Themes of Nineteen Eighty-Four
In the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four there are some themes.
Eurasia, Estasia and Oceania[edit | edit source]
They were the three main countries into which the entire world was divided (wow, someone almost got something).
Oceania: It includes America (all of it), England, Australia and Tuvalu, both Ulterior and Citerior. It is believed to be inhabited by Zoras for the most part, with human pockets remaining on islands and islets. Its politics is English socialism. Yes... The Americans are socialists and English, but let's remember that it is a futuristic-past-uchronic fiction novel.
Eurasia: It includes the former USSR (Russia) after it has sucked Europe dry (Not chips! We have already said that England is Out). Its politics was communism but a systemic anomaly in the matrix makes Lenin reappear from time to time and creates neo-Bolshevism. It is currently the sixth version: neoneoneoneoneoneo-Bolshevism. To escape from this country you don't have to jump over Berlin walls but find the Oracle; But be careful, the Oracles are dangerous...
Estasia: Basically China. Populated by millions of little clones of Miau Se Tumba who eternally prepare for an Olympics, celebrating events such as boat shooting, spear throwing (very murderous), or high jump. Their ideology is the worship of the Grim Reaper by the Chinese Cudeiros (Who are the majority religion) and the disappearance of the first person singular (Estasia also has its Newspeak) which has motivated everyone in this country to talk about themselves in the third person as if they were a bunch of canis.
Disputed territories[edit | edit source]
They were a territory composed of India, the upper half of Africa and the lands in between that were continually in dispute (what a word, eh?) between Eurasia, Estasia and Oceania for being the main source of production of what its name indicates.
Hundreds of minutes of hate[edit | edit source]
A ceremony that was held from time to time was the Hate against Emmanuel Goldstein. According to O'Brien, "Loving Big Brother is important, but hating Goldstein is also important." In schools, there was a class called "Hating Goldstein".
Emmanuel Goldstein had been a leader during the early years of the Revolution. He then made contributions to the Uncyclopedia without respecting the rules of "How To Be Funny And Not Just Stupid" and vandalized other people's articles. In addition, Goldstein beat his wife, sodomized his daughter, and ate raw children; or so Big Brother said of him.
Rewriting history[edit | edit source]
The politicians in this novel were like politicians in real life. If they were wrong about something or changed their minds, they said "I didn't flip-flop, I simply reconsidered", "Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia," and "I have never been a communist" (said after the fall of the Berlin Wall). But also in a brutal way. They ordered UnNews from days or even months earlier to be rewritten and the copies reprinted. This meant huge paper costs and forests were disappearing. Winston Smith worked at the Ministry of Truth where this was done.
Monitoring Thought[edit | edit source]
Ingsoc tries to monitor citizens' thought by analyzing facial expressions, tone of voice, etc. Ingsoc therefore ignores the whole "Thought does not commit crimes" thing.
“Having an inappropriate expression on one's face, such as appearing unenthusiastic about a contribution from Big Brother to Uncyclopedia (as if it were the rubbish it really is instead of considering it a very good contribution), was very dangerous. It constituted "thoughtcrime". An improper expression like this was called "facecrime".”
“We find it intolerable that an erroneous thought should exist anywhere in the world, however secret and harmless it may be. Even at the moment of death, we cannot allow any deviation. We are not satisfied with mere external obedience to the rules. Every citizen must believe that Big Brother is the most handsome, the most intelligent, the most competent, and that his contributions to the Uncyclopedia are very good and deserve to be featured. And it is not enough to say it, one must also really think it.”
In its propaganda, the Party told citizens: "If you know or suspect that a person is a thought criminal, report them to the Thought Police." With this, citizens were constantly monitoring one another, especially with regard to facial expressions. Many of the people arrested by the Thought Police for being thought criminals had been reported by a relative, a friend, a colleague, or just someone who had seen them on the street.
Facecrime[edit | edit source]
"Facecrime" is the wearing of an inappropriate expression on one's face and constitutes a "thoughtcrime." There are several types of "facecrime":
Hateful Stare: Particularly serious if it is directed at an image (whether on a telescreen, video, or photograph) of Big Brother or a member of the Inner Party, or an image of them. However, it is mandatory if it is directed at an image of Goldstein.
