Tamara Rigsby

Mrs. OKeefe

English IV

7 March 2017

1984: Argumentative Essay

A life dull of color, a people resistant to empathy, a world of obscene propaganda, a

culture full of juxtaposition. In his novel 1984, George Orwell crafts a dystopian society that

embodies these characteristics; in doing so, Orwell successfully publicizes his opinions about the

generation in which he lived, and draws similarities between Oceania and the post-war world.

One of the many correlations that Orwell references in 1984 is the utilization of propaganda, and

the negative connotations it can impose on a population. In the modern world, individuals are

less likely to pick up a newspaper with a flashy headline, or be persuaded to join a world war

based on a poster of Uncle Sam alone. However, individuals of the current era are extremely

reliant on technology, the internet, and social media; they are constantly exposed to false

advertisment, misleading information, and bias point of view regarding politics, economics,

social relations, and foreign affairs. With this being said, Orwells warning pertaining to the

deceptiveness of propaganda and its detrimental effects on society still remain true today.

In the novel 1984, Orwell emphasizes how the inner Party of Oceania uses propaganda in

order to persuade the citizens into feeling a specific way, or to enforce a certain viewpoint. As

the novel begins, Winston, the main character, observes his neighborhood. ...there seemed to be

no color in anything except the posters that were plastered everywhere. The black mustachiod
face gazed down from every commanding corner. There was one on the house front immediately

opposite. Big Brother is watching you, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into

Winstons own (Orwell 2). The frequency in which Winston sees this poster as well as the

caption indicate that the people of Oceania are supposed to view Big Brother as a guiding figure

who watches over all aspects of their lives. Its significance is to make the population feel safe

from an outside attack, because Big Brother is watching. This security Big Brother provides

establishes allegiance to the Party. In contrast, the propaganda also implies that Big Brother is

monitoring those who are considered rebellious because they hold a view counter to what the

Party implements. In both instances, the propaganda in 1984 serves to convince the public that it

is vital to share the same perspective that the Party holds: all perspectives outside of the Partys

are illegitimate.

Throughout the novel, Orwell continues to expand on the importance of propaganda and

its influence on a society. Orwell suggests that propaganda was used to spy on the people of

Oceania and that it affected their relations with the people around them. In the book, Winston

analyzes the relationships that parents have with their children. On the contrary, they adored the

Party and everything connected with it. The songs, the processions, the banners, the hiking, the

drilling with dummy rifles, the yelling of slogans, the worship of Big Brother- it was all a sort of

glorious game to them. All their ferocity was turned outwards, against the enemies of the State,

against foreigners, traitors, saboteurs, thought-criminals. It was almost normal for people over

thirty to be frightened of their own children. And with good reason, for hardly a week passed in

which the Times did not carry a paragraph describing how some eavesdropping little sneak-

child hero the phrase generally used- had overheard some compromising remark and
denounced his parents to the Thought Police (Orwell 24-25). The overuse of slogans, banners,

and duty to the Party demanded that children be loyal to Big Brother before anyone else. The

way in which Big Brother was portrayed through these forms of propaganda aim to glorify him,

and diminish any other close relationship with friend or family. The Party is able to censor and

limit what information is exchanged by condemning personal relationships. Essentially, the Party

uses propaganda as a fear tactic to prevent communication and suppress close relations; Oceania

relies solely on Big Brother for confirmation of reality, of their identity, and of their place in

society.

Like most authors, Orwell uses theme in order to call attention to a specific dilemma of

his time, and to express his own opinion on the matter. He experienced an era dominated by war,

political corruptness, high censorship, and extreme nationalism within both totalitarian and

democratic governments. This nationalist behavior led to xenophobia in countries governed by

totalitarianism, such as Nazi Germany. One of the most effective ways in which the Nazis

targeted the Jewish community was through propaganda. The article Targeting Jews explains the

many ways in which the population was exploited in anti semitic newspapers. The article states

