For centuries, the nature of human being's has been questioned with a terrifying yet telling inquiry- are human's inherently manipulative? To manipulate, as defined by Merriam Webster, is to "control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one's own advantage." This question provokes a lot of thought into the underlying make-up of the human existence and our purpose as individuals within a society. With this also comes the question of the origin of loyalty and where its deepest connections stem from. If manipulation is deception, does loyalty work hand-in-hand with it? In George Orwell's "1984" novel, the themes of loyalty and manipulation are taken on through the use of irony and symbolism to serve as a warning for how easy it really can be to control and deceive for the benefit of a "party." The story tells of a young man by the name of Winston Smith who is living in a totalitarian society. This society's one-party ruler has eyes and ears on almost every person, in every environment, at all times, to ensure the utmost loyalty from its members. This government regulates and changes the past to maintain control on the future. Those who go against the party or try to rebel are usually caught by a group working under the government called "thought police" and taken in for punishment. As straight forward as this tale tells of the problematic behavior of a governments overarching control, readers see no happy ending at the conclusion of this novel. Government wins, government rules, and government exploits.

"Manipulation is a vampiric action that humans develop when they do not understand how to relate to a source. The root of manipulation is distrust. We turn to manipulation when we feel like things are not going to simply come to us; we feel we have to pull strings to get them" (Young). When you break this quote down, after having read this novel, Gigi Young's rhetoric provides the perfect description for the creation of Big Brother, the face of the party. This is Orwell's main technique of irony seen throughout the entirety of the story's focus. Much like the belief in God, Big Brother is the leader behind the power; the "person" people are supposed to have faith in and trust yet has never actually been seen. The term "big brother", in a literal sense, has a positive connotation bringing the idea of a protector and role model. An older male sibling whom you can trust and who you know will always be there for you. This play on words is the exact reason Orwell chooses this for the name of the party's front-runner. Big Brother in "1984" is kind and generous to those who conform yet extremely threatening to those who don't. In the society of Oceania, he rules over all citizens and even though he is never seen, citizens are constantly reminded of his presence through descriptions of slogans and posters found almost everywhere, showing a male's face and the words "Big Brother Is Watching You." The posters can be seen as an allegory that reveal a hidden political meaning that elicits fear and caution to every citizen the "you" refers to. Big Brother is the embodiment of manipulation stemming from this totalitarian governments distrust in its members from its own awareness of its deception. In order to cover up what is really going on, they use this sense of security of a protective older sibling image to elicit devotion to the party. Orwell uses the irony of this name to show the inconsistency between reality and how things appear to the citizens of Oceania. One of the party's sayings is "war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength," which shows a controlling aspect of its leader rather than a "brotherly" one. "The Ubiquitous portrait of Big Brother, for one thing, is a constant reminder of the impossibility of free thought and action," thus enforcing its members obedience through threats of severe punishment that prey on one's biggest fears (Xhinaku and Pema, 28). Much like the relationship one would have with an older sibling, loyalty would be present without even having earned it. Most know in the real world that loyalty must always be earned, yet the party takes advantage of the instantaneous and natural faithfulness of siblings and uses that as propaganda on control. Eventually Winston, the stories protagonist, starts to question his loyalty and faith and often considers where it even derived from. In recognizing the hidden irony in the party use of Big Brother, a rebellious group was formed under the name "brotherhood" that fights to end the control and manipulation of this totalitarian government. They embody the true meaning of a relationship with a brother and focus on giving genuine protection to its members to the best of its ability. The word brotherhood provides a more inclusive tone than just big brother alone, which shows their fight for recognition against the party's deceptive ways.

