The ambivalent perception of science in politics: a new historicist approach to Nineteen Eighty-Four

In George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, the portrayal of science is highly ambivalent. Science, in this created totalitarian regime, is depicted as a powerful tool that can be manipulated by a political party for propaganda and then, for total control. In the pursuit of absolute power, science is actively used to suppress and undermine social norms of good conduct while distorting simultaneously facts and historical records to suit the narrative of the Party in power. Essentially, science is used selectively and only when it serves the Party’s agenda, leading to a distrust and devaluation of its true potential for critical thought and discovery. Through a New Historicist approach, this paper aims at discussing the ambivalent role played by science in the highly totalitarian setting of Oceania. The paper has revealed that science has really proved ambivalent in its role in Nineteen Eighty-Four serving as a catalyst for a few privileged party members and as a source of oppression for the rest of the Oceanians. It condemns the abusive and politically-oriented usage of science while proposing a regular ethical control to its users.