Rhetoric as an Instrument for Manipulation and Distortion of Truth: An Analysis of Orwell's 1984
Keywords:
Doublethink, Language, Newspeak, Propaganda, Reason, Rhetoric, State, TotalitarianismAbstract
Aristotle, in his Rhetoric, points out that all
individuals indulge in rhetoric to demonstrate the truth or
righteousness in what one wants to say. Problems arise only
when rhetoric is used to appeal to emotions, rather than reason.
In the current times, when rhetoric is used by leaders for
propaganda, to whip up emotions in terms of nationalism and
racism, George Orwell's remark that "political language is
designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable,"
6
sounds relevant. The author examines Orwell's 1984 to
demonstrate how rhetoric is a powerful tool in the hands of
political leaders that can control the thoughts of individuals, to
the extent of reducing them to non-entities. In an era where
manufacture of consent is possible, the paper highlights how
the quality of rhetoric has vitiated over time and the concern
that the abuse of language prevalent in fascist regimes of Hitler
and Stalin is slowly creeping into democracies too. A peaceful
and harmonious existence is possible only when political
leaders engage in responsible rhetoric and are willing to
dialogue with dissenting voices.
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