1984 essay help?

[ally_cat]

ok can someone explain doublethink to me? my english teacher tried to explain it by actually using doublethink, which kinda made me more confused.....

[Dodo25]

It's the art of not letting cognitive dissonance build up or bother you.

Example: People believe in God because they think it all needs to have a first cause, a creator. Then someone asks 'who created god?' and they just keep believing, ignoring the question consciously or unconsciously, or coming up with rationalizations.

Applied to 1984:
For some purposes, logic still has to apply, but whenver it contradicts anything stated by THE PARTY, it just has to shut down.

In the beginning, doublethink indeed creates confusion, and it's hard to do (it should be!!). If one becomes a 'master', one does it unconsciously without effort (thereby becoming a mindless sheep, dogmatically devoted to THE PARTY).

[The Atheist]

It's the art of not letting cognitive dissonance build up or bother you.

That's possibly a slightly complicated way of describing it!



I like to go with Orwell's own statement that it is holding two contradictory ideas and believing them both.

I think I can avoid politics while using politicians as an example. An aspiring politician will say what the people want to hear, but knows that the action is impossible.

[hillwalker]

A simpler analogy might be smoking.
Even though most know that smoking can cause cancer, they rationalise their habit by arguing that
- it gives them pleasure
- makes them appear cool
- the extra taxes they pay go towards healthcare so they are providing for a social service
- they are going to be the medical exception to the rule-
- they don't inhale, etc. etc.
Because the subconscious is theoretically unable to hold two contradictory beliefs they dismiss the more unsavoury fact that smoking kills and hang on to all the others that promote their habit - that's cognitive distortion in practice.

I would say that Doublethink is the conditioning of the subconscious to actually believe two contraditcory beliefs at the same time and rationalise both.

H

[ally_cat]

thanks so much everyone. i appreciate the help

[Dipen Guha]

Orwell is an essayist and polemist. We find that in " 1984" he describes the mechanisms and techniques of the police state. His coinage " doublethink" has become part of the English language. Lexically, the word " doublethink" denotes, believing two contradictory ideas at the same time. The conviction is based on Orwell's keen perception and analysis of tendencies existing in his own time, not merely in Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia but, in the nations of the " free world". "1984" is both a prophecy and a warning of what life might be if individuals allow themselves to be coerced into conformity by the state. The slogans like " Ignorence is Strength"," War is Peace", " Freedom is Slavery" can aptly be juxtaposed before the traditional maxims.

[Monkeys]

Double think is two contradictory beliefs that are said to be true.