The Dangers Of Patriotism In Once Again

Once Again is a piece of social criticism against Indian politicians/voters and targeted at the average Indian voter. Its purpose is to inform the audience of the propaganda they are subjected to and confront them with them hatred they hold onto, allowing themselves to be manipulated. Inspired by the belief that “the best books… are those that tell you what you know already,” (1984 pg. 208) my creative take a premise that the audience is semi-aware of; the blatant abuse of religious sentiments in order to generate political support (Natarajan, 2012).
The mixture between an internal/interior and external monologue allowed me to portray both the intentions of the character and the image that is portrayed to the public, both of which juxtapose
Like Wag the Dog, Once Again engineers a crisis in order to gain public support during elections. The dangers of patriotism are portrayed in all three texts. Once Again showcases people of the same religion uniting together in the same way that American pride and Oceanic fear of foreigners is shown in Wag the Dog and 1984, respectively. Similarly, Once Again shows the human habit of dehumanising one’s enemies, which is present in 1984 as “if he [Oceanic citizens] were allowed contact with foreigners he would discover that they are creatures similar to himself.” (1984, pg.
“They” is used to refer to the government, distancing them from the public and making them insignificant. In the internal monologue, the public is referred to as “you,” imposing the characteristics of the fictional public onto the reader. In these sections, “I” and “we” is used for the politician and their party. The meaning of “we” changes to both the politician and the voters in the external sections. This depicts the sense of community the politician is attempting to evoke. The use of “we,” “our,” “every one of us,” along with phrases like, “they have shattered our, they have shattered my” portrays the politician as a member of the community. This produces communal acceptance and empathy. The politician further evokes emotions by rephrasing words mid-sentence. The supposed inability to say “rape” in paragraph 6 depicts the character as moral and sensitive. The text further uses the techniques of generalisation, metaphors, repetition and pacing to showcase political manipulation and the power of irrational