Okay, I just remembered that the day before your group presents, you have to put a question on the blog. My group is presenting tomorrow, so here it is!
What do you think the Party's slogan, "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength" means? How does it relate to the society in "Fahrenheit 451"?
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Thank you Selena! I totally forgot! *whew*
I think that the Party's slogan, "War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength" means that the Party (hitlers totalitarian party) is trying to justify what they are doing and saying that there is no such thing as freedom, peace, or strength. It means to me that to the Party, war is a/ the only time of peace, freedom is more of a slavery than anything, and ignorance gives the government or people in higher possitions power. It relates to 451 in that the gov. kept the people ignorant so that they might have stronger power.
War is peace- Since a constant state of war means that the citizens are in fear of their government, then there will be internal peace if there is constant external war.
Freedom is slavery- By being a slave to others, you have no control over yourself but also, you don't have to worry about supporting yourself or working for something more, so you can be free of worry about normal life problems, or at least that is what the party thinks. This reminds me of "Arbeit Macht Frei" on the gate to auschwitz, work means freedom.
Ignorance is strength- This is somewhat similar to the above slogan because it showcases how being controlled by others make you more free to work physically instead of mentally. Therefore, by being ignorant of the goings-on, you can not only remain alive but you can work hard at your job and what you are told to do, making you "Strong" in the eyes of the Party
War is peace might be the Party's way of justifying the contry's constant state of war by saying that you have to have war in order to gain some shread of peace.
Freedom is Slavery just confuses me. The only thing I can think of is that when you have more freedom you are a slave to responsability.
Ignorance is Strength could mean that when you are ignorant of what is happening and you think that everything is happy it is easier to have the strength to go on.
I think the slogan War is Peace means that war is meant to create peace. I think also that they have been in war so long that war is peace. War is the only thing people know so they are used to it and are at peace in it. I agree with Ryad that it is the government’s way of justifying the constant state of war because they can say that the only way to get peace is through war.
I think Freedom is Slavery means that being free doesn’t necessarily mean being carefree and happy. Like we talked about in class, freedom means that you have to take care of yourself and you will probably be a slave to something else like your job. Slaves can actually be freer because they are taken care of by their master. The government is trying to make the people feel like the government is taking care of them by enslaving them.
I think Ignorance is Strength means that because the government is based on having blind followers the ignorant make it stronger. It says that people can’t be both smart and orthodox because if they were smart they would question the Party and find its faults. Ignorant people are orthodox and try as hard as they can to help the party because they aren’t smart enough to see through the problems the government has created.
I think this relates to Fahrenheit 451 because the government made them ignorant by not teaching anything useful in schools. Also they were slaves to their “Parlors” but they thought they were free because they could let their minds wander and escape from reality.
War is Peace- I think that in this instance, the meaning of the word peace has changed to almost mean normal. I mean, nobody can remember anything from the past, so why couldn't they change the meaning of a word? That's exactly what Newspeak is. So I think that because the country is constantly at war, their is peace of mind because if they weren't engaged in some sort of fighting, people would become anxious and afraid that something was wrong.
Freedom is Slavery- I agree with hannal on this one. When you are a slave all you have to do is work. you don't have to worry about feeding a family or paying electrical bills, because you have basically been removed from society.
Ignornace is Strength- I have tow meanings for this one. First, I think that from the government's perspective if the people were more ignorant then they would be easier to manipulate and control like a bunch of mindless sheep. For the person reading the slogan, if you are intelligent you are constantlu questioning your actions and thinking of the repercussions of them, practically waging an internal war with themselves. If they are not divided, they are able to give thier full effort to something with out holding back.
Fahrenheit 451- Well, the "Ignorance is Strength" is pretty much spot on for Farenheit 451. The government burned books for heaven's sake. Also the people are mindless and easily manipulated as they are in 1984. The other two don't relate as much, although the people are slaves to the government and drugs.
