1984 Propaganda Research Paper
Mrs. McCarthy
Honors English Period 4
June 3rd, 2013
George Orwell wrote the book 1984 as a warning to the people in the future. Orwell opened the people’s eyes to the way the government controls the people by torture and control of information and language. Also, the government controls by war and fear, brainwashing, propaganda, and several other evils. One of the major ways the government controlled the people in the book was by propaganda. Propaganda is the information, ideas, or rumors intentionally spread widely to help or harm a person, group, nation, etc. In 1984, George Orwell warns us about the use of propaganda by government to control people. The propaganda used by the government in 1984, during the time period of the book, and today is used to keep the government in control, to force people to think in one way and to make the citizens think what the government wants them to. Propaganda is selective information that is given for many different reasons. Governments tend to use this method to stay in control. In 1984, the Party uses fake messages to stay in control and make the people of Oceania think they are doing well for their nation. A message given by the government was "Attention! Your attention, please! A newsflash has arrived from the Malabar front at this moment. Our forces in South India have won a glorious victory. I am authorized to say that the action we are now reporting may well bring the war within measurable distance of its end. Here is the newsflash-" (Orwell 25-26). In this situation, the Party told the citizens the war is over and they have won. Little do the citizens know, there was never a war happening. The government told the people this lie so that the people would gain hope and believe they are safe. All throughout the "war" the people of Oceania were sending food to who they thought were the soldiers fighting for their country but all the food really went to the
Cited: Bowen, Jeremy. "Libya Makes Arrests over Deadly US Embassy Attack." BBC News. BBC, 14 Sept. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19595237>. "Due Diligence: Did Obama Initially Deem Libya Attacks a Terrorist Act?" CBSNews. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57534515/due-diligence-did-obama-initially-deem-libya-attacks-a-terrorist-act/>. "Holocaust History." Nazi Propaganda. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005202>. Orwell, George. 1984: A Novel. New York, NY: Published by Signet Classic, 1977. Print. "Propaganda and Promises." Nazi. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. <http://www.theholocaustexplained.org/ks3/the-nazi-rise-to-power/how-did-nazis-gain-power/propaganda-and-promises/>.