similarly, the Two Minute Hate was aired on television, showing that everyone was for the Government. With such technology, the people have enough trust in the Government; thus, they cannot rebel.
Challenges Faced
When doing my research, it wasn't easy to choose the best research methodology to use. However, I finally settled for a qualitative method that involved the textual analysis of the Novel 1984. Also, it wasn't easy to analyze the data that I had gotten in my research.
Conclusion
In summation, George Orwell's novel is a very influential dystopian novel. In his writing, he showed the fascists' regimes' methods to ensure that everyone respects the policies and governance. This involved Newspeak's use as a language manipulation so that the information could be altered and hence being confusing to the public. Totalitarian governments also use Propagandas through television programs to help them stay in power. Additionally, these governments used technological advancements to monitor those against them and spread their ideas.
