In s 1949
novel of a dystopian society ruled by Big Brother, , the four government
ministries to which the story refers are the Ministries of Truth, Love, Peace, and Plenty. As
described by , the Ministry of Truth is responsible for education, entertainment, fine arts and
the news. In other words, it is the government department most responsible for the
dissemination of propaganda and for the indoctrination of the populace. In short, it is
responsible mind-control. The Ministry of Love is responsible for maintaining law and order;
the Ministry of Peace, in the novels most noteworthy example of double-speak, is concerned with
war; and the Ministry of Plenty is responsible for the economy. Because of its central role in
maintaining government control over the population, the Ministry of Truth is particularly large,
consisting, Orwell writes, of three thousand rooms above ground level, and corresponding
ramifications below. While the Ministry of Truth is the most expansive of the government
departments, however, Orwell notes that it is the Ministry of Love that is the really
frightening one. Orwell describes this particular ministry as an armed fortress surrounded by
barbed-wire entanglements, steel doors, and hidden machine-gun nests. With its responsibility
for maintaining order, the Ministry of Love is clearly the place where detentions and
punishments for perceived infractions are carried out.
The Ministry of
Plenty, consistent with the obviousbetween the names of the other ministries and their real
function, administered rations of goods for the population, as when it had
issued a promise (a €˜categorical pledge were the official words)
that there would be no reduction of the chocolate ration during 1984. Actually, aswas aware,
the chocolate ration was to be reduced from thirty grammes to twenty at the end of the
week.
In Orwells 1984, each ministry
acts in strict accordance with Party mandates, and each is a central apparatus in the continuing
repression of the population of Oceania.
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