I think that this is another tactic the party uses to brain wash people with (like the telescreens.) If the country is at war and everyone believes that war is peace, then everyone will think they are at peace. If they ever want freedom, they will remember that freedom is really slavery. If they feel ignorant, then they will feel strong.
In Fahrenheit 451, the government convinces people that books are bad. Everyone goes along with it and the government is able to control the people. This is also like the "Ignorance is Strength" part of 1984. Since books present knowledge, and the government doesn't want people having books, they are keeping the people in ignorance.
War is peace - the citizens don't know anything other than war, so it becomes their norm (everyone else's peace) and vice versa. Also, I think that Big Brother and his controlling government say things such as "war is peace" just to confuse their subjects so the people don't want to try to figure out what it means.
Freedom is Slavery - Saying freedom is slavery makes sense in a sick, twisted way. If you are a slave to your government who gives you insrtuctions for every part of your life, it gives you a sense of freedom because you don't have to worry about figuring that stuff out for yourself. Again, its sick and twisted, but makes a little sense.
Ignorance is strength - This is a just a cover up for how confused the government makes the people. The people start getting confused with all the "doublethink" that they are taught and start to realize that they are being ignorant, but because the government wants the people in the easily controlled state of ignorance they tell the citizens that being ignorant is good, so the citizens make no effort to gain knowledge. It's a controll mechanism.
I think that this book carries a lot of similarities to Fahrenheit 451. Both societies are trying to create, essentially, the "perfect" world. No one can say or believe anything different; no one can really have a memory and read books that share possible controversial thoughts. Everyone has to be the same, that is seen as creating a perfect society with no differences; therefore no controversy, no separations, and what they thought of as a better community.
I think that the Party's slogan is very powerful and contradicting because it is meant to confuse the community. It also kind of fits their current situations.
War is Peace: This community has always been at war, war is their common state. The people of the community don't see war as a bad thing; it doesn't have a huge affect on their total life. This is their peace. Throughout the book it has seemed like the members of this community are almost "backwards" to America now. They enjoy seeing people killed or in pain, strong attributes create hatred toward one, everyone lives in fear. It would almost make sense for the community to take a spin on peace.
Freedom is Slavery: The leaders here want the community to believe in following blindly. Freedom creates people that think for themselves, can make their own opinions and follow what they believe in. This is the opposite of what the society wants their citizens to know. By saying freedom is slavery, it shows to the people that freedom is a negative thing; something they would not want to live in, slavery.
Ignorance is Strength: This combination is to justify the lack of given knowledge. The leaders want to leave their citizens ignorant because that makes them easier to blend together and leaves them with fewer questions. Relating this ignorance they give the community to strength could make it "OK" in the citizen's eyes.
War is peace~ Freedom is Slavery~ Ignorance is Strength~
I know that we discussed this in class, and i agree with all the ideas stated. Also, another view could be that we must go through war to get to peace. To have true, real freedom, we must first be slaves (as seen in US history too :D) And then, to become strong, we must first be ingorant to discover what we really know/think. This eventually all lead to the other. Sure, they might be opposite, but if you have one, you must have the other.
This can relate to F451 because it is shown in that book that you can't have a society without true followers and true rebels. The only thing with F451 was that their society was at war, they were all slaves, and they were all ignorant. BUT!!!!, at the end of the book, the war ended, Montag and his society became free (some were blown up tho :D) and they became strong as a group after once being ignorant.