Orwell uses a plethora of symbols within the story and through Winston's life to further represent a grasp on reality for the reader and the protagonist. In a more positive example that contrasts the governments control is the red-armed prole woman. The word prole is referring to the working class of Oceania as a whole. This woman is seen through the eyes of Winston as a symbol for freedom and hope against the Big Brother reign. This is his own will re-imaging his inner beliefs, through the red-armed prole woman, that one day all the working class will recognize their predicament and rebel against the party, as groups like "brotherhood" already have. Since the party limits sex and inner-loyalties that stem from families and relationships, Winston often envisions this woman giving birth to the generations he feels will overturn the party's dictatorship and end the era of totalitarianism. Not only does the party limit sex and inner-loyalties, but as mentioned earlier, regulates and changes the past as well. They do so in order to maintain their loyalty by making it a reality to the citizens that Big Brother saved them from an even worse society, even though that isn't actually true. Readers see as the story progresses that Winston desperately tries to recover his memories to try and see the bigger picture in support of what is currently going on in Oceania. This desperate connection he seeks to make with the past is symbolized through the paperweight he bought in an Antique Store in the prole district. The paperweight represents the way in which people used to be able to express themselves with simple décor in their home or by beautiful creations. Big Brother limited expression and beauty in Oceania and Winston's fascination with the way the paperweight looked grounds him to the times where such things were never limited. Winston noted that "there was a peculiar softness, as of rain-water, in both the color and the texture of the glass. At the heart of it, magnified by the curved surface, there was a strange, pink, convoluted object that recalled a rose or a sea anemone… it's a beautiful thing" (Orwell, 98-99). When the thought police arrested Winston towards the end of the novel, the paperweight falls and shatters on the floor. The significance of this event is that what has been going on with Winston will soon too, like the past, become erased and changed in order for the party to regain control of his devotion. Orwell foreshadows what will happen to Winston when the paperweight breaks and as the story reads on, Winston is psychologically and mentally tortured until he has reclaimed faith in Big Brother and forgets the reasoning behind his motivation to rebel. The beauty is now lost, as what happens when something breaks and cannot be fixed.

In the middle of the story Mr. Charrington, owner of a secondhand store in the prole district, shows Winston a painting of St. Clements church that is hanging in the room he is renting to him. This image shows the church, in ruins, in front of a building known as the Palace of Justice. Mr. Charrington remembers parts of a poem he once used to hear about the London churches and sings it to Winston, "Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clements… Here comes a candle to light you to bed, here comes a chopper to chop off your head" (Orwell, n.pag). The picture of the church fascinates Winston and symbolizes the irony of a place of worship being demolished next to a place of justice. The song Mr. Charrington remembers serves as a representation of the remnants of the past that have not been fully erased by the party's reign and Winston feels a sense of security from both, making the room in which the painting lies his secret spot he believes to be hidden from the eye of Big Brother. However, the picture foreshadows that hope (Winston rebelling and getting away from the party's control) will always be smashed by justice (the party's power) when he soon finds out there is a telescreen hidden behind it that was watching and listening to him the whole time. These telescreens symbolize the party's constant censoring of its citizens. They are the most present symbols throughout the entirety of the novel that reinforce their invasive ability to not only be able to display constant propaganda to those who live in Oceania but to show their capability of constant observation. These telescreens also represent how totalitarian governments use technology as an aid in abusing their control instead of as means for improving society for everyone. By constantly watching what people do and say, they can ensure who is staying loyal and punish and change those who aren't.

Those who read this novel and oppose Orwell's warning of the dangers of a totalitarian government, assuming that such could never be a possibility are far mislead. "1984" stands for an awareness, as a whole, to manipulation, control, and independent thought. There are many correlations to the government's control in this book to the governments among the world today, such as manipulations of the past and painting images of historic figures in a positive light when in reality they were horrible individuals. Restricting marriage, for the most part, to between only a man and a woman. Control of citizens through caste systems and rhetoric that often emphasizes stereotypes. Nations filled with citizens desperate to escape their governments misleading plans for unity and hope. Even agendas to take down other governments such as propaganda being implemented by one nation to influence and break down another nation. You come across the saying "fake news" but don't know whether that itself could be fake too. Orwell notes that "who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past" (Orwell, n.pag). There is something to be said about this message

"1984" provides an insightful story depicting the themes of control and manipulations through the life of a hopeful character. As a reader, the story is set up in hopes Winston will break free of his deception, find love, and help others see the truth. However, as the story reads all his endeavors were still monitored whether through fake relationships or telescreens ultimately coming full circle and ending where the story began, with faith in Big Brother. . In Erich Fromm's "Escape From Freedom," Fromm states that "the understanding of the reasons for the totalitarian flight from freedom is a premise for any action which aims at the victory over the totalitarian forces." This opinion directly reflects the battle Winston had within him before his opinion ultimately became forced to change, once again. Orwell's use of irony and symbolism serve as needed literary techniques to emphasize the situations in which we were presented as readers. Without a happy ending, all that is left is the resonance of Winston's advice that "until {you} become conscious {you} will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious" (Orwell, n.pag).