Noah MillerEnglish Honors: DMs. Hiller13 December 20131984 Major Essay AssignmentIndividualism is one versus its opposite, collectivism, which is the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. When inserted into a collective whole, one might do more for the whole than one does for oneself. This collective whole is easily controlled and manipulated. Society has always been troubled by the idea of ​​overwhelming control. In George Orwell's 1984, humanity is dominated by an extreme government whose intent is to abolish all aspects of freedom. Orwell indicates that when subjected to propaganda and mass intimidation, the ignorant majority's memory and concept of truth become distorted, making them extremely malleable and submissive. The Party uses slogans to convince the ignorant that what they want is what they already have. “WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH,” (Orwell 4). There is no desire for freedom, because they are told it is slavery. If freed, they would be unhappy and would not live as they do. Thus, society must believe that war establishes peace and serenity. Even just changing a few small elements of the story can alter human beliefs. By constantly providing people with fraudulent information and hiding the truth, the Party can make people believe almost anything; ultimately leading to complete mastery over the mind. Orwell argues that society is completely unaware of the constraints that are involved in everyday life. There is no individual in society and everyone remains equal. “Don't you see that the main purpose of Newspeak is to narrow the field of thought?” (46) Not only does the limitation of words show society that by controlling the methods of com...... middle of paper ...... time, reality becomes unclear, and when it is unclear, one might look in the past tense for answers.When individuals in a society are isolated from each other through communication, it becomes extremely difficult for an individual not to conform to the madness. This kind of madness is healthy because everyone else is mad; leads to the conclusion that this individual is normal. It is very important to maintain a sense of uniqueness in order to have mutual relationships. When you are oppressed by a Party that takes away your inalienable fundamental rights, advertises false information, and every individual has common knowledge of the consequences they might receive for thinking, it is extremely difficult to maintain a sense of reality. Orwell proposes that when an individual faces all these prohibitions, he is easily manipulated into psychological slavery.