characteristics of each, though they may tend more toward one than another. Rushdie's point of view makes it difficult at times to tell the angel from the devil, and thus the theology becomes complicated. Mahound, the prophet, has trouble telling the difference between the choice of the angel and the voice of the devil on Mount Coney, for instance, for the voices are essentially the same.
             The introductory passage from George Orwell's novel 1984 presents Winston Smith as he returns to his flat in London. He is a middle-aged, nondescript man with no particular traits to set him apart, and his residence is clearly not of any note. The most jarring element in this opening passage is the poster "Big Brother Is Watching You," so that what has seemed to be a relatively normal event in the known London becomes something else explored in the rest of the book.
             In 1984, the Party subjugates the will of the majority to the will of the Party itself. The way this is accomplished with Julia and Winston is telling, for the Party uses fear and a form of brainwashing to make these individuals complicit in their own subjugation. They make the two want to please. This is partially out of fear, though not simply the fear of normal punishment. Instead, the Party uses psychological means to find out what each individual fears most, and this is then used to break their spirit and bend their will.
             One of the means taken to control the population is the careful use of language, which in Orwell's term is called Doublespeak, or seeming to say one thing while meaning another. This is a familiar concept used by government to sugarcoat terminology so as to make it seem more benign than it is or to counter criticism before it develops. In 1984, the Ministry of Truth is dedicated to altering history and creating lies, but the shift in language need not be so blatant as that. We hear terms all the time which in some degree sanitize the...