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Motifs
Definition of Paradox
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel of truth or reason. Oscar Wilde's famous declaration that "Life is... read full definition
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel of truth or reason. Oscar... read full definition
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel... read full definition
Book 1, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Doublethink:
Because doublethink relies on gaping contradictions, 1984 is full of paradox and situational irony. This is apparent already in the first chapter of the first book, when the narrator outlines the function of the four ministries that make up the government of Oceania.
[...] the Ministry of Truth, which concerned itself with news, entertainment, education, and the fine arts; the Ministry of Peace, which concerned itself with war; the Ministry of Love, which maintained law and order; and the Ministry of Plenty, which was responsible for economic affairs.
Put more explicitly, the Ministry of Truth is in charge of disseminating lies; the Ministry of Peace augments violence; the Ministry of Love carries out punishment and torture; the Ministry of Plenty controls rationing. Thus, each of the ministries has a paradoxical function. Goldstein's manifesto, which Winston reads in the ninth chapter of the second book, reveals the paradoxes at the core of Ingsoc even more explicitly. In the book," Goldstein writes that "it is only by reconciling contradictions that power can be retained indefinitely."
The paradoxical foundation of the governing system is further highlighted by the Party slogans, which Winston also reflects on in the first chapter of the first book.
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.
In Orwell's dystopian world, the Party brazenly acknowledges its disruption of logic and meaning. For Big Brother and members of the Party, war is peace because violence is the only way to sustain their repressive grip on the people and reality. Freedom is slavery because total submission has become the only way to stay alive. Similarly, ignorance is strength because it can be fatal to show signs of individual thought and empirical questioning. These slogans appear repeatedly throughout the book, giving the reader ample opportunity to reflect on their paradoxical constructions.
The consistent paradox throughout the novel gives rise to irony and, moreover, makes it evident how totalitarianism empties everything of meaning. When Winston opens the diary to begin writing in it, the narrator mentions in a parenthetical that this act technically isn't illegal: "nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws." Nothing is illegal because the Party can designate anything as illegal. It is impossible for people to keep track of what they are supposed to think because the Party's ideology goes against reason.
In the third chapter of the first book, Winston thinks about the "labyrinthine world" of doublethink, in which even understanding the word "doublethink" requires using doublethink:
To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which canceled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself [...]
In this passage, the narrator—by way of Winston's thoughts—describes the meaninglessness that arises when figures of authority violently control reality. Winston grapples with this throughout the novel, until O'Brien removes his capacity for critical thinking.
Related Themes:
Book 1, Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Doublethink:
Because doublethink relies on gaping contradictions, 1984 is full of paradox and situational irony. This is apparent already in the first chapter of the first book, when the narrator outlines the function of the four ministries that make up the government of Oceania.
[...] the Ministry of Truth, which concerned itself with news, entertainment, education, and the fine arts; the Ministry of Peace, which concerned itself with war; the Ministry of Love, which maintained law and order; and the Ministry of Plenty, which was responsible for economic affairs.
Put more explicitly, the Ministry of Truth is in charge of disseminating lies; the Ministry of Peace augments violence; the Ministry of Love carries out punishment and torture; the Ministry of Plenty controls rationing. Thus, each of the ministries has a paradoxical function. Goldstein's manifesto, which Winston reads in the ninth chapter of the second book, reveals the paradoxes at the core of Ingsoc even more explicitly. In the book," Goldstein writes that "it is only by reconciling contradictions that power can be retained indefinitely."
The paradoxical foundation of the governing system is further highlighted by the Party slogans, which Winston also reflects on in the first chapter of the first book.
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.
In Orwell's dystopian world, the Party brazenly acknowledges its disruption of logic and meaning. For Big Brother and members of the Party, war is peace because violence is the only way to sustain their repressive grip on the people and reality. Freedom is slavery because total submission has become the only way to stay alive. Similarly, ignorance is strength because it can be fatal to show signs of individual thought and empirical questioning. These slogans appear repeatedly throughout the book, giving the reader ample opportunity to reflect on their paradoxical constructions.
The consistent paradox throughout the novel gives rise to irony and, moreover, makes it evident how totalitarianism empties everything of meaning. When Winston opens the diary to begin writing in it, the narrator mentions in a parenthetical that this act technically isn't illegal: "nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws." Nothing is illegal because the Party can designate anything as illegal. It is impossible for people to keep track of what they are supposed to think because the Party's ideology goes against reason.
In the third chapter of the first book, Winston thinks about the "labyrinthine world" of doublethink, in which even understanding the word "doublethink" requires using doublethink:
To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which canceled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself [...]
In this passage, the narrator—by way of Winston's thoughts—describes the meaninglessness that arises when figures of authority violently control reality. Winston grapples with this throughout the novel, until O'Brien removes his capacity for critical thinking.
Related Themes:
Book 3, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Tormentor and Protector:
In the second chapter of the third book, Winston wakes up fixed to a bed. He recalls a series of disjointed memories of varying forms of torture, and feels sure that that O'Brien has been "directing everything." In a passage of paradoxical statements, the narrator encapsulates Winston's contradictory relationship to O'Brien:
It was he who decided when Winston should scream with pain, when he should have a respite, when he should be fed, when he should sleep, when the drugs should be pumped into his arm. It was he who asked the questions and suggested the answers. He was the tormentor, he was the protector, he was the inquisitor, he was the friend.
In charge of his torture, O'Brien becomes an all-consuming figure for Winston. While it seems contradictory that he could be his tormentor, protector, inquisitor, and friend all at once, this sentence underlines the degree to which Winston's sanity and convictions are being broken down. The paradox also shows that, for a victim of torture, it is possible to feel positive emotions towards one's torturer, because this is the person who decides when to make the pain stop—even if it is also the person who made the pain start in the first place. O'Brien is aware of his multifaceted, paradoxical power, and he makes use of it to build a sort of Stockholm syndrome in Winston and make him devoted to Big Brother.
Related Themes:
