1984. Doublethink - George Orwell Links. Doublethink Doublethink means, according to George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four: ... the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. ...
FREE 1984 Notes & Themes and Topics. Reality Control 1: "Doublethink" is the major way the Party controls its members.
Through "doublethink," people consciously accept anything the Party tells them, even if it contradicts something they already know. Furthermore, they consciously suppress any thought or information that goes against anything the Party says. To complete the cycle, they must forget that they have even used doublethink. For example, Oceania is continually at war with either Eurasia or Eastasia. In April of 1984, Oceania is at war with Eurasia; citizens must force themselves to "remember" that they have always been at war with Eurasia, despite the fact that Oceania was allied with Eurasia only four years before.