A term to Control Social Human Being

“Nineteen Eighty-Four” is a simple, unique, and easy to remember title of the famous novel which is given by the author that is Eric Arthur Blair who is famous as George Orwell. It is the sensational novel which is published in England by the famous publisher that is Penguin Group. The “Nineteen Eighty Four” had been published Six times, and the first published is in 1945 while the fresh, new edition published is in 2008. It has thirty hundred and eleven (311) pages with cover which is dominated by black color, added by red-cream color and decorated by eye picture which give mysterious and curious impression to interest people reads this novel. The design of the cover’s novel is Shepard Fairey and the number of ISBN is 978-0-141-03614-4. It is a little bit expensive book for me because the cost is around Rp.153.000, 00 but in U.K. the cost is around 7.99 pound while in Canada the cost of this book is around $10.99.


George Orwell shows that there are two ways to control human being. The social manipulation and social control are the absolute ways in control social human being life by the party. It is showed by appearing Ideological State Apparatus and Repressive State Apparatus as represents of the social manipulation and social control itself.


Before discussing it, I am going to tell about how great this novel impressed me. The “Nineteen Eighty-Four” is the sequel one from “Animal Farm” which has the same author, from my analysis both of the novel have the similarity topic that represents the control of social human being. This is the interesting one that is from those novels I know about how the social manipulation and social control becomes the absolute power to control social human being and make me release that I am faked by the social manipulation and I am controlled by the social control and this novel opens my eyes to see what does really happen in my social and my environment.
Now I will explain it one by one, what are social manipulation and social control then how these aspects is represented in “Nineteen Eighty-Four”. The social manipulation is “a way to manipulate human behavior by using the fact that the human behavior is influenced by people living around him/her” (Andere Interactiviteiten, from the social Manipulation’s article). In “Nineteen Eighty-four” the social manipulation is showed by the four ministries that are; The Ministry of Peace; concern with war, The Ministry of Plenty; responsible for economic affairs, The Ministry of love; maintained law and order and the last is The Ministry of Truth; concern with news, entertainment, education and the fine arts. Those of department looks like usual department which manage the government are not? How can be said as the social manipulation? Do not judge the book from the cover and these are the reason why it is called the social manipulation. The first is The Ministry of Peace; in the Airstrip there are three wars which never end that are Eastasia, Eurasia and Oceania. Actually these three wars are creation which is accidentally made so that the societies really consider that the war is happen. Secondly, The Ministry of Plenty; this ministry malquoted chocolates rectify, it has ever announced on February that will not reduce the chocolate ration from thirty to twenty but the fact, the chocolate ration has been reduced to twenty gram but proudly The Ministry of Plenty said that they had success to make chocolate ration into twenty gram. Thirdly, The Ministry of Love; this ministry is the opposite of the names because it is a brainwash place for people’s mind who doubt, against, and refuse the principal and the leadership of Big Brother and party until finally accept and love to Big Brother and Party. Lastly, the Ministry of Truth; which is consists of Record Department and Fiction Department. Record department manipulated every story which had happen and Fiction Department was, every fiction have to report to Big Brother, if it is said to re-written so it will be re-written and must be suitable to Big Brother needed. The final result of those ministries is the society beliefs with the manipulation which looks like naturally is acceptance all of the fact which is given without know whether it is truth or lie because society only know that party is always right.


The next discussion is the social control that is “control as regulation” (Emile Durkhem) and a way to control social human being based on two basic forms of social controls that are “internalization of norms and values and the using of sanction” (Sociologist identify, Social Control’s article). According to those define the social control also happen and is used to control social human being in the novel. There are Thought Police which arrest whoever whose have thought crime and against Big Brother and party. Then there are the huge, square, wide telescreen and so many posters in every size which is stick across the road, in a house, even in office and there is “Big Brother is watching you” so every act and behaviors is watched. Another fact that is Newspeak Dictionary, the societies has to speak according to Newspeak dictionary for example to say “excellent”, “splendid” and unsatisfactory are “plusgood”, “doubleplusgood” and “doubleplusungood” in Newspeak. Then there are Victory gins, Victory cigarette, Victory coffee, is only Victory labels which is sold nothing else it represents monopoly trades which happen in fact. The next is party’s slogan that is; War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength. It represents the Ideological State Apparatus that is “as method by which organizations propagate ideology” (Althusser) which is created by party to grow up a belief of party’s power and it controls every mind of societies to only thinks that party is always right. While Thought Police and “Big Brother is Watching You” represents Repressive State Apparatus that is “as the method by which compliance can be forced and includes the army, police etc” (Althusser). Those are fact which I found from Nineteen Eighty-Four as prove that the social manipulation and social control is really exist and is represented in this novel as a fact in reality.
Based on my interpretation about this book, I think Orwell wants to show that what he wrote in Nineteen Eighty-Four as the real facts which really happen in the world. Believe or not and realized or not that is the fact. Orwell describes certainly how the ruling class manages the assumption of the societies with all of ways. I remember that “Who control the past control the future, which control present control the past” (George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four) and according to Benito Mussolini “Everything within the state, nothing outside state, nothing against the state”. It becomes the key word from the whole story that is to control human being life is created many kinds of way to make the societies trust forever to the party and ruling class.


Finally, I can conclude that actually every aspect of life is manipulated and controlled, so that the societies only trust to Big brother and party, they will obey and will not asking about the leadership of the party and Big Brother. Actually that is the original, natural real life which happens during in a long time ago.


Mai Roza HR
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A Class
Expository Writing I Assignment