George Orwell articulates the dangers of language when in the hands of a methodical, totalitarian government in his novel, 1984. Consequently, language is seen as a tool to be wielded by the Big Brother regime, fundamentally acting as a tool that would achieve the utter momentous control of its populace. Whereas language may convey feelings of love and empathy or discomfort and defiance, these emotions and thoughts were seen as not only blasphemous but treacherous in the eyes of the Government. The solution Orwell provides in his novel is Newspeak. In its essence Newspeak is the English language stripped of its thought-provoking words and emotionally empowering tones, leaving but what can only be described as a mundane, mechanical conveyor belt tasked with delivering only the simplest of ideas.My interest in Orwells execution of language as a means to a totalitarian end was peaked by the sheer overwhelming results Newspeak provides for the individuals in power. Whereas power may be sought through militant force or notions of religious instruction, in 1984 the goals of an inconsequential reign of rule are enforced through the manipulation of mans inherent ability to achieve grandiose communication and drive societal socialization. The imperative core of my essay will divulge into Orwells expression of language as a tool to enforce control, sustain power and shape society in the totalitarian state of his narrative 1984. Ill explore the ideas of language in relation to psychology and its ability to shape the minds of individuals, language as means to achieve communal communication as to further promote societal consciousness, and language as in its overall effectiveness to instill synthetic intrinsic values and beliefs to sustain the political immortality of a totalitarian state.
