Brainwash in 1984

Brainwash What do you think when you hear the word brainwash? Many people think of fiction novels, conspiracy theories from history, or maybe even recall instances from the news and media. All of those people are correct; brainwashing occurs in society quite often and emerges in novels as a result.

A prominent theme in Orwell’s 1984 is the idea of brainwashing Oceania’s citizens. The society and government start indoctrinating children with party ideals as soon as they possibly can, and adults have images of Big Brother surrounding them daily. Unfortunately, this does not only transpire in novels, but it also occurs in our society today.Brainwashing occurrences in the 20th and 21st century would entail the children of Cambodia, the Jonestown Massacre, and the Symbionese Liberation Army. Though brainwashing occurs commonly, it is brought into public eye every few decades through the media and news.

Brainwashing is obviously a moral issue, so when an instance comes up, there is often hot debate about it. The dictionary definition according to Merriam Webster is “a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas”.In Orwell’s 1984 this definition is followed to the letter. The definition is also reflected in the child army in Cambodia, and cults like Jonestown and the Symbionese Liberation Army.

Like in Orwell’s 1984, children in Cambodia are brainwashed from a young age by their leaders or other soldiers. The brainwashing of the children and adult citizens started when “The Communist Party of Kampuchea, Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, took full control of Cambodia on April 17, 1975” (Schabas). Under communist rule, people not only had their belongings taken from them, but also their rights, and eventually their own personal beliefs.The communist party did all they could to tear their country apart and one way they did so was to brainwash children: They encouraged children to find fault with their own parents and spy on them. They openly showed their intention to destroy the family structure that once held love, faith, comfort, happiness, and companionship. They took young children from their homes to live in a commune so that they could indoctrinate them (Mam,12).

Children were the easiest to brainwash, because children are so moldable. They did not know ny better so they accepted and believed the communist ideals, which were taught in schools, advertisements, and communes. Looking at this mass genocide, one can clearly see that brainwashing was used negatively but successfully, resulting in: …slightly less than 4,000,000 people [lost] to war, rebellion, man-made famine, genocide, politicide, and mass murder. The vast majority, almost 3,300,000 men, women, and children (including 35,000 foreigners), were murdered within the years 1970 to 1980 by successive governments and guerrilla groups. Most of these, a likely near 2,400,000, were murdered by the communist Khmer Rouge (Rummel).This unfortunate outcome is a prime example as to why brainwashing has a negative connotation and is an ethical debate in society.

Another occurrence of brainwashing in the 20th century with a negative connotation occurred when a woman by the name of Patricia Hearst was kidnapped. A radical cult known as the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) kidnapped Patricia Hearst on February 4, 1974 (Koopman). The radical group held her for ransom, but shockingly to the family, and the media, Patricia was caught on security footage with a role in a bank robbery that was carried out by the SLA.There has been debate around this case as to deciding if Patricia should be charged with bank robbery and homicide when a man was killed during the bank robbery.

The family argued that Patricia was brainwashed by her abductors (45, Cohen). In an interview after the bank robbery that “She said that she had joined her abductors and been converted to their beliefs” (46, Cohen). It is believedt that she was brainwashed because, when abducted Patricia was forced into a closet where she suffered physical and sexual abuse for weeks on end until her ransom was paid.Psychologists believe that in this time, her basic instincts were to join the radical group in order to relieve herself from such abuse. Thus, eventually causing her to be brainwashed by the radical group and commit crimes on their behalf.

During her trial her attorney, F. Lee Bailey claimed “She had been brainwashed, and been coerced into taking part in the bank robbery”. Though this was a plausible explanation for the crime committed, Patricia was still charged, guilty and forced to do time.Though there have been traces of brainwash in our society, not all members believe that one’s personal beliefs can be altered so easily, and they believe that Patricia should not be pardoned for her actions.

The final example of brainwashing in the 20th century occurred in when a charismatic leader by the name of Jim Jones coerced a group of his followers to a mass suicide. Jonestown, also known as the People’s Temple, mirrors the themes of brainwashing from 1984. Citizens in Jonestown were surrounded by ideals set by their leader Jim Jones, and were brainwashed through his teachings, into believing them.An exact reflection of Big Brother in Jonestown was that Jones had put up speakers in all locations around his town, so his followers were able to hear is voice when they worked, ate, or even slept (14, Cohen). Jones mimics Orwell’s idea that Big Brother is always watching, with the constant reminder that he was there, and they could hear his voice, thus making breaking away from Jones’s ideals very difficult. Winston Smith from 1984 said "the proper thing was to kill yourself before they get you"(Orwell).

This can be directly seen in the Jonestown massacre.Jones had his followers practice doing suicide drills in case of any threat to their society. The mass suicide was eventually carried out, leading to the Jonestown Massacre. The final comparison to 1984 in Jonestown was self-incrimination.

Jones forced his followers to write statements that included their fears, so that if they were ever disobedient Jones could use them to punish followers during public meetings (12, DeAngelis). This is similar to 1984 when the party used Winston’s fear of rats to torture him until he accepted party ideals.It almost seems as though Jones used Orwell’s 1984 as a guideline for brainwashing his followers, consequently bringing a work of fiction to life. Brainwashing is not something of fiction and only in the novels we read. In fact, it occurred in our society with the children of Cambodia, the Jonestown Massacre, and the Symbionese Liberation Army. Winston and Julia from 1984 faced brainwashing and tried to fight it, unfortunately they were tortured and were brainwashed by Big Brother, thus ending up like everyone else.

The examples of brainwashing today mirror the novel, and the novel mirrors our society.It is safe to say that Orwell did an incredible job at reflecting the negative side of society to create an entire dystopia of the worst of our world. Works Cited Cohen, Daniel. Cults.

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