Covetous Stare: The person staring at an object is a "thought thief," a thought criminal who wants to steal it. Very serious if the object belongs to a member of the Inner Party. That's why Cristiano Ronaldo has his car censored.
Facecrime of disbelief: Serious if it's when the Party or Big Brother says something. A good citizen should believe everything even if it's almost always a lie.
Lesbian Facecrime: If a lesbian gives another woman a lascivious Stare. That's why they gave them beards on Yuri.
Surprise Facecrime: It's a thoughtcrime if it's because you remember a previous version of history when the Party rewrites the past. In this version of the story, Maradona and Bugs Bunny were in Hirohito's army. Stare at that with a surprised expression.
Surveillance Stare: This is the most annoying of all. It's an attack on the rights to privacy. And yet, it's not prohibited, but quite the opposite. Citizens must constantly monitor each other to detect thought criminals, often through their facial expressions.
Boredom Facecrime: A citizen should show interest in everything announced or organized by Ingsoc, for example, the great articles Big Brother writes in Uncyclopedia, the Party's speeches, the Hundred Minutes of Hate, etc.
Aesthetic Stare: It is a thoughtcrime if a citizen detects or notices how beautiful another person is, because the only beautiful person is George Clooney Big Brother.
Unsightly Stare: It is a thoughtcrime if a citizen detects or notices how ugly a member of the Inner Party is.
Fear Facecrime: Then the citizen has done something wrong or has something to hide. And yet, it's the most common expression because citizens have a terrible fear of not having the correct facial expression.
Bewildered Stare: A good citizen must immediately and spontaneously have the emotions that Ingsoc believes are correct, without doubt or hesitation of any kind. And yet, this Stare is very common because citizens are confused about what the correct facial expression is at any given time and circumstance and how to use it. Even worse if circumstances change unexpectedly.
Contemptuous Stare: Very serious if it's directed at Big Brother, the Party's ceremonies or institutions, or an article Big Brother has written in Uncyclopedia.
Reproachful Stare: Very serious if it's directed at Big Brother or a member of the Inner Party. There's nothing to reproach them for. Understand?
Facecrime of Joy: It is a thoughtcrime if it is for something bad that has happened to Oceania or the Party (for example, Big Brother having one of his contributions to Uncyclopedia reversed).
Facecrime of Discontent: It is a thoughtcrime because the citizen does not believe, as they should, that they live in a wonderful society wisely governed and directed by Big Brother.
Facecrime of Mockery: It is a thoughtcrime and a lack of respect for the ceremonies and institutions of Oceania.
Indifference Stare: It is a thoughtcrime if it is for something that should matter greatly to a citizen, for example, Oceania's military victories.
Envy Stare: The citizen is dissatisfied with the distribution of goods that Ingsoc has wisely and fairly arranged.
Haughty Stare: This is a thoughtcriminal who believes himself superior to members of the Inner Party, instead of acknowledging his subordination to them.
Defiant Stare: Very dangerous if you are about to be interrogated.
Hunger Facecrime: This is a thoughtcriminal who considers the Ministry of Plenty's distribution of foods through rationing to be insufficient or unfair.
Weary Facecrime: This is a thoughtcriminal who does not willingly make the efforts necessary to develop Oceania's wonderful society.
Pain Facecrime: The person being tortured in the Ministry of Love should confess and repent of their crimes instead of complaining.
Facecrime of "That-Uncyclopedia-article-is-worthless-and-should-be-deleted": Very serious if the article was written by Big Brother.
Facecrime of "This-subsection-is-too-long-and-is-a-boring-thing": <insert name here>, you have just committed a thought crime and the Uncyclopedic Thought Police will be on your case. Your user page will be deleted. All your edits will be reverted and the historials in which they appear will be erased. You will be a non-person. You must give up all hope of posterity vindicating you, <insert name here>. Posterity will know nothing of you. You will disappear completely from the historical stream. You will be dissolved into the stratosphere, so to speak. Nothing will remain of you: not a name on a piece of paper, not an edition in Uncyclopedia, not the memory of you in a living being. You will be annihilated in both the past and the future. You will not have existed.
The ban on "facecrime" created an atmosphere of fear and terror. There are rules that, even if unfair, are easy to define, easy to comply with, and easy to prove that you have complied with them. For example, if you establish an obligation to attend the Hundreds of minutes of hate and announce it well in advance, it's clear what you have to do, it's easy to comply with, and they know you've complied.
