Donald Trump and Doublespeak: An Unsettling Precursor to the Dystopian Society of George Orwell's 1984

Authors

Ivy McKay, University of Central Florida

Mentor

Dr. Christian Beck

Abstract

This paper analyses Donald Trump's 2016 Presidential campaign alongside George Orwell's 1984 I analyze specific social elements, including the rhetoric of Trump's supporters, the idea of post-truth, and power, and I exemplify how Trump's campaign and the government in Orwell's novel (the Party) share several commonalities. Trump's self-contradictory speaking and the use of Doublespeak in 1984 is one of the similarities between the fiction of Orwell's text and the reality of our lived experience. Furthermore, the paper discusses the possible effects of this Orwellian Party-like administration. In the final analysis, I conclude that George Orwell's vision of a dystopian future sheds light on Donald Trump's behavior and actions throughout the 2016 campaign.

About the Author

Ivy McKay is a recent graduate of UCF with her B.A. in English Literature with a French minor. Ivy recently returned to the United States after living in France after graduating, and plans on continuing her education and receiving a Ph.D. in French Medieval Literature.

Recommended Citation

McKay, Ivy (2018) "Donald Trump and Doublespeak: An Unsettling Precursor to the Dystopian Society of George Orwell's 1984," The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 10: Iss. 1, Article 3.
Available at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/urj/vol10/iss1/3