- a) What is propaganda?
Propaganda is a form of communication used to sway a group of people’s opinions and attitudes via different forms of media. Propaganda is heavily associated with political efforts, but it is also used by companies, campaigns, corporations and others to convince the public to do something.
- b) How does propaganda appear throughout the novel?
Propaganda is used often by Big Brother and the party of Ingsoc to instill a sense of authoritarianism over the people of Oceania. Some of the propaganda used in the novel includes the telescreen, big brother posters, and the two minutes of hate.
- c) What are three techniques of propaganda that appear in the novel, 1984 (explain with examples).
There are many propaganda techniques used in the novel but three that are predominantly used are fear, transfer, and bandwagon propaganda. Fear is created through usage of telescreens and the feeling that you could be watched by anyone, anywhere. These things are used to create paranoia among the people and make them second guess their every thought and action. The transfer technique is used with the Big Brother symbol all throughout London. The Big Brother posters are used to generate a sense of power and authority over the city. Furthermore, adding on to the collective paranoia. Bandwagon propaganda is used generally all throughout the novel. There are not any concrete laws in their society, but the main idea is if you listen to Big Brother, you stay out of trouble. If everyone collectively obeys Big Brother, they get rewarded with “benefits”. Which should be considered the bare minimum, but Big Brother creates the illusion that if they don’t obey then they will miss out on the perks offered.
