Because of the freedoms enjoyed in the United States, a ruling totalitarian government in which thinking freely is penalized by death is difficult to imagine or understand. In George Orwell's novel 1984, the main character, Winston Smith, experiences firsthand the limitations imposed by the Inner Party on language and many other aspects of daily life to subjugate the citizens of Oceania and hinder any freedom of expression. The inclusion of thought-provoking themes regarding the manipulation of language, history, and minds serves as a warning for the future. Through the manipulation of language, deception and control are facilitated. A clear demonstration is given by Syme to Smith: “Do you know that Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary grows smaller every year?...Don't you see that the whole purpose of Newspeak is to narrow the range of languages? Thought?" (Orwell 46). Mitigating language represents a further barrier that also prevents the existence of contradictory thoughts. With limited and insufficient language, the complexity of thought and a person's ability to formulate or express are significantly reduced ideas, thus preventing threats to the all-powerful government destroyed” (Orwell 47). Changing the language would have serious repercussions in any future, real or fictional. Without knowledge of a different world, people will know no better than to blindly and obediently follow their rigid, totalitarian government. become aware of the power it holds over them. The… middle of the paper… we change them” (Orwell 209). A person must believe every confession extorted from him and surrender of his own free will. The Party finds any wrong thinking intolerable, regardless of size or power. Although the Inner Party controls other aspects of society, none are as important or effective as psychological control. George Orwell's novel 1984 is not a prediction. Rather, it is a warning against a government drunk on power and the dangers it entails. Recurring themes present throughout the novel include the manipulation of language, the alteration of history, and mind control. Is 1984 simply a well-written work of fiction or is it a very real possibility in today's world? Works Cited Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1949.