The simple thing most of us know as language actually has a lot of problems itself in 1984. For example, books aren't allowed since you can't have your own thoughts or opinions if they aren't the same as Big Brothers. To go as low as to control what people say and think is beyond extreme control. How can the people of this community interact with one another if only certain things are allowed to be said and thought? That is why Winston keeps a diary anyway, for personal sanity to make sure his ideas and thoughts never leave his mind. For an idea to exist, there has to be words to explain it. I understand why Winston goes against Big Brother since his expectations are too high, and something as simple as keeping a diary is a crime. This is where the 'thought police' come in as well. They try to make sure no one picks up on how Big Brother's tactics are not beneficial.
If you had to live in an era where you could only think certain thoughts and you couldn't say what was on your mind, how would you deal with that? Would you go against your leader like Winston? Should Winston be punished if he is caught for keeping a journal?
Monday, January 4, 2016
The Four Ministries
In 1984, there are four ministries divided of the government and each has their own role. There is the Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Peace, Ministry of Love, and the Ministry of Plenty. In 'Newspeak' their names are Minitrue, Minipax, Miniluv, and Miniplenty. These ministries each had their own separate building as well.
The Ministry of Truth was associated with the news and entertainment the citizens were allowed to see. The doublespeak of Minitrue is them twisting the truth of the media they show to the public, instead of showing the full detailed truth. How does this differ from our media we have shown to us today?
The Ministry of Peace was dedicated to strictly war. They are in charge of military defense and who to defend. Big Brother says that "War is Peace," and I believe Minipax wants their military to be strong and occupied so citizens will not realize they are being fed false information and believe things that aren't true from what they are shown by the Ministry of Truth.
The Ministry of Love maintained law and order, and according to Winston it is "the really frightening one." (Orwell 4). Although he had never been inside, he knew the building had no windows, and to even enter was an obstacle itself. You have to go through barbed wires, steel doors, and machine guns. Love isn't so great in this situation after all. They try to introduce love from Big Brother by making it fearful at the same time. Inside the building is something called Room 101, and this is where the nightmares they give you come alive.
Finally there is the Ministry of Plenty, which is responsible for economic affairs. Their main focus is to be in control of the more poor people rather than wealthy. Big Brother twists the truth yet again by having Miniplenty make everyone fall short of food and production.
In reality, all 4 ministries don't sound as pleasant as their names. Big Brother wants this in order to gain more control over the citizens, and like I said in my first blog post, brainwashes them into thinking the governments tactics are going to benefit them in ways no other government could. Which ministry do you think is the least beneficial? And if you had to choose, which one do you think would be the most beneficial?
The Ministry of Truth was associated with the news and entertainment the citizens were allowed to see. The doublespeak of Minitrue is them twisting the truth of the media they show to the public, instead of showing the full detailed truth. How does this differ from our media we have shown to us today?
The Ministry of Peace was dedicated to strictly war. They are in charge of military defense and who to defend. Big Brother says that "War is Peace," and I believe Minipax wants their military to be strong and occupied so citizens will not realize they are being fed false information and believe things that aren't true from what they are shown by the Ministry of Truth.
The Ministry of Love maintained law and order, and according to Winston it is "the really frightening one." (Orwell 4). Although he had never been inside, he knew the building had no windows, and to even enter was an obstacle itself. You have to go through barbed wires, steel doors, and machine guns. Love isn't so great in this situation after all. They try to introduce love from Big Brother by making it fearful at the same time. Inside the building is something called Room 101, and this is where the nightmares they give you come alive.
Finally there is the Ministry of Plenty, which is responsible for economic affairs. Their main focus is to be in control of the more poor people rather than wealthy. Big Brother twists the truth yet again by having Miniplenty make everyone fall short of food and production.
In reality, all 4 ministries don't sound as pleasant as their names. Big Brother wants this in order to gain more control over the citizens, and like I said in my first blog post, brainwashes them into thinking the governments tactics are going to benefit them in ways no other government could. Which ministry do you think is the least beneficial? And if you had to choose, which one do you think would be the most beneficial?
Big Brother
I've been reading the book 1984, a fiction novel so it definitely is nothing like reality. What I found interesting was 'Big Brother.' "Big Brother is watching you." (Orwell 2). He was introduced almost immediately in the story, making me think he must have a lot of significance. Basically it is an organized party that controls everyone and what they do in their life. They have power to see what you're doing at all times, like hacking into the TV's to spy on what people are doing in their own homes. They even give certain rules on what you can and can't do. This is apparently supposed to be looked at as a good thing, and people are supposed to love Big Brother and the way he rules his government.
In this poster, it shows the mental control Big Brother had over his citizens. They were constantly reminded that they had no privacy or freedom to do what they pleased. I feel as though essentially their main goal was to brainwash people into thinking a totalitarian government was for their benefit. Big Brother learned to gain trust from the citizens, so no problems would be caused in the long run.
Do you think the way Big Brother spies on people and tells them how to live their life is bad for the citizens even though they don't seem to mind? Also, what benefits does Big Brother get from controlling everyone?
In this poster, it shows the mental control Big Brother had over his citizens. They were constantly reminded that they had no privacy or freedom to do what they pleased. I feel as though essentially their main goal was to brainwash people into thinking a totalitarian government was for their benefit. Big Brother learned to gain trust from the citizens, so no problems would be caused in the long run.Do you think the way Big Brother spies on people and tells them how to live their life is bad for the citizens even though they don't seem to mind? Also, what benefits does Big Brother get from controlling everyone?
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