Alright, many of you have stated similar ideas, but here is my personal take on what “War is Peace, Ignorance is Bliss, and Freedom is Slavery” means, and how the Ministry of Truth’s slogan relates to the book "1984". First off with “War is Peace”, as suggested earlier in class and on the blog, I think that warring with other countries in their countries keeps peace and stops attacks on the homeland, and also that wars create a temporary time of peace. Another thought that I had, is that more often than not there is a war going on in someplace other than one’s town, and it gives one a sense of calmness that one’s country is able to keep the people safe by having a strong military, and keeping invaders out. As for how it relates to "Fahrenheit 451", there was a brutal war raging, but the people at home were totally calm, composed, and ignorant. Speaking of ignorance, I believe that “Ignorance is Strength” refers to how when one is in an ivory tower, nothing seems to be wrong, and when nothing seems to be wrong, one has a sense of being in control, or having strength in their limited life. Clearly this part of the slogan would be perfect for "Fahrenheit 451" because all of the people had no idea what was really going on. All the people knew was what their television screen was telling them, and their television was telling them that life was perfect. This false knowledge gave the characters in Ray Bradbury’s novel a sense of invincibility. Moving on to the final part of the slogan, “Freedom is Slavery”, I found that as we discussed in class, once one becomes “free”, they are enslaved into all the responsibilities of freedom. Everything from paying taxes to making sure that one has a meal on the table (very similar to what hannahl said). As for how this part of the slogan relates to Bradbury’s novel, I am not quite sure. Well there is my take on the Ministry of Truth’s slogan from "1984" means and how it relates to "Fahrenheit 451".
I think it's actually kind of simple. War, slavery, and ignorance are the life-blood of the Party, so like a lot of other things, they made the people believe that that was just the way it is. They can't contradict, because there's nothing else to believe.
I think the entire slogan is there to confuse the people. They will spend time trying to figure it out and how they should act that they won't think about rebelling. Also, it is very contradictory on purpose to add an extra effect of confusion. I think the society in F451 is they same as in the people think they are free when they are all slaves. Also everyone is ignorant and self-centered and they all think they are very strong and powerful. During the entire F451 book they are at war, but all the people think they are at peace.
We talked a lot about this in class but I agree that the slogan is contradictory on purpose. I think that it further shows how the world that they live in is so corrupted that reality is almost nonexsistant since it can be morphed and changed so easily. It is strange that all the points can be argued as true, though. Some would say that to have one means the other can't happen but like others said, in the society you are really only at peace in the country when there is a war somewhere else. This is like 451 because everything and everyone can be changed into whatever the government wants so for many, except the characters who are challenging the system, there is no logic reality as we know it today.
I think that the slogan is a means to teach people about life. The war is peace can mean that the only real way to achieve peace is to go to war. The only way to gain freedom is to have already gone through slavery. And the only way to get strength, (maybe not physical strength, but emotional strength) is to not know or care to know about some things that are going on. These are probably all or some of the things that the party wants people to believe. This relates to 451 because peoples lives were revolved around the government telling the people what to believe and what not to believe.
I think that war is peace means that without war, people will have time to divert their attention to something else besides the war, their dictatorship. Without war, the people might think about how bad their society and government are and might revolt without war. Also, war can be used to burn extra resources that are produced when the economy is stimulated. If there are no extra resources, the society will remain stable and peaceful.
I'm not really sure how freedom is slavery works out. I think that this is showing that if a society has freedom, then they are slaves to the democratic process. It doesn't really make sense, so I think it is really just Big Brother brain-washing them and making them think that good things are terrible.
Ignorance is strength is very complex. If the people do not know what is going on, they have less to worry about. Their thoughts are not filled with politics, but instead with the task at hand. They become more efficient and produce more goods. More goods equals more potential power which can be used to create strength. Therefore, ignorance leads to strength.
1984 relater to Fahrenheit 451 in a couple ways. First, there are a couple uprisers/discontented people in each sociey that want to rebel. The second thing is that in both societies, everyone is brainwashed and conformed. The government controls their lives and thought.
I think that the quote "War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength" is the Party’s way of justifying what they are doing. So for “war is peace,” I think that the government will have peace in their own country by having their citizens focus on war efforts against another country. That way the citizens won’t have time to worry about their dissatisfaction with their own government, they just focusing on being united in their war efforts against another country/government. This keeps peace in the homeland for a government trying to control its own people. “Freedom is slavery”- in essence you can consider the people of 1984 enslaved by their government. The people basically have no rights and do as the government says. However, the government is saying that with freedom you really become a slave to the freedom of being responsible for your own well being. That with all that freedom you actually become a slave to it. So why not let the government do it all for you, become a slave for them and then you really become free? That is what the Party wants you to believe. Finally, ignorance is strength- I think the Party is trying to tell their people that it is good not knowing everything. It makes you strong when you don’t need to know everything. The Party wants to be in complete control, and therefore can do that if the people do not need to know the reason behind everything, ignorance is strength.
