Examples Of Doublethink In 1984

In the book 1984 by George Orwell, the main character, Winston, along with all the people that live in the country of Oceania, are controlled by the government in many different ways. The country’s figurehead, Big Brother, is said to be in charge of everything, and uses methods to keep that control with the Party. He keeps the power by means of telescreens so they are constantly being watched, by propaganda so they either feel scared or patriotic, and he even goes as far as to corrupt the minds of children. But the most effective method of control for Big Brother is doublethink. Doublethink is the Newspeak word for being able to hold two completely contradictory thoughts in one’s head and accept both of them as the truth. Doublethink works because it manipulates people’s minds and helps them avoid becoming angry with the party. It makes everything sound okay because it
In 1984, Winston’s main job is to go back into historical records and either delete or alter the past. He does this everyday, so records are constantly getting changed. This means that the people of Oceania are constantly getting brainwashed and having to use Doublethink to understand the past. The Party wants no mistakes or errors in the past, especially ones that make them look bad. When they look bad, the people start to question authority and the truthfulness of their government, which is something Big Brother does not want. For example, in the scene where Julia, who is much younger than Winston, is talking about how she learned that the Party had invented airplanes, and Winston believes that but also remembers back when he was kid and learning something entirely different. There is no way anyone can look back into the historical records for something to hate the Party about because the only records available are good ones that shine light on Big Brother, who is using Doublethink to make this