Throughout Chapter 1 of 1984, the reader is exposed to the many kinds of manipulation that the government uses to control the people of Oceania. The Party uses numerous examples of verbal and dramatic irony as part of its campaign to exercise its dominance over the people and control their daily actions.
Verbal irony, an incongruity that has a deeper significance than the surface meaning, is displayed throughout the society of 1984 in Chapter 1. The primary theme of this chapter deals with Winston's desire to write down his deeply felt thoughts about the Party. Winston is scared to open his diary because he is scared of being "punished by death, or at least by twenty-five years in a forced-labor camp" (9). This happens to be ironic because the Party has said that nothing is illegal, "there were no longer any laws" (9). Everyone in Oceania, where Winston lives, is scared of breaking many laws, none of which exist. Many people are frightened of what is not familiar to them. …
