please read? 1984 essay

[ninwa]

I tried to write an essay on 1984 ... I had to force it out ... gosh this is the worst time to get writers block lol ... please read and comment and criticise it as much as you can.

---------

Nineteen Eighty-Four shows that politics is only about lies and deception.? Do you agree?

Politics refers to the process of governing a group of people. Through the events portrayed in the novel 1984, Orwell attempts to make a statement about the bases of politics in the socialist societies of his day. It is true that 1984 shows that in many ways, politics is about lies and deception; however, it is by no means the only concept upon which politics is based, and it can even be argued that it is not a predominant one.

Politics in 1984 is monopolised by the Party, represented by its figurehead, Big Brother. It is obvious to the reader that the Party's very survival is predicated on its ability to lie and deceive, as this ensure their continued control over the masses of Oceania. An obvious example of this is its daily routine of ?editing? the past, carried out by unknown numbers of people in the ironically named Ministry of Truth. By changing the past to suit the Party's needs, such as by showing Big Brother's most inaccurate predictions to be true, it generates greater public support for, and following of, the seemingly all-knowing Party. This ability to control the past provides the Party with a huge power; by controlling the past, people's memories can also be manipulated, and control over minds provides the greatest form of power.

Another example of the prevalence of lies in Party politics is in the Party's continued altering and fabricating of statistics, a form of deception essential to the Party in that if life appeared to be ?good? under the Party's leadership, then it can maintain control and remain securely in power. As Winston observes, the ?Ninth Three-Year Plan? proudly touts that the production quota of boots was again over-fulfilled, yet ?perhaps half of Oceania went barefoot?. Similarly, the blatantly obvious yet widely accepted lie that the chocolate ration had been ?raised? from 30 to 20 grams is again proof of the important of deception in Party politics.

These arguments suggest that deception is the only tool of politics; however, it can be argued that deception is merely a means, not an end, of politics. From the examples stated above, the ultimate aim of each lie was to establish control and maintain power. Deception seems to be the main ?weapon? of the Party; it can even be said to be a way of instilling fear into the population, as we are never certain whether the much-publicized wars with Eurasia or Eastasia are even real, or whether Julia is right in believing that the periodic bombs and missiles are launched by the Party itself. Even this has the ultimate objective of maintaining power ? for it is much easier to control a fearful population  and thus, it can be argued that politics is actually about power.

Lies are deception are clearly major parts of politics in the society of 1984; there is an entire Ministry devoted to it. But it is too restrictive to state that politics is only about deception, and is possibly too narrow a view. In 1984, lies and deception are simply a means of achieving power and control over Oceania; in reality, politics is about power and control, and lies and deception are merely weapons used by the Party to achieve this aim.

----------------------

I keep thinking bout my oral and can't concentrate on English anymore and it's driving me nuts. Any advice on what to do?

[melanie.dee]

gar i know what the thinking about the oral thing is like.. luckily mine was well before the english exam. nothing much you can do unfortunately.. its a shame it was only yesterday, because it took me a fews days to get past it. all i could suggest would be maybe get out of the house today to stop thinking about it and do something to take your mind off it.. then come back and try and get stuck into english last minute later tonite and get in the right mindset.. onlything i can think of.

ill read your essay after iv finished the essay im curently inthemiddle of doing and putting off haha. but im sure its a 10/10 regardless haha

[ninwa]

Thanks melanie.dee. I guess I'll just have to try to forget it by tomorrow ... I'm just really devastated. I'm gonna go see my English teacher, maybe he can help me somehow

[Odette]

Thanks melanie.dee. I guess I'll just have to try to forget it by tomorrow ... I'm just really devastated. I'm gonna go see my English teacher, maybe he can help me somehow

Don't worry Nina, just try not to think about it, I know it's hard not to but there isn't much you can do about it. Don't let it affect your english score, what happened is now in the past, you must learn from the past, hope for the best and move on.

Sorry I can't help much with the essay, I didn't study 1984...

[brendan]

"however, it is by no means the only concept upon which politics is based, and it can even be argued that it is not a predominant one. "

It is not clear in the above statement, whether you are referring to 1984 or the real world.

