What were the four ministries in Orwell's <i>1984</i> and what were they responsible for?
Published in Daily Trivia
The totalitarian superstate of Oceania is comprised of four ministries which are housed in huge pyramidal structures, each roughly 300 metres high and visible throughout London, displaying the three slogans of the party on their facades. The Ministry of Peace (Minipax) concerns itself with conducting Oceania's perpetual wars. The Ministry of Plenty (Miniplenty) is responsible for rationing and controlling food and goods. The Ministry of Truth (Minitrue) is the propaganda arm of Oceania's regime. Minitrue controls information: political literature, the Party organization, and the telescreens. The Ministry of Love (Miniluv) is the agency responsible for the identification, monitoring, arrest, and torture of dissidents, real or imagined. The ministries' names are ironic, as the Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Plenty: starvation, the Ministry of Truth: lies, and the Ministry of Love: torture. However, from the perspectives of the Oceanians who accept the propaganda, these names are accurate.
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