Liber inter Libertas
In my initial Instagram post for this series, I recalled a quote made by the notorious champion against censorship - George Orwell.
“It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.” This statement is extracted from the modern masterpiece that is “1984.” Whether or not you are an Orwellian fanatic, the influence this novel has imparted is absolutely undeniable, to the point where its evident that it is an objective masterpiece.
In the excerpt following the aforementioned quote, Winston and Syme begin to engage in conversation about the adoption of Newspeak, the dialect to be assumed with the aim of eradicating freethought amongst the common man by means of reducing the variability in words to freely express one’s thoughts. A slightly comical exchange, this excerpt helps bridge the gap between the very literal destruction of vocabulary, and its underlying effects on the undermining of freethought. The beauty in this excerpt lies in the fact there is logic standing behind the argument in favor of the adoption of Newspeak. Some of the new words to be put in place such as “Plusgood” and “Doubleplusgood” serve as the placeholder for words like excellent, or splendid. The mention of these words bring a sense of comedy to this conversation, as we read them and think of the absurdity it is to compile adjectives on the same word to increase or decrease the impact of that word.
As we follow along with the conversation, we realize that as absurd as these words may sound, Syme is correct in explaining the efficiency of communication a dialect like Newspeak can provide. As they rear the end of this excerpt, Syme covers the fact that in as little as a couple of decades, even the conversation that they are engaging in as of that very moment, will be incomprehensible to the laymen as a direct effect of Newspeak’s yearly reduction in words registered. Put simply, where the age of enlightenment saw an exponential increase in the amount of adopted words, the age of suppression is to be ushered in with the reduction of vocabulary.
The reason why I decided to reflect on this concept is, as I wandered around a beautiful bookstore with an old friend who takes a particular liking to enlightenment, i noticed the walls and shelves were engulfed in this theme. Books with titles referring to war amongst men, war for freedom, war for thought. Walls painted with titles of other publications also celebrated as antagonists of censorship. The bookstore was even to have a meet and greet with Cuban-American writers whose books documented a very familiar Latin-American fight for freedom. Places such as these deserve to be lived in, and shared amongst the general public. Bookstores like this exist for the people, as we continue to wage an ever-long fight against the suppression our societies exercise on the people.
Thank you Mandy for sharing your thoughts and opinions on literature, and thank you Books and Books, for fighting the good fight.
