Caitlin Spencer
Mrs. Tedder
English 1302
20 Jan. 2011
A Voice Once Forgotten
Imagine a world without colorful language. In George Orwell’s book 1984, the main character Winston Smith lives in that world. The setting takes place in a country called Oceania, more specifically in the town of London. As well as anyone can guess, the year is 1984. Controlled by constant surveillance by a government call the Party, Winston lives in fear of getting caught by the Thought Police. Every single movement is scrutinized by the Party through telescreens. Every year, the supply of dictionaries is taken up and rewritten with less and less words. When the children grow up, they will not learn all the words they should. Less language and less mastery of words are more power and control for the Party. George Orwell has been named one of the most prolific political writers of the century. Born in India in 1904, he was christened Eric Arthur Blair. It was in 1933 that he began writing under the name of George Orwell. Following graduation, Orwell spent some time in Burma. There his experiences helped turn Orwell into a democrat socialist who hated tolitarianism of any kind.
Language has been around since the beginning of man. Throughout time, words have died, changed meanings, and new words have come into existence. Today’s society has books and old writing styles from the past that help shape today’s literature. Without those books, for example, books from the Roman times and British literature, we would have no knowledge of the past. In Orwell’s book 1984, Winston Smith has no knowledge of the past because the past is always changing. Whatever is happening in the present had happened in the past just the same. Winston’s job is to falsify all sources of the past at his work, the Ministry of Truth. All of Oceania’s supply of text books, newspapers, and other written documents are called back in to be destroyed and modified to match the present circumstances. By constantly...