Erin Slason

Mrs. Wrenn

Powerful Warnings 12-3

31 March 2017

Individuality

As an individual, each and every person has the right to be who they want. In George

Orwell's novel 1984, the people of Oceania do not have the freedom to express who they are, as

well as our society today. To be able to have the freedom to be who you want, you need

individuality but that is nearly impossible if your every move is being monitored. Through his

satirical representation of threats to individuality, Orwells warnings in 1984 are still relevant to

the world today.

The importance of language is crucial in George Orwell's novel, 1984 and to our society

today. Throughout Orwell's novel 1984, language is limited immensely because the Party tries to

narrow the range of thought which eventually will make thoughtcrime impossible. The Party

tries to eliminate their range of speaking. As Syme explains to Winston, Were destroying

words scores of them, hundreds of them, every day. Were cutting the language down to the

bone (Orwell 50). The Party is manipulating those who are members of the Party by limiting

their range of expression by cutting their language down to the bare minimum. Not only is

language a freedom but it helps shape an individual's identity, a language shapes the way people

perceive the world and it also helps to define culture of any society. Any language is a gift the

knowledge of more than one language makes a man more efficient and skillful in many ways. It

opens our minds and guides us into a magical world of fancies and dreams (Beale). People
shape their identity through how they speak and how they express themselves as an individual,

no one will ever be the exact same person.

People can express their individuality through writing, the way they speak, through

images, or even social media. But in George Orwell's novel, the members of the Party cannot

express who they are because their lives are constantly being dissected to see if they are living up

to the Parties expectations. Big Brother is constantly watching through telescreens, microphones,

thought crimes, and through community involvement, BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU

(Orwell 2). The telescreens are two-way monitors that spy on the people of Oceania, and the

people are constantly being watched by the leaders of the Party through them, which causes

constant fear. In today's society, social media like Instagram and Twitter are ways to express

who you are as an individual, Aimee Lockhardt warns the public that what you post online will

always be there when posting something on the Internet, Guerry warned that no matter if you

have a private account or a password access site, everything is global and public (Internet

Expert). Nothing you do will be private, even if you think what you are posting is. The people of

our society today and the members of the Party are being watched constantly even if they do not

acknowledge it.

In 1984 the members of the Party do not have independence which prevents them from

being an individual. Not only do the citizens of Oceania have a lack of independence, but also a

lack of individualism. Orwell states, don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow

the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there

will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed will be expressed

by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out

and forgotten (Orwell 67). Big Brother is taking away each individual's individuality and
freedom by eliminating thoughtcrime, the people of Oceania are brainwashed to believe in their

new language called newspeak. By doing that, the government has full control on everyone's

thoughts and actions making sure they obey the Parties rules. In today's society it is wrong to be

different, everyone has to be the same. During the 1930s, Hitler was Big Brother, he

brainwashed the young children into doing things he believed was how society should be. As

seen in the Hitler Youth presentation, young people, especially children are easily manipulated.

They are easy targets for political parties to control because their minds are still developing

(Hitler Youth). Kids of Germany were not allowed to be that normal kid because he wanted

everyone to believe the Jews were the root of their problems. This has happened in history

before, The Hitler Youth. In today's society the children of Africa are being manipulated into

being child soldiers. BBC News Tom Burridge interviewed this boy, "were forced to train, and if

we didn't want to do it, we were beaten heavily" (Burridge). The children of Africa are being

forced to do something they do not want to do, just like Hitler in the Hitler Youth. He

manipulated the children into doing things by telling them it was right, knowing the

consequences of not training, the children of South Sudan are traumatized from the punishments,

just like the people of Oceania when they go against the Parties rules.

Being able to express yourself, you need the independence of individuality. In both

Orwells novel and our world today, it is hard to express yourself without facing consequences.

From the constant fear of being watched, being afraid of speaking your mind or just expressing

yourself through your thoughts, Orwells warnings in 1984 are still relevant to the world today.

Works Cited

The Importance Of Language In The World English Language Essay. UKEssay. N.p., 23 Mar.

2015. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.

Beale, Lewis. "Opinion: We're Living '1984' Today." CNN. Cable News Network, 03 Aug. 2013.

Web. 30 Mar. 2017.

Orwell, George. 1984. London: Penguin, 2011. Print.

Hitler Youth." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc.Web. 01 Mar. 2017.

Burridge, Tom. "Child Soldiers Still Being Recruited in South Sudan." BBC News. BBC, 27

Oct.2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.