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dumpling740
dumpling740
Student
High School - 10th Grade

What does "Ignorance is Strength" really mean?

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Posted by dumpling740 on Sunday March 22, 2009 at 11:09 AM and tagged with 1984, goldstein.

Answers:

  1. accessteacher
    accessteacher Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    This quote, "Ignorance is Strength", is part of the larger slogan that Winston sees emblazoned on the pyramid of the Ministry of Truth. The complete slogan, which we need to examine to understand this part, reads as follows:

    War is Peace

    Freedom is Slavery

    Ignorance is Strength

    This quote, introduced so early on in the novel, is the reader's first introduction to doublethink. The constant bombardment of propaganda-based fear attacks the independence and strength of people's minds to so great an extend that they accept unquestionably facts that are blatantly the opposite of reality. For example, The Ministry of Love is really a torture centre, The Ministry of Peace is dedicated to prolonging war and the Ministry of Truth is commited to "altering" news and history books. These are facts which the people accept unquestionably without challenge.

    The slogan is thus an important part of this propaganda, and has its basis in a kind of truth that we the readers are aware of, and a truth that Winston comes to discover in the course of the novel. War is literally peace, because having a common enemy keeps the people of Oceania united together. Freedom is, indeed, slavery, because the man who is subject to the collective will is free from want. And lastly, Ignorance is Strength, for ignorance is what the power of the ruling party is based on.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/1984

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    Posted by accessteacher on Sunday March 22, 2009 at 11:59 AM


  2. desoray08 Student
    High School - 12th Grade

    These words are the official slogans of the Party, and are inscribed in massive letters on the white pyramid of the Ministry of Truth, as Winston observes in Book One, Chapter I. Because it is introduced so early in the novel, this creed serves as the reader's first introduction to the idea of doublethink. By weakening the independence and strength of individuals' minds and forcing them to live in a constant state of propaganda-induced fear, the Party is able to force its subjects to accept anything it decrees, even if it is entirely illogical—for instance, the Ministry of Peace is in charge of waging war, the Ministry of Love is in charge of political torture, and the Ministry of Truth is in charge of doctoring history books to reflect the Party's ideology.   That the national slogan of Oceania is equally contradictory is an important testament to the power of the Party's mass campaign of psychological control. In theory, the Party is able to maintain that “War Is Peace” because having a common enemy keeps the people of Oceania united. “Freedom Is Slavery” because, according to the Party, the man who is independent is doomed to fail. By the same token, “Slavery Is Freedom,” because the man subjected to the collective will is free from danger and want. “Ignorance Is Strength” because the inability of the people to recognize these contradictions cements the power of the authoritarian regime.

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    Posted by desoray08 on Sunday April 12, 2009 at 9:44 PM