1984 Important Literary Terms Dystopia Dystopia A futuristic

1984 Important Literary Terms

Dystopia • Dystopia: A futuristic, imagined universe of oppressive societal control • The illusion of a perfect society is maintained through totalitarian control using corporate, bureaucratic, technological, philosophical, or religious means. • Dystopias are an exaggerated worst-case scenario that makes a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or political system. • Opposite of Utopia— “No place”

Totalitarianism • The ruling governmental style of Oceania • The government, usually under the control of a single political person or group recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever possible. Historic Examples Used By: 1. Stalin in Russia 3. Mussolini in Italy 2. Hitler in Germany 4. Franco in Spain

Paradox A statement that is self-contradictory on the surface and seems to defy logic or reasoning. Example: Is the answer to this question no? Example: The following sentence is true. The previous sentence is false.

War is Peace Freedom is Slavery Ignorance is Strength

Euphemism • The substitution of a more pleasant sounding term in place of a more offensive word. • Winston says “Bob” (as to not ruin anything) will be “vaporized” he will “disappear. ” • Translation: he will be kidnapped and killed by the Thought Police • “Put to sleep” – to euthanize or kill, typically a pet • “Heavy casualties”—many soldiers being killed • “Stretching the truth”—lying

Parable • A story that’s meant to illustrate a moral or life lesson. • One trait of dystopian literature is that it serves to criticize a current societal or political trend. • What will be the lesson that 1984 attempts to impart on its readers?

Science Fiction • A genre (style) of literature or film that deals with the combination of scientific knowledge and imagination. • 1984 • War of the Worlds • Star Wars • Avatar

Juxtaposition • An act or instance of placing two things close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast. In writing, this might occur if an author writes about contrasting events one paragraph after another.

Fatalism • A submissive, apathetic mental attitude resulting from the acceptance of the belief that everything that happens is predetermined and inevitable and will result in death. • Winston expresses deep guilt in his dreams of his childhood and the relationship with his mother and sister. • Those past events have impacted his current life-view as much as anything else in his society. • Winston feels his life is meaningless and has a

Anti-Hero

Anti-Hero 1. A character, often the protagonist, who unwittingly challenges those in power 2. Typically lacks the prowess and bravery of a standard hero 3. Can be inept at the task 4. Starts off as a conforming member of society 5. Makes unwise decisions 6. If s/he is successful it is with a lot of luck 7. Often ends up being captured, killed, or

Objective correlative • The external appearance of a person’s state of mind, which serves to re-emphasize their internal anguish. • Allows the reader to view their suffering from more than one perspective

Depressive Realism? • The proposition that people with depression actually have a more accurate perception of reality Trait 1 Less affected by positive illusions of superiority • Dunning–Kruger effect --unskilled individuals mistakenly rating their ability much higher than average • Downing effect—This describes the tendency of people with a below average IQ to overestimate their IQ, and of people with an above average IQ to underestimate their IQ

Dunning–Kruger effect “The miscalibration of the incompetent stems from an error about the self, whereas the miscalibration of the highly competent stems from an error about others” "The only true wisdom is knowing that you know nothing”

Depressive Realism Trait 2 Less likely to think you can control everything that happens to you (the Locus of Control) Trait 3 More likely to notice that they are at risk of experiencing a negative event compared to others They don't suffer from the “optimism bias” and so: • Take preventative measures • Make healthy decisions • Avoid risky situations and behaviors

INGSOC is the Newspeak word for English Socialism, the political ideology (systems of beliefs) of the ruling Party of Oceania INGSOC's 3 Keys to Keeping Control 1. Newspeak 2. Doublethink 3. The Mutability of the Past

Newspeak • Oceania’s official language created by shortening words • Newspeak was devised by the Party to serve Party ideology. The purpose of Newspeak is to express the Party’s worldview and to “make all other modes of thought impossible. ” • Newspeak achieves its goals by: a. b. Inventing new words Eliminating “unnecessary” words

Kind of Like Newspeak

Linguistic Relativity • The idea of linguistic relativity says that the structure of a language affects the ways in which its speakers are able to view their world • Known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis • Two versions: (i) the strong version -- language determines thoughts and that words create ways of thinking (ii) the weak version -- word usage influences thoughts and certain kinds of behavior

Linguistic Relativity • Some believe language was merely labels applied to already existing concepts or things • Some believe language was but a veil covering up the eternal truths hiding them from real human experience • Today, most believe language influences certain kinds of thought processes in “nontrivial” ways.

