The Garden of Wilde Flowers

Language as a way to control people’s behavior in 1984 and V for Vendetta.

George Orwell and Alan Moore are two modern writers. Although both write different genres, Orwell is known for his novels well as Moore is known for his graphic novels or comics. Despite this big difference there is something common about their personal lives that marked their writing career. Both authors since young age have not felt comfortable following rules or order, both of them felt oppressed and outraged by the schools system as wells as their jobs. That is why, they pursued a writing career related to envisioning their work to a more political side in which they could criticize and reflect about the world that governments were developing as a way to warn society about what the world could become if citizens do not participate and stand for their rights in this world. Their career is framed in the dystopian world which is defined by the International Reading Association(2006) as a futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic technological, moral, or totalitarian control. Dystopias, through an exaggerated worst-case scenario, make a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or political system. Regarding some characteristics of dystopian novels, several authors stated that propaganda is used as tool to control society. Having this in mind is why I thought language plays a key role in connecting citizens with the ideas spread by this government. As Desmond Tutu(n.d.) stated “Language is very powerful. Language does not just described reality. Language creates the reality it describes”. This essay attempts to give a close examination of the way the use of language, both in George Orwell’s 1984 and Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta can control people’s behavior throughout the histories.

1984 Summary

To begin with, in order to contextualize the analysis I would like to give a brief summary of both histories. On the one hand, 1984 was written by George Orwell back in 1949. It is a dystopian novel set in Oceania a super state that is under perpetual war, government control and manipulation. The main character is Winston Smith who is part of the Outer Party works at the Ministry of Truth. Here he met Julia and both start a romance. After that Winston gets to know O’Brien who is member of the Inner Party. At the beginning Winston thinks O’Brien is part of the Brotherhood as the book goes on the reader realizes that Winston was right. Since O’Brien captured and torture him in order to relocate Winston in the society. Once this happened, Winston returns to see Julia and confesses that betrayed. 

V  for Vendetta Summary.

In the other hand V for Vendetta is graphic novel written by Alan Moore back in 1989. This comic is also part of dystopian genre and is set in the futuristic United Kingdom near 1990. The country is ruled by a totalitarian government that has empowered the police state. The main character of the graphic novel is V, who is an anarchist in charge of creating revenge against the ones who capture and torture him. This revenge consist on bring the government down through propaganda to convince citizens to rule their society.

As I mentioned before language is key element in the development of this two histories. Since plays the role of controlling people’s mind in order to get a reaction of the society in which they are living.

                                             

First of all, as Berkes(2000) mentioned in his essay Language as the “Ultimate Weapon” in Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell was concerned in the new use of English focusing on its abuse. One of the things Orwell was aware was the power of language especially in politics. In this field, language was use as a way to cover the truth and mislead people. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell seeks to develop public awareness by creating a new language called Newspeak. The main characteristic of language in 1984 is the constantly use of certain type of language by the ruling system and by the media. Through this, the author demonstrates how language can be employed to mislead and control people, dominating the world in which they are living, letting people to obey without questioning what their system proposed as well as accepting propaganda. Because of all mentioned above, is that Language is a mind-control tool, with the aim of destroy people’s hope and imagination.  As John Wain stated in essay, “[Orwell’s] vision of 1984 does not include extinction weapons … He is not interested in extinction weapons because, fundamentally, they do not frighten him as much as spiritual ones” (343).This has to do with the idea that is not necessary to have weapons involved in order to cause damage in the world, but that language is even more dangerous in the sense that it can control the population.  

Throughout Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell warns the readers about the impact of language. Demonstrating how language can modify the sense of reality, the concept of truth and to mislead the history. “Language is one of the key instruments of political dominations, the necessary and insidious means of the ‘totalitarian’ control of reality” (Rai, 1988).While the ideal goal of language is related to expanding horizons by understanding our society. Well as in the novel, as Rahv (n.d.) mentioned when language used in the wrong way, can just easily become a plot against human consciousness.

In the novel, the Ruling party seeks to manipulate written language by implementing a plan to introduce language barrier. As explained in this fragment of the novel:

‘By 2050- earlier, probably- all real knowledge of Oldspeak will have disappeared. The whole literature of the past will have been destroyed. Chaucer,Shakespeare, Milton,Byron- they’ll exist only in Newspeak versions, not merely changed into something different but actually changed into something contradictory of what they used to be. Even the literature of the Party will change. Even the slogans will change. How could you have a slogan like “freedom is slavery” when the concept of freedom has been abolished. (56)

What is noticeable from this extract is the fact that after some years, citizen will no able to recall information from the past, and the government will not have the need to censor their history that could lead to question their system. By manipulating written language not only have immediate effects but also it will influence the past and the future in different ways.

When it comes to the influence of language in V for Vendetta. First of all, we have to take into account the fact that Moore’s work is a kind of a complement for George Orwell’s 1984.As for language use, I would like to tackle this issue from a perspective that we discussed in classes. A significant element part of language in this graphic novel is the use of masks since through these elements is that the main character is able to persuade people’s mind in order to act against their ruling system.

As Mark Tuethardt and David Herlle (2001) stated in their blog V’s mask stands for several principles. On the one hand, the mask represents a contradiction between identity and ideal. Because as readers we never see his true face and instead of that his mask is his real identity in order to become something more important than just a random person. Through this identity he uses his words and look to persuade people to oppose the government.

A clear example of this is the following extract from the novel: “First, you must discover whose face lies behind this mask, but you must never know my face” (V for Vendetta)

Another principle is the opposition one which is related to Guy Fawkes who is well-known for his attempt to blow up the British Parliament back in 1606.Guy Fawkes also left his personal identity in order to fulfill a bigger ideal. Lastly, the masks symbolize personal growth in the sense that characters are able to raise their voice. For example Evey’s transformation into a part of the opposition instead of just being an individual force, she is part of something bigger and greater.

All in all , by implementing the use of the mask the main character seeks to persuade people to join him in the process of creating a society in which all can have something to say, not to merely obey what the government wants for their society.

To conclude I will restate my position that language can control what people think or how people behave towards government. Since propaganda plays a key role in this relationship giving people a manner to act towards institutions. Dystopian literature looks to warns us, citizens of the world, to act carefully, to reflect our decisions in order to have hope in our society. If we do not do that, that present us the course of what would happen if we continue to acting like this. 

References

Berkes,J.(2000). Language as the “Ultimate Weapon” in Nineteen Eighty-Four. Retrieved from http://www.berkes.ca/archive/berkes_1984_language.html

International Reading Association (2006). Retrieved from:http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson926/DefinitionCharacteristics.pdf

Moore,A.(1989). V for Vendetta. Vertigo Comics.

Orwell,A.(1949). 1984.New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Rahv,Philip. The Unfuture of Utopia in Nineteen Eighty-Four: Text, Sources, Criticism. 181-5.

Rai, A.(1988). Orwell and the politics of despair: A critical study of the writings of George Orwell. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Tuethardt,M.&Herlle,D.(2001).V for Vendetta .Retrieved from  http://www.shadowgalaxy.net/Vendetta/whov.html

Tutu,D. (n.d.).Retrieved from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/141429-language-is-very-powerful-language-does-not-just-describe-reality