1984 Literary Analysis Essay on Newspeak

The Fundamental Purpose of Newspeak in 1984

            As the official language in George Orwell’s 1984, Newspeak with its unique linguistic style holds a dismal reputation. The interesting nature of Newspeak furtively invigorates a critical consequence to the mind of anyone who knows and speaks it natively. Characterized by a laconic and dynamic style, Newspeak contrives to consistently revive Doublethink or the action of mentally believing two contradictory ideas at once in order to inextricably possess the mind of its speakers. By dominating the psyche of its citizens, the colossal world of Oceania has been granted an everlasting existence that will be freed from inner threats of revolution or rebellion. The novel 1984 clearly illuminates the important function of Newspeak as it serves to construct the foundation for which Oceania depends upon. Above all, the objective role of Newspeak through the systematic manipulation of language is to reiterate the phenomenon of Doublethink in order to ultimately immortalize the totalitarian state of Oceania.

            The peculiarity of Newspeak is realized by the distinct linguistic characterization it carries. Unlike most other languages that expand and grow upon with the increment of new vocabulary, Newspeak unorthodoxly minimizes its lexicon by eliminating words that are deemed unnecessary. As a philologist who specializes in the language, Syme reveals to Winston Smith the current aim of Newspeak is in the action of “destroying words-scores of them, hundreds of them, every day. We’re cutting the language down to the bone.” (p.51). Syme sanguinely enjoys the process as it is evident in his own words: “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words. Of course we use these forms already, but in the final version of Newspeak there’ll be nothing else. Don’t you see the beauty of that Winston?” (p.51). Winston Smith however expresses no sign of enthusiasm and is gravely aware of the dreary consequences of Newspeak. Naturally languages when left untouched advance onward and enlarge with words as newer ideas are put forward. Newspeak as seen in the conversational dialogue between Winston and Syme represents an archetypical antagonist to the evolution of language. As the sordid menace of Newspeak becomes noticeable to Winston, it is apparent that the shortening of a language by eradicating vocabulary reveals a deeper meaning. Language as it provides communication with one another is the fundamental essence of civilization. The diminishment of language as stimulated by Newspeak symbolizes an opposition to the progression of civilization. In order to invoke an affronting force, Newspeak supplements itself with the psychological weapon of Doublethink.

            When the superficial elements of the Newspeak are closely observed, the insidious intentions are revealed to be a consistent resurrection of the Doublethink phenomenon. Doublethink or the process of psychologically holding two contradictory facts as true is a central motif of George Orwell’s 1984 novel. The concept has been personified by the fictional party’s recurring slogan that contains the following three phases: “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength” (p.26). As Newspeak is constantly eliminating words, the number of possible thoughts is simultaneously reduced. This renders as some sort of mind barrier since it stringently strives to prevent individuals from imagining rebellious thoughts. With human thought prolifically influenced by Newspeak, behavior is modified towards a manifestation of Doublethink. As one of the four major ministries in Oceania, the Ministry of Truth serves as an institution that manufactures a false sense of truth by deliberately demolishing historical records as a desperate attempt to erase the past forever. Other than its purpose to rewrite the course of history, the Ministry of Truth arms the Party with the weapon of Doublethink as a means to propagandize. Orwell abstractly delineates the motif of Doublethink in the following statement: “To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed.” (p.35). The detailed description of Doublethink presents the view that dichotomies are merely contrived abstractions. It utilizes a philosophy that intends to hybridize the intrinsic duality of objective knowledge. Doublethink has been fabricated as a means to perceive the bipolarity of reality as a kind of illusion. Once such an illusion becomes hard pressed as fact, human thought transforms from a state of free inquiry to one of complete obedience. This paves the way for an ideology to arise and develop.

            Acting together in conjunction with one another, Newspeak and Doublethink bring forward the establishment of the totalitarianism that typifies Oceania. The essential roots that involve the altering of language and the instigation of psychological regulation inevitably leads to the birth of a political system. This specific fascist ideology coined by Orwell as Ingsoc is the sole political dominion in which the Party that presumes sovereignty over Oceania emphasizes. What Ingsoc demands is the absolute submission of its citizens in mental, physical, and moral terms. As an overwhelmingly complex system of mental manipulation, the ultimate goal of Ingsoc and its author the Party is foretold to Winston by his torturer and betrayer O’Brien.  

In the climactic scene where O’Brien confronts Winston, O’Brien arrogantly proclaims to Winston: “Do you begin to see, then, what kind of world we are creating? It is the exact opposite of the stupid hedonistic Utopias that the old reformers imagined. A world of fear and treachery and torment, a world of trampling and being trampled upon, a world which will grow not less but more merciless as it refines itself.” (p.267). The world that O’Brien mentions is one that is determined to suppress the rebellious potential that is innate within the mind of an individual. The fictional state of Oceania becomes an eternal omnipotent power that is essentially immune to revolution especially by the proletarians who make up nearly eighty-five percent of the population. O’Brien reassures this by explaining to Winston: “The proletarians will never revolt, not in a thousand years or a million. If you have ever cherished any dreams of violent insurrection, you must abandon them. There is no way in which the Party can be overthrown. The rule of the Party is forever” (p.261-262). Orwell clearly portrays O’Brien as a sordid citizen of Oceania and a genuine personification of what the Party idealizes. The words he utters to Winston evidently reflects the conspiracy he has committed with the Party. Winston who is well aware of the outcome of Oceania’s totalitarianism feels disdainful towards O’Brien’s apathetic and callous attitude. Besides initially being sensible of O’Brien’s insensitivity regarding the dystopia that he extols, what further concerns Winston is the catastrophic upshot of the tyranny imposed upon the dignity of the civilians.

            If the futuristic vision of O’Brien’s world were to become a reality the concepts of individuality and autonomy must be discarded. When Newspeak dominates the way the population thinks, feels, and acts by instilling Doublethink, people will no longer have a sense of personhood or identity. O’Brien clearly reflects to Winston the pending outcome of Oceania and ultimately Big Brother’s vision: “Children will be taken from their mothers at birth, as one takes eggs from a hen. Procreation will be an annual formality like the renewal of a ration card. There will be no loyalty, except loyalty toward the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face-forever” (p.267). The concept of a boot stamping on a human face as lauded by O’Brien symbolizes the destruction of individualism by the juggernaut force of totalitarianism. Revolutions uprising will be a movement of the past with little or no hope to come.

            The perpetual existence of Oceania is dependent upon the fabrication of language as a way to dominate the individual mind. With absolute eternal power over the individual, the timeless idea of identity and self breakdown and are vanquished. This situation has become a common trope of the dystopian genre of fictional literature. It should be noted that the time era in which this specific genre of literature arose was mainly during the rise of the Soviet Union and other totalitarian estates. Authors notably George Orwell have created works of fiction as a means of warning to readers about the deadly consequences of absolute power corrupted by the state with the abuse of language as a noteworthy example. Clearly 1984 portrays how a certain language like Newspeak can have potentially serious consequences that are not easily observable at first sight.

Works Cited

Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Signet Classics, 1977. 26, 35, 51, 261-2, 267.