Linguistic Relativity • In the 1820 s it was thought that languages like German and English had a more perfect grammar, inflection, and structure. • This produced more perfect inner dialogue • This produced more perfect thoughts • This explained the “dominance of their speakers over the speakers of less perfect languages” • This was used by Hitler as a rationale for his fascism, genocide, and Aryan Race.

How Many Colors Can you Name?

Women typically apply names to many more colors than men. Does "having words" for things affect the way in which you view the world?

Doublethink • The ability to believe two contradictory opinions or facts even though you know one is false. 5 easy Steps 1. Know that 2+2=4 2. Be told that 2+2=5 3. Know that they can't both be true 4. Force yourself to forget that 2+2=4 5. Accept as a fact that 2+2=5 and always has Eurasia is the sworn enemy of Oceania yet only a few years ago they were allies.

Donald Rumsfeld, then special envoy of President Ronald Reagan, in Baghdad on December 20, 1983. America helped Iraq fight Iran from 1980 -1988.

Doublethink • Peace-keeping Forces are those troops left in a country to help enforce a particular regime. • The very fact that a military presence is required would suggest that there is no peace there to 'keep'.

Doublethink • Giving up our rights in the name of freedom. • With Orwellian surveillance on every corner and acts such as 'The Patriot Act', we are being asked to give up the very freedoms that 'The War on Terror' is alleged to protect, and all in the name of freedom.

Doublethink Holy War • All major religions preach a message of peace and have some variation of the 'Love thy neighbor' commandment. • No religion promotes violence or killing • A war considered to be 'holy' is a contradiction in terms.

Doublethink • Ministry of Defense –United Kingdom (Britain) • Resemblances Orwell's 'Ministry of Peace' in both name and action. • Both are primarily concerned with warfare and seem to spend the majority of their time and efforts dealing in attack and invasion as opposed to the implied defense or peace.

How does this picture make you feel?

Now how does this picture make you feel?

Opinions and emotions can be controlled by what the media chooses to show us. Therefore, we must seek out the whole story and decide for ourselves

Political Geography in the world of 1984

Political Geography in the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four Oceania--Britain and U. S. Eurasia--Russia Eastasia--China

The Three “super states” Constantly at War Eurasia Oceania Eastasia Oceania

Thoughtcrime • Any thought or idea that went against the party doctrine or questioned Big Brother’s infallibility. • Winston’s diary is an example of thoughtcrime. • In today’s society, this would trample on freedom of speech, religion, and basic human individuality

Thought Police • Responsible for arresting people guilty of crimes and enforcing the policies of the Party.

Hate Week The Two Minutes Hate • An organized demonstration of hate, anger, and rage directed at the enemies of Oceania: Eurasia and Goldstein An outlet for pent of emotional energy A tool of uniting the Party against a common enemy Winston says, the most horrifying part of it was that “it was impossible to avoid joining in. ”

Proles • Short for “proletariat” or the lowest and poorest class of people. • Considered unimportant to the Party because they lack the ability to organize any revolution • In Oceania 85% of the population • Controlled through alcohol and the lottery. • Uneducated

The Social Hierarchy of Oceania Winston is an Outer Party Member

Telescreen • A two way television screen that allows the government to monitor the actions and words of every party member. • They can watch you, but you can’t see them.

Unperson • A person who has been purged of anti-Party ideas. The person has been removed from the Party and perhaps even vaporized and removed from history through changes in written records. • Comrade Ogilvy, a made-up person, was created to fill the gaps created when the unperson, Comrade Withers, disappears

Newspeak Three levels: A, B, and C. A words=describe concrete objects and actions B words=are compound words used for political purposes (facecrime) as euphuisms (joycamp) abbreviations (Minitrue). C words=are scientific and technical terms that science workers need in order to do their jobs. See appendix pg. 299 for the Principles of Newspeak for more.