Names that fit what they describe
When Winston is working at the Ministry of Truth and finishes altering a written record, he burns the message that detailed the change by putting it into a tube that leads to a furnace. I thought the nickname for these tubes - memory holes - was rather fitting. The people working at the Ministry rewrite previously written records to make them match with current events, so while they are rewriting, they have memories of the original records. The slips of paper the workers receive that tell them what changes to make provide tangible evidence of these memories. However, the Party wants everyone to believe that its records have always remained the same, that no changes were ever made. Therefore, to comply with the Party's wishes, the Ministry workers put their slips of paper that document alterations into the memory holes to be burned, thus destroying their memories of ever rewriting the records.
Another name I found quite appropriate was the Spies, a group run by the Party that essentially indoctrinates young children into the Party's ideology. These children are taught to love Big Brother and the Party and turn in anyone who gives the slightest hint of disloyalty. Winston even mentions that children regularly denounce their parents to the Thought Police. In a way, the members of the Spies act as literal spies for the Party, seeking out suspicious people even in their own households.
Can you think of other names for objects or groups that are particularly fitting? Comment below!
I can't think of any other examples at the moment but I do find it very interesting how the Party is in a way telling everyone what they're doing through these names. It just goes to show how conditioned everyone is that these things don't alert them to anything being wrong about their situation.
ReplyDeleteThis makes sense; I would agree that everyone is too conditioned to notice anything is wrong. In another light, we could say that the things the reader finds wrong about their situation are products of us growing up in a society where certain things that happen in 1984 would be considered immoral / dangerous / insert other word with negative connotation here. So they wouldn't even have to be conditioned to the extent BNW humans were -- to just be used to the tyrannical actions + oppressive structures of the regime and having nothing to compare it to is already a big conditioning measure.
Delete"Thought Police" is still one of the most chilling names and concepts in this book. I saw a description of a new dystopian novel called something like "Memory Police" which was an homage to 1984 in which people start losing things but their memories are altered so that they aren't aware of the loss. Scary stuff.
ReplyDeletethough I cant say i have a name i find particularly fitting, i do think the different ministries are ironic considering their jobs, such as the ministry of peace whose job is to enact war. their names are a telltale sign of what they are trying to push down.
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me of how certain previous cabinet members were appointed because they wanted to destroy their particular area: secretary of education was against public education, secretary of interior was an oil exec, etc.
DeleteI guess in itself, "the Party" is kind of rather fitting because it is like a political party. It is the only political party (unlike our multiple parties) that controls everything, but it still is a political party. Also, the Thought Police because they are incriminating people who have thoughts against the Party. They do what real police do, but instead of normal crimes, the crime is thinking.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the Party is given no further descriptor is telling as well; there's no other choice, no "other Party" for people to rebound to.
DeleteYeah both of those names are really fiitting. I didn't notice the connection between the "memory hole" and burning memories. I think another one that's fitting is Big Brother himself. In all the party propaganda he's supposed to be this older, wiser figure taking care of the society, not just the leader of a totalitarian government. It seems as if party members are told to put all their trust in Big Brother, which helps them accept the constant alteration of the past, since if Big Brother says it's true it must be true.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that's a little strange about the name big brother is the whole "Big Brother is watching". Of I had an older brother who was always watching me that would be really freaky.
DeleteI can't exactly think of another name that fits, but I think that the reason these names are particularly fitting are because the author might use them to add a bit of irony to the book. We saw it a bit through BNW, and having ironic items in the society kind of creates satire about it, criticizing it in turn.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I would consider this a "fitting" name, but I find it interesting that cigarettes and coffee are called "victory cigarettes" and "victory coffee", even though both seem to be a worse, cheaper version of what we are used to. Even if these names aren't fitting, they seem very intentional and serve as another way for the government to convince people that life is good.
ReplyDeleteI agree that those are very interesting names. Winston also lives in the Victory Mansions which are falling apart. Your comment also made me wonder whether all victory named things aren't given to the Proles, because I don't know about the coffee or cigarettes, but he has said that they aren't supposed to have victory gin.
DeleteI think it's interesting how the place is called the "Ministry of Truth", when in fact it is anything but. The workers there are altering historical articles to something new, making it seem like the truth to the people when it isn't. However, all the other names make sense to me.
ReplyDeleteI think regimes coopting youth is very frightening. The Spies, and other youth programs seen through history, have an easy time convincing children to work for them (as children don't know any better). After children are in the mindset of trying to find enemies of the party there is little anyone can do to stop them because they are so driven.
ReplyDeleteThis is a funny post, and I like your observations. While I can't personally think of any names at the moment, I feel like the world of 1984 is moving towards simplicity in thought/society/life in general, so I think it makes a lot of sense that they would assign the facets of this society super obvious and literal names.
ReplyDelete