please read? 1984 essay

[ninwa]

"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."

That was my contention


Thanks for your advice brendan! I'll try to remember to make my points clearer tomorrow

[kido_1]

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.

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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.

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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?

Good, but you could:

#Add more quotes/supporting evidence.
#I would not recommend writing a definition, you could however intelligently incorporate a general assumption at the conclusion.

[ninwa]

lol, a bit late, but thanks anyways kido

[kido_1]

I am so sorry.

I thought you were doing VCE in 2008 (Since 1984 is a text study for my school).

[ninwa]

that's ok, thanks for helping still


arghhh. clearly my writing is at year 11 standard. :cry:

lol ok not gonna think about it not gonna think about it ....

[kido_1]

No, actually your writing is pretty good.

I agree with you. Do not worry about it. For all you know assessors could love what you wrote and reward you with a 9 or 10/10.

[Ahmad]

No, actually your writing is pretty good.

I agree with you. Do not worry about it. For all you know assessors could love what you wrote and reward you with a 9 or 10/10.

More likely 10/10, this is nina we're talking about!  :wink:

[ninwa]

More likely 10/10, this is nina we're talking about!  :wink:

awww <3

ahmad why can't you be my examiner LOL