1984 - Chapter 4

1984 - Chapter 4

1. Themes

   • Control of the Masees
     • Control of the Media
       • Propaganda
         • The public must be reminded as often as possible of the strenght, power and kindness of those who are in control. Yhey must accept is as "just how things are"
       • Bread and Circus
         • Those governed, specially the lower classes, must be distracted so they can keep being complacent. Usually pandering to their more primitive insticts so they don't think about the sutuation they're in and they system put into place to opress them.
     • Control of Reality
       • Erasure and Alteration of History
         • "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controles the present controls the past"
           • The goverment uses revisionist history to suit their purposes. A ficticious version of history makes it so they can control the narrative as they wish, therefore invalidating any attempt at independent thought or learning from past experiences.
       • Gaslighting
         • The constant changing of history undermines any value one person taking part of that history could have. The maniulation in which the giverment makes people doubt their own sanity, memory or state of mind makes it so they are psychologically weakened, dissuading any intention of not accepting their version as fact.
       • Limitation of Langauge
         • Limiting language (As shown in Newspeak) is the most nefarious tool a regime could use. It changes the entire frame in which reality is experienced, referenced and analysed. If the language for free thought does not exist it's impossible for it to take place even inside one's mind.
     • Intimidation
       • Vaporization
         • Existencial dread between existence and non-existence
     • Status Quo
       • Commodity vs Principles
         • Our need for some kind of stability will often act against even our most stubborn wishes for change.
           • Even though he disagrees with it, Winston does not ony do his job. But genuinely seems to enjoy it.
       • Normalization
         • The goverment wants the cruel and unusual to seem commonplace enough that the population stops thinking about it taking place.
           • Winston acting nonchalant about what he is doing for the goverment, and what it could mean.
     • Language
       • Expressions
         • The goverment controls how the language is expressed. Looking for all citizens to follow a model so they can be more easily manipulated
       • Euphemism
         • The official record uses euphemism to hide and justify imoral activity. Such as "rectify"
   • The Needs of The Party
     • Omnipotence and fragility
       • Even though they seem unstoppable, The Party needs all these systems to keep afloat. If any of these were to fail the whole operation could be compromised and they could be seen as not infalible and may begin to question their conclusions. Which could eventually lead to them discovering their status as opressed and rising against the ruling class. It's a mighty house of cards, that is why they take these systems so seriousy.
     • Adoration
     • Scapegoats
       • The Party needs something or someone for the people to rally aganst, a boogeyman, a strawman to discredit any idea they are against and for their people to stay angry and scared enough to keep loving the giverment, which in their mind keeps these scapegoats that are the frut of all evil at bay.
   • Memory
     • Is it easier to make a fictional person real or to make a real person fiction?
     • If something only exists in your mind. Does it really exist?
       • The blurring of the line between what is real and what is not makes it so there is not one objective truth, which makes The Party's job much easier.