But if facecrime is prohibited, that is, you are required to have the appropriate facial expression at all times, you have a rule that is impossible to define, impossible to comply with, and impossible to prove that you have complied with. It is impossible to specify. How can you know what the correct facial expression is in each circumstance? It is also impossible to comply with. Often, facial expression is something involuntary and unconscious. Putting on the appropriate expression is something that is only done well if it is done spontaneously. It is also impossible to prove that you have complied with it. Will the Thought Police interpret your facial expression correctly? With this, citizens have a terrible fear of not having the right expression. Therefore, most of the time, the facial expression is one of fear, a fear that the Thought Police often interpret unfavorably. This forces citizens to engage in agonizing introspection of their facial expression, especially when the police conduct a cavity search. Did I have the right expression or not? Citizens live under unbearable pressure, forced to interpret and represent emotions they are not even fully aware of having, for fear of the consequences. Emotions that are not easy to represent well. For example: looking at Cristiano Ronaldo's Ferrari speeding toward them from a distance can produce a scared face or, worse, an embarrassing pee.
It's a vicious cycle. The constant fear imposed by the "facecrime" ban not only stifles any authentic emotion, but ironically can fuel further suspicion. If citizens' faces reflect permanent fear, that fear could be considered disloyalty by the Thought Police. It's as if the system were designed to frame people for whatever they do, producing an atmosphere of terror and paranoia. Paradoxically, the horror of committing a thoughtcrime provokes a thoughtcrime: the facecrime of fear.
Lesbians[edit | edit source]
Lesbianism is a form of "sexcrime" and Ingsoc persecutes and imprisons lesbians.
According to Ingsoc, lesbians are thoughtcriminals who sexually desire and leer at other women. Furthermore, if a lesbian sexually desires another woman, she will continue to desire her even if she doesn't look at her. Therefore, whether they look or not, lesbians should go to prison. And how does the Party know that lesbians sexually desire other women? Because if they didn't have sexual desires, they wouldn't be lesbians but asexual women (the Party's ideal).
The Thought Police say: "Lesbians are thoughtcriminals who pose a grave threat to society. Aren't you horrified that a lesbian sexually desires your sisters or your daughters? Of course, it is! Then the best thing to do is to put them all in prison. And if that means running the risk of imprisoning innocent people as well, then take that risk. This nonsense about the 'presumption of innocence' is the nonsense of decadent and corrupt societies that don't know how to protect normal women from these degenerates." Similar things are continually repeated by Party propaganda.
With this, the Party promotes a climate of fear and extreme terror. Men and women live in a terrible fear that a lesbian might sexually desire their sisters or daughters. Lesbian women live in a tremendous fear of being discovered. Heterosexual women live in a terrible fear of being mistakenly identified as lesbians. Homophobia harms everyone.
The Party promotes hate, distrust, and denunciation of lesbians with programs and television advertisements and posters on the streets. Ingsoc propaganda says things like: "This degenerate lesbian masturbates thinking about you, your wife, your daughter, your sister. Don't allow it! Enough of this lesbian facecrime! Report her! If you know or suspect a woman is a lesbian, report her to the Thought Police.", "This vicious lesbian leers at your relatives and you. To prison with her! If you know or suspect a woman is a lesbian, report her to the Thought Police.", "Lesbians threaten and harass us all. They are a grave danger. Report!". In fact, most lesbians (real or perceived) in prison have been reported to the Thought Police by a relative, a friend, a colleague, or a passerby. There are even many cases in which two women accuse each other of "lesbian facecrime".
The Party calls for demonstrations against lesbians. Banners appear with messages such as: "My body is not eye candy. Keep your leering glances to yourself, you filthy lesbian slobber!", "Lesbians, a danger to everyone.", "Lesbian! I'm fed up with your harassment.", "Lesbians to prison." One protester told television cameras: "We are fed up with the sexual harassment we are subjected to by these obsessive lesbians. It is appalling that a lesbian sexually desires and leers at my wife, my daughters, or my sisters. No honorable woman can walk in peace by the street while there is a lesbian at large. Prison is where they all belong."
See also[edit | edit source]