The same Jew who plunged the German people into the bloodletting of the World War, and

who committed on it the crime of the November Revolution [Weimar Republic] is now engaged

in stabbing Germany, recovering from its shame and misery, in the back the Jew is again

engaged in poisoning public opinion (Targeting Jews 2). The anti semitic publisher appeals to

ignorance in the way that he offers no evidence to prove his claim, and makes false accusations

that blame the Jews for the civil unrest after WWI. The quote exemplifies a bias point of view

which aims to present the Jewish population negatively and strike fear into non-Jewish citizens.
In the same way, Orwell incorporates these ideas into 1984 in establishing the Party resembles

totalitarian governments. The Party instilled fear in using posters that suggested Big Brother is

watching just like Nazi Germany used antisemitic newspapers to cause Germans to fear that the

Jews were a threat to the countrys prosperity.

Orwells intent in writing 1984 was to expose corruption within governments, and in

doing so, warn the public and future generations to come. With the rise of technology in the

modern era, there are a multitude of misleading and bias propaganda available to the public. The

New York Times article How Propaganda Works elaborates on the impact propaganda can have

within a country. In the article, it states But his book does provide some useful insights into the

dangers of propaganda and its reliance upon mangled facts; false claims; and reductive,

Manichaean storytelling he points out that propaganda frequently raises fears that are likely to

curtail rational debate for instance linking Saddam Hussein to international terrorism after

Sept. 11 and that it may play upon deeper prejudices toward ethnic or religious groups that

rob us of the capacity for empathy toward them (Stanley 2016). The quote touches base upon

the dangers of propaganda in the way that it affects how people view one another, and therefore

changes how we interact with them. The 9/11 terrorist attack induced propaganda that portrayed

Saddam Hussein as an enemy of the United States, as well as individuals who shared his ethnic

and religious beliefs. The media dispensed several arguments and other form of propaganda that

generalized an entire community based on the actions of one person; ultimately, the nativist

propaganda inhibited proper reasoning, and encouraged Americans to isolate and place blame on

this group of people.

 Similarly, propaganda continues to form societys opinions on certain situations in the

modern world just as it shapes opinions and interactions with people. The New York Times

article A Powerful Russian Weapon: The Spread of False Stories provides background on recent

events regarding Swedens decision to enter a military partnership with NATO. As Sweden

considered the alliance, there was a drastic increase in the amount of propaganda referencing the

decision- all of which contained alarming claims of nuclear weapons, attacks, and finally,

exemption from these crimes. In the article, it says As often happens in such cases, Swedish

officials were never able to pin down the source of the false reports. But they, numerous analysts

and experts in American and European intelligence point to Russia as the prime suspect, noting

that preventing NATO expansion is a centerpiece of the foreign policy of President Vladimir V.

Putin, who invaded Georgia in 2008 largely to forestall that possibility (MacFarquhar 2016).

The quote mentions how Russia used fake news in order to discredit NATO, and their genuine

intentions. In doing so, Russia was able to effectively persuade their country and Sweden against

the alliance: Russia used propaganda to invoke fear of chaos. With this being said, Russia was

able to convince the Swedish citizens to oppose the action, distrust their country, and share the

same pessimistic view that Russia holds on the NATO partnership.

In closure, several of the themes addressed in 1984 such as the distribution of fake news,

revision of documents, and misleading information remain present in the modern era. Both the

documents regarding Nazi Germany and the present day news articles speak true to the claim

that propaganda has a profound impact on society in the way that it can persuade people into

forming negative, bias opinions. Orwells intent in writing the novel will continue to serve as a
reminder of the dangers that propaganda can impose on society if citizens remain ignorant, and

refuse to take action against intolerance and conformity displayed within media.

Works Cited

Kakutani, Michiko. "'How Propaganda Works' Is a Timely Reminder for a Post-Truth Age." The

New York Times. The New York Times, 26 Dec. 2016. Web. 09 Mar. 2017.

MacFarquhar, Neil. "A Powerful Russian Weapon: The Spread of False Stories." The New York

Times. The New York Times, 28 Aug. 2016. Web. 09 Mar. 2017.

Orwell, George, and Erich Fromm. 1984: A Novel. NY, NY: Signet Classics, 2015. Print.

Totalitarianism in 1930s Germany Text Set. Targeting Jews.