1984 Essay and Persuasive Techniques
Keitachii Yang
10/1/12
“Big Brother is watching you” (Orwell 2). This quote is from the novel 1984 by George Orwell. In this book, the society is controlled by an all powerful government that capsizes the people’s brain so that there is no independent thought. Citizens are constantly being watched and monitored while all they can do is support them and pour out hate to the enemy thinking the party is always right. Hope comes to a man named Winston, the protagonist, a lone man who secretly opposes the manipulation of the mind. After the plot unravels, Winston begins to show his opposition against the party. The party controls everything in the society and puts everything the way they want it to be, endlessly reminding people that they need to support their country, Oceania. Using the persuasive techniques of reasons, loaded words, and bandwagon appeal, George Orwell develops his theme that thoughts can be controlled. First, Orwell uses the technique of reasons to develop his theme of thought control. “Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don’t care what you do to her. Tear her face off, strip her to the bones. Not me! Julia! Not me” (Orwell 286). The party controls people’s minds through extreme torture by inflicting pain and seamlessly scaring them. It makes them become empty like a robot that follows its owner’s commands. O’Brien controls Winston’s mind by showing him a cage full of hungry rats. This last torture makes Winston an empty shell like what O’Brien had wanted all along. Next, thoughts are controlled by reminding citizens that Big Brother is watching them. It makes “you feel that you constantly need to support the party and push back other thoughts away. This is the “manipulation of popular feelings and ideas by the mass media”” (Fitzpatric 248). The party uses war to control people’s thoughts. They use war to distract people from worrying about being poor and “use up the products of the machine without raising the general standard of
10/1/12
“Big Brother is watching you” (Orwell 2). This quote is from the novel 1984 by George Orwell. In this book, the society is controlled by an all powerful government that capsizes the people’s brain so that there is no independent thought. Citizens are constantly being watched and monitored while all they can do is support them and pour out hate to the enemy thinking the party is always right. Hope comes to a man named Winston, the protagonist, a lone man who secretly opposes the manipulation of the mind. After the plot unravels, Winston begins to show his opposition against the party. The party controls everything in the society and puts everything the way they want it to be, endlessly reminding people that they need to support their country, Oceania. Using the persuasive techniques of reasons, loaded words, and bandwagon appeal, George Orwell develops his theme that thoughts can be controlled. First, Orwell uses the technique of reasons to develop his theme of thought control. “Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don’t care what you do to her. Tear her face off, strip her to the bones. Not me! Julia! Not me” (Orwell 286). The party controls people’s minds through extreme torture by inflicting pain and seamlessly scaring them. It makes them become empty like a robot that follows its owner’s commands. O’Brien controls Winston’s mind by showing him a cage full of hungry rats. This last torture makes Winston an empty shell like what O’Brien had wanted all along. Next, thoughts are controlled by reminding citizens that Big Brother is watching them. It makes “you feel that you constantly need to support the party and push back other thoughts away. This is the “manipulation of popular feelings and ideas by the mass media”” (Fitzpatric 248). The party uses war to control people’s thoughts. They use war to distract people from worrying about being poor and “use up the products of the machine without raising the general standard of