This relates to 451 because the same aspects apply. In 451, they were at war, therefore the people we more interested in what other countries were doing, and not what their country was doing. In 451 the people were not allowed to leave their community, they were enslaved to their government, so the term “freedom is slavery” could be applied. The people just let their government tell them what to do. And finally, in 451 the government tried to limit what their people knew by the banning of all books. This shows that in 451 they too believed that ignorance is strength, the less you know the better.
I think that the quote "War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength" is the Party’s way of justifying what they are doing. So for “war is peace,” I think that the government will have peace in their own country by having their citizens focus on war efforts against another country. That way the citizens won’t have time to worry about their dissatisfaction with their own government, they just focusing on being united in their war efforts against another country/government. This keeps peace in the homeland for a government trying to control its own people. “Freedom is slavery”- in essence you can consider the people of 1984 enslaved by their government. The people basically have no rights and do as the government says. However, the government is saying that with freedom you really become a slave to the freedom of being responsible for your own well being. That with all that freedom you actually become a slave to it. So why not let the government do it all for you, become a slave for them and then you really become free? That is what the Party wants you to believe. Finally, ignorance is strength- I think the Party is trying to tell their people that it is good not knowing everything. It makes you strong when you don’t need to know everything. The Party wants to be in complete control, and therefore can do that if the people do not need to know the reason behind everything, ignorance is strength.
This relates to 451 because the same aspects apply. In 451, they were at war, therefore the people we more interested in what other countries were doing, and not what their country was doing. In 451 the people were not allowed to leave their community, they were enslaved to their government, so the term “freedom is slavery” could be applied. The people just let their government tell them what to do. And finally, in 451 the government tried to limit what their people knew by the banning of all books. This shows that in 451 they too believed that ignorance is strength, the less you know the better.
I'll just make a general statement about all three slogans. The slogans are set up to insure that no one ever feels like they are ignorant, a slave, or at war in a bad way because these are all things that the people probably have felt or will feel at some time. If they feel ignorant because they don't really think about anything, they look at the third. If they feel like there is violence everywhere they simply look at the first. If they feel they are slaves they simply look at the second. I think the slogans are set up as a safety net for anyone who may realize what is truly going on.
This relates to "Fahrenheit 451" because the people of Oceania seem to blindly follow these slogans just as the people in Fahrenheit blindly followed the ridiculous rules of their society.
I think it's almost meant to confuse people. Anyone with a seriously analytical mind will be completely dumbfounded, and also anyone without intelligence couldn't make much sense of it either.
War is peace means that becasue the people have not had any real experience with peace recently, so for them war IS peace.
Freedom is slavery in that, if you are free you must be responsile for yourself and how much money you spend on certain things so you are a slave to your own ambition and your own wants and needs.
Ignorance is strength means that if the people are ignorant they will follow people who tell them what to do because they do not know any better.
War is Peace- I think this means that a constant state of war is the same as peace. When there is a war going on, the people on the inside of a country all have to support it together. So because there is a war going on with the other country, there cannot be inner turmoil. This creats peace within the country.
Ignorance is Strength- This is means that ignorance is strength for the government. By simplifying the language and attemtping to eliminate thought, they have created ignorant masses who will support them. This ignorance provides the government with ultimate power because no one knows enough to resist what they want. As an effect of the government having a lot of power, the people have strength because their government has the power to make decisions.
Freedom is Slavery- In this new world of 1984, freedom is slavery. By thinking freely, you will be arrested by the thought police. If you get arrested by the thought police you are put in jail and tortured. So in essence, freedom becomes slavery because of the rules.
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