"It is obvious to the reader that ..."

http://tkyte.blogspot.com/2005/05/crimes-against-logic-part-ii.html
"You should be similarly suspicious when someone tells you that his opinion is self evident or obvious. If it is obvious, why would he feel the need to point out that it is? Its obviousness will do its own work. And if it is not really obvious, than his claiming it is probably means he is trying to obscure the fact that he has no evidence at all?"

"These arguments suggest that deception is the only tool of politics; however, it can be argued that deception is merely a means, not an end, of politics."

That should read "these arguments suggest that 1984 shows that deception is the only tool of politics" to avoid confusion as to whether you are talking about the real world or the world of 1984.

However, then are you not contradicting yourself?
(1) "deception is the only tool of politics"
(2) "It is true that 1984 shows that in many ways, politics is about lies and deception; however, it is by no means the only concept upon which politics is based"?

"however, it can be argued that deception is merely a means, not an end, of politics"
Is there much point in saying this, as you have already noted that "deception is the only tool of politics"?. Describing deception as a tool implies that it is a means to a greater end.

The essay question did not put up for debate whether "politics is only about deception". It was whether or not that was the message of 1984. Whether or not that message holds true in the real world is another matter, not neccessary to answer.

[BA22]

"It is obvious to the reader that ..."

http://tkyte.blogspot.com/2005/05/crimes-against-logic-part-ii.html
"You should be similarly suspicious when someone tells you that his opinion is self evident or obvious. If it is obvious, why would he feel the need to point out that it is? Its obviousness will do its own work. And if it is not really obvious, than his claiming it is probably means he is trying to obscure the fact that he has no evidence at all?"

Ignoring Brendan's explaination, you really shouldn't say things are obvious, becuase it is judgemental. Also scrap your first sentence, examiners hate definitions, they don't want them.

Ninwa, i'm not even sure why you're freaking out, i've read two or three pieces of yours and they are of exceptional quality, especially your lantana piece on BOS. It seems you know your texts very well, and ou have a sharp, fluent and expressive writing style, just relax, and your natrual flair will rise to the top tommorow. All the best

[brendan]

Also scrap your first sentence, examiners hate definitions, they don't want them.

well that's probably true if you write it explicitly in the first sentence of the whole essay. However, it is useful to incorporate the definition/synonyms of the key words in your essay to avoid repetition of the keywords whilst showing that you are on topic and are answering the question

[ninwa]

Thanks for all your help guys, I'll definitely avoid making judgmental statements like that tomorrow.

Odette, thanks a lot for all your support, means a lot

BA22: Wow ... thats huge praise coming from you. Thanks!

[melanie.dee]

for some reason, i seem to remember you're not doing lantana? can i ask why? that essay on bos was indeed exceptional, i cant imagine being able to write a remotely good essays on either of the other texts i studied in the year, but am not for the exam.

[ninwa]

I don't really like Lantana .... I find it too shallow to write anything of depth on it. Also I haven't touched it since term 1 when we did it and I'm not about to start now

[Odette]

Thanks for all your help guys, I'll definitely avoid making judgmental statements like that tomorrow.

Odette, thanks a lot for all your support, means a lot

BA22: Wow ... thats huge praise coming from you. Thanks!

No worries , I know how you feel, I went through the same thing after my oral exam in year 10..

[ninwa]

Odette do you speak arabic at home? You must have been good to do a language in yr 10

[ninwa]

"These arguments suggest that deception is the only tool of politics; however, it can be argued that deception is merely a means, not an end, of politics."

However, then are you not contradicting yourself?
(1) "deception is the only tool of politics"
(2) "It is true that 1984 shows that in many ways, politics is about lies and deception; however, it is by no means the only concept upon which politics is based"?

No, I meant that if one took the two arguments I made beforehand into context, it would seem that deception is the only tool. That's why I said "however", because I'm rebutting that argument, because it appears to be the contention set forward by the question.

That's generally my strategy for essays; put forward arguments as to why the question's contention is correct, and then rebut it. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

[Odette]

Odette do you speak arabic at home? You must have been good to do a language in yr 10

Yeah... I'm Lebanese

[brendan]

i think you have to make it clear that you are talking about the world of 1984 when you say things like "These arguments suggest that deception is the only tool of politics; however, it can be argued that deception is merely a means, not an end, of politics."

Secondly, your contention is not clear to me when reading the introduction. It only becomes clear once i read the conclusion.