1984 Ignorance Is Strength By George Orwell

The Party slogans in George Orwell’s 1984 seem illogical. When hearing the phrase “ignorance is strength”, you think to you self, knowledge is what allows us to function as human beings. Knowledge has been that vessel that has carried us to where we are today; it is what separates us from the rest of the species. You cannot exist as a functioning member of society without knowledge, so how can lack there of lead to strength? Ignorance is the unknown, so in order ignorance to lead to strength, the knowledge gained must lead to loss of strength. Although this had previously seemed absurd to me, pondering about the slogan from this perspective allowed me to realize that there are in fact many circumstances in which ignorance can lead to strength.