1984 Novel: Terms and Definitions

Terms of the Novel: 1984

• Airstrip One is Great Britain, now a province of Oceania, symbolizing erased national identity.
• Oceania is a superstate ruled by Big Brother and the Party, where constant surveillance and manipulation occur.
• Eastasia is a superstate with the ideology of "obliteration of the self," prioritizing the group over the individual.
• Eurasia is a superstate with the ideology of Neo-Bolshevism, a twisted form of communism.
• Big Brother is the face of the Party symbolizing constant surveillance, inspiring fear and loyalty.
• Goldstein is portrayed as the enemy of the Party, a scapegoat, possibly a fabrication used for control.
• An unperson is someone erased from existence, with all records, photos, and memories destroyed.
• Two Minute Hate is a daily propaganda ritual to vent emotions in a controlled manner.
• Hate Week promotes mass hysteria and distracts from real issues.
• INGSOC, or English Socialism, is the Party's totalitarian ideology controlling every aspect of life through propaganda, surveillance, and censorship.
• The Ministry of Peace wages war.
• The Ministry of Love enforces obedience through torture.
• The Ministry of Truth produces lies and rewrites history.
• The Ministry of Plenty maintains poverty while claiming abundance.
• War is Peace: perpetual war maintains control.
• Freedom is Slavery: obedience ensures safety.
• Ignorance is Strength: an ignorant public is easier to control.
• Thoughtcrime refers to even thinking against the Party.
• The Thought Police are enforcers monitoring thoughts and behavior.
• To be Vaporized is to be secretly killed by the Party and erased from existence.
• Doublethink involves holding two contradictory beliefs as truth. e.g., "Freedom is Slavery".
• Newspeak is a simplified language to eliminate independent thought and rebellion.
• Oldspeak is the original English, deemed dangerous due to its expressiveness.

Language and Control

• Newspeak is designed to eliminate undesirable words and associated thoughts to control the population.
• Doublethink requires subjects to accept conflicting beliefs as truth.
• Language manipulation involves repetitive use and selective presentation of words to constrain thought.
• Vocabulary A: everyday use.
• Vocabulary B: political use (propaganda).
• Vocabulary C: scientific/technical terms.
• The Appendix explains the Party's plan to replace Oldspeak with Newspeak by 2050, eliminating verbal rebellion.

Political Ideologies

• Communism replaces private property with public ownership and shared resources.
• Fascism embodies extreme nationalism, authoritarianism, militarism, anti-democracy, and economic control.
• Oligarchy concentrates governmental power in a small group of individuals.
• Kleptocracy involves leaders abusing power to enrich themselves at the expense of the governed.
• Mao Zedong's ideology employs strategic alliances, mass mobilization, armed insurgency, and propaganda.

Propaganda, Psychological Manipulation, Stochastic Terrorism, Censorship, and Surveillance Technology

• Propaganda and psychological manipulation use techniques to shape public opinion and behavior.
• Stochastic terrorism uses violent rhetoric by public figures to incite violence.
• Censorship and surveillance technology control society by restricting freedom of speech and individual liberties.
• Techniques include: name-calling or stereotyping, virtue words or glittering generality, deification, and testimonials.
• The Party draws inspiration from 1920s Nazi Germany, employing totalitarian tactics and suppressing opposition.
• Mao's ideology includes three main rules of discipline.

Modern Examples of Authoritarian States

• Turkey shows no separation of powers leading to political arrests and suppression of protests.
• Afghanistan under the Taliban enforces strict social order, rejects Western influence, and represses women.
• Hungary, led by Viktor Orban, undermines democratic institutions, promotes anti-refugee sentiment, and shows disdain for minorities.
• Syria, under Bashar Al-Asad, has rigged elections, suppresses peaceful protests, tortures citizens, and discriminates against minorities.
• Singapore has strategic leadership, strong governance, and excellent services but high costs of living and limited freedoms.

Other Key Terms

• Telescreens are devices that monitor citizens and spread propaganda, symbolizing constant surveillance.
• Room 101 is where individuals confront their greatest fears, representing the breaking point and total loyalty to the Party.
• Proles are the working class citizens who are ignored by the Party, representing the potential for rebellion.
• Julia is Winston's lover, representing rebellion through personal pleasure not ideological conviction.
• O'Brien is the Party agent who tortures Winston, demonstrating the Party's power and control.

Key Quotes

• "Big Brother is Watching You" represents surveillance and fear.
• "War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength" are paradoxical slogans illustrating control through confusion.
• "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past" reflects the power over history equating to power over truth.
• "If there is hope, it lies in the proles" expresses hope in the unmonitored masses.
• "The object of power is power" signifies that the Party rules for the sake of ruling.