Language and the Past vs. Present in Orwell's 1984

Introduction: Orwell's War on the Past

1984 is a novel by the Englishman Eric Blair, who wrote under the pseudonym George Orwell. Published in 1949, it depicts the futuristic and dystopian world of Oceania, controlled by a totalitarian government benevolently named Big Brother. The novel deals with many themes, from the suppression of truth to the denial of history and human nature. This paper analyzes the use of language in 1984 and the thematic concept of Past vs. Present, as Orwell presents it through symbolism, archetypes, and motifs.

The past is at war with the present in Orwell's 1984 — and the present is winning, thanks to the Big Brother regime — a symbol for the kind of governmental paternalism that Orwell saw developing everywhere around him. As D.J. Taylor remarks, "God was dead and yet the secular substitutes put in His place, whether totalitarianism or western consumer capitalism, merely travestied human ideals and aspirations" (2). What Orwell attempted to do, Taylor claims, "was to take control of that immense reservoir of essentially spiritual feeling…and use it to irrigate millions of ordinary and finite lives" (2). 1984 is, in a sense, the literal irrigation of which Taylor speaks. And yet the novel is disturbingly bleak and its hero does not come to a happy end. His spirit is crushed by the brutal hand of Big Brother, who stops at nothing to wipe out all unapproved manifestations of humanity — including the past.

To facilitate this war against the past, Big Brother employs a host of linguistic tools that warp the traditional agreement between intellect and reality. The distortion of language through "newspeak" is the most important feature of the dystopian world of 1984. As a result, the world is seemingly turned upside down: humans are essentially dehumanized and thought is stifled by the government. Winston Smith attempts to delve into the past in order to make sense of the present — but Big Brother thwarts his attempts. The past is kept buried; all that matters in Oceania is the version of the "past" that Big Brother approves.

Newspeak and the Corruption of Language

"Newspeak" is the official language of Oceania, and "doublethink" is its official philosophy. Both are linguistic devices by which Orwell — through Big Brother — twists the meaning of words and phrases to convey deceptive ideas. One of Big Brother's coercive slogans, for example, is "Ignorance is Strength" (4). This is only part of the Ministry of Truth's "newspeak"; the other debilitating slogans are "War is Peace" and "Freedom is Slavery." All three slogans contradict reason and serve as perfect examples of ironic juxtaposition. Because they are promoted with the full force of authority and backed by the so-called Truth Ministers, however, they take hold. They appear all over Oceania, and by sheer repetition reinforce the outrageous notion that intellectual honesty is unnecessary. "Newspeak," as Orwell implies, also involves the shortening of titles — eliminating a sense of formality and tradition. Thus, the Ministry of Truth becomes Minitrue and the Ministry of Love becomes Miniluv.

Miniluv is particularly revealing of Orwell's use of language: "love" is reduced to "luv" — a sentimentalized version of a timeless concept, now replaced by a sickening sweetness that is anything but healthy. The word "luv" is insubstantial and lacks signification. Love, as it has existed in the past, is replaced by "luv" in the present — just as the history of the past is rewritten in the present, severing any connection between the truths of the past and the reality of the present.

To convince Winston and the rest of Oceania's citizens to embrace this dishonest ideology, Orwell emphasizes that a new linguistic terminology is essential in the battle against the past. It coaxes citizens into accepting false doctrine and becomes a staple of the Party's strategy to control reality. As Orwell states, "History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right" (155). Big Brother replaces tradition and reason as the new source of information, language, and ideas.

Archetypes: Winston as Everyman and O'Brien as Villain

Because language is such a powerful tool, Orwell uses it to show the complete dominance of Big Brother and its willingness to pervert, corrupt, destroy, suppress, oppress, and obliterate all avenues to truth. In this way, Winston Smith represents a futuristic Everyman — a modern version of the medieval Christian archetype who comes face-to-face with ultimate truth. In the medieval morality play Everyman, the protagonist confronts Death and the fact of Judgment; in 1984, Winston confronts the hideous character of Big Brother and its commitment to falsehood and deception as instruments of manipulation and control.

Big Brother is personified by O'Brien, who puts a human — if horrific — face on the totalitarian government. O'Brien is an archetypal villain: seemingly benevolent on the surface, but rotten to the core beneath. He functions as a kind of Iago to Winston's more earnest character.

Conclusion: The Crushing of Historical Truth

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Orwell, George. 1984. NY: Penguin, 1977. Print.

Taylor, D.J. Orwell: The Life. NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2003. Print.

Williamson, Richard. "Orwell's 1984." YouTube. Web. 20 Mar 2012.