This thesis presents an analysis of the way language is used as a form of power in Nineteen Eighty-Four and Fahrenheit 451. Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four represents a society which uses the...Show moreThis thesis presents an analysis of the way language is used as a form of power in Nineteen Eighty-Four and Fahrenheit 451. Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four represents a society which uses the manipulation of meaning in order to restrict individual thought. Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 likewise presents a government whose goal it is to diminish individual thought. However, Fahrenheit 451 focuses more on the violent destruction of written language.Show less
This MA Thesis has sought to highlight the extent to which the dystopian genre foregrounds the role played by language in controlling people's perception of reality. As such it is a study that...Show moreThis MA Thesis has sought to highlight the extent to which the dystopian genre foregrounds the role played by language in controlling people's perception of reality. As such it is a study that reflects on the meta-textual themes in dystopian fiction, rather then socio-political themes, which is an original approach. It builds a methodological framework by bringing together critical concepts from major scholars within formalist and structuralist literary-critical theory, to show that the manipulation of language, using various tools, is of paramount importance in maintaining the ideology that the dystopian society aims for. This thesis concludes that language can be manipulated in many ways to gain power, but also, that with the correct tools, such as defamiliarization, one can escape these manipulative approaches.Show less
