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Austin Stepanek

Trace

English 112

01 March 2019

The Power of Psychological Manipulation: ​1984

When Hitler was chancellor of Germany, he manipulated many people into conforming

to his beliefs. He was able to make so many people see the way he does, it caused an entire

genocide involving the deaths of many Jewish people. In ​1984​, The Party takes what Hitler does

to an extent. They manipulate and brainwash people to view the world they do, erase history

from their minds, and think exactly as they do. In ​1984​, George Orwell uses the government's

actions towards the people to expose how The Party uses psychological manipulation to create a

dehumanized society.

The Party seeks to control everything – past, present, and future. Its first effort toward

attaining that goal is to control and manipulate every source of information, rewriting and

modifying the content of all historical records and other documentary evidence for its own gain.

The Party forbids its members to keep written records of their lives, and mandates that any

photographs or documents be destroyed through "memory holes" placed throughout Oceania.

Since memory is unreliable, over time, reality becomes fuzzy, “and so it was with every class of

recorded fact, great or small. Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which, finally, even

the date of the year had become uncertain” (37). After corrupting their memory, citizens are

soon willing to believe whatever the Party informs them. The Party constantly runs their slogans
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throughout the city, when they are out and about, at work, or even at home, “BIG BROTHER IS

WATCHING YOU” (Orwell 5). This “Big Brother” is used as political satire, he appears on

television, ads, and posters. Big Brother is seen as as the supreme authority in Oceania, and The

Party has the highest authority over the people. The phrase above refers to the government's

surveillance of the people with listening devices and cameras, and is displayed through

propaganda to remind citizens that they are always being watched. It installs a fear in society,

where even thinking anything the government does not agree with, can cause someone to be

accused of a thought crime. If a person is found guilty of a thought crime, or any crime, it can

cause them to be erased from history.

Just like history is created it can be erased, “Winston did not know why Withers had

been disgraced. Perhaps it was for corruption or incompetence. Perhaps Big Brother was merely

getting rid of a too-popular subordinate. Perhaps Withers or someone close to him had been

suspected of heretical tendencies. Or perhaps- what was likeliest of all- the thing had simply

happened because purges and vaporizations were a necessary part of the mechanics of the

government” (41). People depend on their understanding of history to make judgements about

their present. If The Party is able to control the past by telling people what was in the past (even

though it was not) they can control what people think about now and the future, “ ‘Who controls

the past’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future’”(37) . By erasing people from history, The

Party is able to control society. Their thought process is if there is no record of anyone

committing a crime or rebelling against the government, no one will get the idea to do so. The

citizens of Oceania will continue to follow in the footsteps of Big Brother and The Party, and

continue to conform to their ways and means without even realizing it.
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The theme of psychological manipulation is very present in ​1984​, through the actions of

the party. With their actions they are able to manipulation the citizens of Oceania into

conforming to their ways and means of life, stripping them of all of their individuality. The

citizens are not able to think or act for themselves, due to the Party controlling every aspect of

their life. In ​1984,​ the government's actions to dehumanize their citizens demonstrates the theme

of psychological manipulation.
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Works cited

Orwell, George. ​Nineteen Eighty-Four: a Novel​. Signet, 2003.