1984 by George Orwell is set in a dystopian country called “Oceania.” It is Orwell’s vision of the future. This book is a political work of fiction that shows how people can be easily controlled.

Dystopian, 这个词在我们讲饥饿游戏这本书时讲过，反乌托邦。英文小说里有不少作品是构建在这种反乌托邦的思想之上的. 无论是过去还是现在，西方世界都非常警惕人的个人性Individually，或者是人性的被掌控， 大热的电影Divergent，异类叛逃 ，包括斯皮尔伯格的去年出的电影Ready Player One, 一级玩家，都可以归入此类。Now let’s go back to book 1984, when there was no technology as of today, how did this country “Oceania” control people?

The country, Oceania, is controlled by the Party. The Party’s leader is a seemingly omniscient person called Big Brother. THe government has four major departments: The Ministries of Love, Peace, Truth, and Plenty.

Although the names sound nice, their purposes are anything but.

The Ministry of Love is responsible for Law and order. The main purpose of this branch of government is to enforce loyalty to Big Brother through fear, torture, and brainwashing. The building has no windows and is surrounded by wire, steel doors, hidden machine-gun nests, and guards. it is arguably the most powerful ministry, controlling the will of the population.  

The Ministry of Truth is responsible for any necessary falsification of historical events. It is in charge of propaganda.  The "truth" is understood to be whatever the government says is true, even if the statements are false, like 2+2=5 . The ministry is named this way because it manufactures a "truth" to show a government approved version of an event.

The third department called Ministry of Peace. It is named the exact opposite of what it does. It is in charge of maintaining a state of war. The meaning of peace has been equated with the meaning of war in the slogan  "War is Peace": Perpetual war is what keeps the "peace" in Oceania and the balance of power in the world.

And then there is this Ministry of Plenty. It oversees distribution of food, supplies, and goods. The country Oceania actually is in the state of poverty, scarcity and financial shortage. It is easier to maintain control if people are impoverished rather than wealthy. In addition, Oceania needs to create weapons instead of everyday goods. With the help from Ministry of Truth, people believe they live in prosperity.