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Warning: Side effects of reading 1984 may include: psychosis, confusion, brain cramps, head scratching, and “the crazies.” Yes, you have the main motif in 1984 to thank. Press play for more on Orwell’s mind-bending motif.

Video Transcription:

Winston Smith, the protagonist of 1984, isn’t the only one who has it tough. I don’t know about you, but I was feeling myself go just a little bit crazy as I read this novel. And that’s all thanks to Orwell’s main motif: Doublethink.

Doublethink: It’s about holding two contradictory ideas in your mind at the same time. And it’s the “thought process” on which the entire government and society in 1984 are built.

For example, think about the names and functions of the different Party ministries: The Ministry of Plenty deals with economic shortages. The Ministry of Peace is responsible for war. The Ministry of Truth rewrites history using blatant lies. And the Ministry of Love is where torture and punishment take place.

Cuz that makes sense.

The point of the doublethink, of course, is to destroy the capacity for independent thought. As the Party manipulates its citizens to the point where they literally become mindless, soulless machines, it becomes possible for these citizens to believe anything that the Party tells them, even while possessing information that contradicts whatever they’re being told.

Just another friendly reminder from Orwell that totalitarian rule is dangerous and that our only salvation lies in defending the truth—and the free thought that accepts that truth—with all our might.