Manipulation and the historical parallels in part 1 of George Orwell’s 1984 Penelope Barker 11th Grade

One aspect of 1984 that is consistently dominant, is the theme of manipulation, and how even the most overt and simplistic forms of manipulation manages to keep the citizens of Oceania so loyal so successfully. One way in which manipulation is especially central throughout the novel is through the transcendence of the Party. The Party is omniscient within Oceania; it’s prevalence in society being “gradually pushed back in time”, as to conflate its power with its ubiquity, making even Winston not being able to “remember at what date the Party itself had come into existence”. The lack of precise dates in the Party’s history sees its attempts to solidify its power as somewhat ethereal and seraphic, while also avoiding meticulousness, which makes the world of Big Brother less susceptible to challenges, as it can then be seen to be above human authority, and yet, authority over humans is the nature of exactly what makes the Party prosper. Winston himself attempts to resist the manipulation of blind loyalty to the Party – however, he literally perpetuates this kind of repressive culture by working in the Ministry of Truth, rewriting articles in The Times and diminishing the true history, if that could ever even be known by someone...