The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.

Dear all

Monday marked a significant anniversary in the world of literature and politics. It was on 8th June 1949 that George Orwell’s novel, 1984, was published. One of the most influential books of the 20th century, 1984 served as a dire warning against the rise of totalitarianism and the erosion of individual freedom. It’s also been Spanish Enrichment Week in school, and in Monday’s assembly, we explored the significance of Orwell’s book and his connection with Spain.

In the world of 1984, George Orwell depicts a totalitarian state called Oceania, where the government – known as the Party – exerts absolute control over every aspect of life, including people’s actions, speech, and even their thoughts. In Oceania, Big Brother is the personification of the ‘surveillance state,’ where citizens are monitored constantly, and a group called the ‘Thought Police’ ensures no one is free from scrutiny.

Orwell’s book is famous for showing how power can be maintained by manipulating things we take for granted. The Party uses a simplified language called ‘Newspeak’ to narrow the range of human thought, making ‘thoughtcrime’ – even thinking anything against the state – impossible because, eventually, there will be no words left to express rebellious ideas.

Doublethink is also a feature of the book – the ability to hold two contradictory beliefs simultaneously, such as the Party slogan ‘War is Peace,’ which allows the state to bypass logic and maintain psychological dominance over its citizens.

One of the most chilling parts of the book is the idea that if you control the present, you can rewrite the past. The ‘Ministry of Truth’ constantly alters historical records so the Party is always seen as correct, even when the objective evidence proves otherwise.

Before he wrote 1984, Orwell travelled to Spain in the 1930s to fight against fascism in the Spanish Civil War. It was while there that he saw how different political factions used propaganda and how they tried to rewrite the history of the battles he was fighting in. The ‘Ministry of Truth’ in 1984 is, in part, Orwell’s response to the lies he saw printed in newspapers during the Spanish Civil War.

1984 remains significant today; in fact, some would say more than ever, at a time when so much of what appears online is at least questionable, if not completely false. Perhaps the most chilling quote from 1984 is this:

‘The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.’

Have a great weekend

Best wishes

Michael Bond