I am writing an essay on brainwashing that talks about both Othello (Iago brainwashing Othello) and 1984 (the whole society being brainwashed). I need a few options for a provable thesis statement—something concerning reality control and "subjective vs objective" truth. By virtue of changing reality, identity changes. For the few thesis options, I need some ideas for paragraphs, quotes, and so on.

It sounds as if you are dealing with an interesting theme. You might start with the Merriam-Webster definition of brainwashing, which is as follows:




1: a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas
2: persuasion by propaganda or salesmanship (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brainwashing)

This makes a good entree into your topic because the kind of brainwashing in Orwell's novel aligns with the first definition of brainwashing, while Iago's brainwashing aligns with the second. This reflects the different kinds of power of the two brainwashers: the state in Oceania has an immense amount of power over the people, so it can use physical force to indoctrinate. In contrast, Iago has less power than Othello, so he must use manipulation and innuendo to bend Othello's mind to his will.

You can compare how both the state and Iago twist and control objective reality to produce a subjective state of mind that increases their power. Both the state of Oceania and Iago are much more interested in power than truth. They do not care who they harm or kill in their quest to exercise power.

One thesis could be something like the following: "Both the state of Oceania and Iago use brainwashing techniques to bend people to their wills by distorting objective reality: the state, being all-powerful, does it through forcible coercion, while the relatively powerless Iago (a subordinate to Othello) works through propaganda and salesmanship."

Another thesis could be something like this: "Both Oceania and Iago are obsessed with power for the sake of making others suffer, and both use different forms of brainwashing to distort objective reality in order to gain their ends."

Once you have your opening paragraph, you would then have a paragraph defining brainwashing as suggested above (you could also use your own definition—but you definitely want to show that there is more than one way to brainwash a victim).

For the Oceania paragraphs (if I were you, I might amend "the whole society" to just the Outer Party, as Orwell is at pains to explain that the individual proles are more or less left alone), I would show how the state relies on physical coercion to control people. More specifically, you could mention the threat implied by the Thought Police helicopter hovering in chapter one—or any of Winston's thoughts about how the state intrudes physically into people's lives, such as through the telescreen that constantly watches people and can even talk to people in order to order them around: there is a quote where the screen barks at Winston:


"Smith!" screamed the shrewish voice from the telescreen. "6079 Smith W.! Yes, YOU! Bend lower, please! You can do better than that."

You could then move into Winston's arrest and find some quotes about torture. You can also use the example of two plus two equalling five as an example of bending reality.

For Iago, you could find quotes to show that Iago uses salesmanship and propaganda to brainwash. Salesmanship quotes could include Desdemona calling Iago "honest" after he pretends to help Cassio, even though Iago has set up the situation that has put Cassio into a difficult situation, or Othello referring to Iago as honest, such as when Othello says, "I know thou't full of love and honesty and weights' thy words before though give's them breath." Iago must be a good salesman if he can convince everyone he is honest.

Propaganda would be Iago's repeated use of stereotypes about women being untrustworthy. One example could be as follows:

In Venice they do let God see the pranksThey dare not show their husbands. Their best conscienceIs not to leave 't undone, but keep 't unknown.

What Iago is saying is that women sleep around but keep it secret from their husbands ("unknown").

Finally, you could end by evaluating how effective (or not) these forms of brainwashing are. To what extent are the state and Iago "successful?"