8-26-2013 Essay A

In 1984, George Orwell urges the readers to protect certain freedoms by creating a world in which none of those freedoms are present. By allowing the readers to experience this world through Winston, Orwell gives the readers a taste of what it would feel like without any of the freedoms we take for granted today. A couple of the freedoms that Orwell wants us to protect are the freedom of speech and the freedom of thought. By removing these basic freedoms temporarily in the virtual world of the book, Orwell is attempting to make the readers more aware and protective of these rights. The first freedom that Orwell wants us to protect is the freedom of speech. In the world of 1984, telescreens are placed in nearly all buildings to listen in on every word. Even outside, hidden microphones attempt to record every word and sound. As stated in the first few pages of the book, You had to live in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard (2). Although there were no laws against saying anything contrary to the Partys beliefs, anyone saying such things is sure to be heard and vanish. All Party members live in constant fear of vanishing after saying something even slightly against the Party. When Winston finally finds places where he thinks he cant be heard (such as the forest, OBriens apartment (Where the teleprompter is turned off), and the room in the antique shop), he finds relief in saying all the things he previously couldnt say. However, it turns out that even these locations are compromised, and he is caught almost immediately. A world in which the everyone has to watch every word or sound they make is a world none of us would like to live in. Orwell drives his point home by dropping the readers straight into it. The second freedom that Orwell wants us to protect is the freedom of thought. At first, freedom of thought may seem like an obvious and non-manipulable right. However, Orwell

breaks this idea by introducing the manipulation of language. By manipulating language, the Party is able to control the thoughts of its subjects. As described by Orwell in the appendix, a thought diverging from the principles of Ingsoc should be literally unthinkable, at least so far as thought is dependent on words (267). By eliminating the words, the Party is able to eliminate ideas that the words represent, ultimately narrow[ing] the range of thought (46). By giving the readers a peek into what this may mean for the subjects of the Party (the complete subjugation of all individuals), Orwell stresses the importance of freedom of thought as the ultimate freedom that everyone should fight for. Once the freedom of thought is lost, all other freedoms are lost. You cant have freedom of speech when you dont have the freedom to think of what to say. Orwell breaks down the conception of the mind as an invincible safehaven by creating a world in which a group is able to infiltrate the mind. He attempts to get the readers to recognize that the freedom of thought is something to fight for, not to be taken for granted. George Orwell urges for the protection of several basic freedoms in his book, 1984. Two of those freedoms are freedom of speech and freedom of thought. By creating a world in which both of those freedoms are nonexistent, Orwell is able to further stress the importance of those freedoms. A world in which all sounds and conversations are listened to is horrible to imagine. A world in which a group controls all thought is unfathomable, as freedom thought is seen as the foundation of all other freedoms, including speech. However, Orwell successfully makes both of those worlds unnervingly plausible, and urges the reader to recognize and fight for those freedoms we take for granted today.