The Declaration (1)

Legal people generally have at least two names, sometimes more. Not me, though, I'm just Anna. People like me don't need more than one name, Mrs Pincent says. One is quite enough. Actually, she doesn't even like the name Anna--she told me she tried to change it when I first came here. But I was an obstinate child, she says, and I wouldn't answer to anything else, so in the end she gave up. I'm pleased--I like the name Anna, even though my parents gave me that name. I hate my parents. They broke the Declaration and didn't care about anyone else but themselves. They're in prison now. I don't know where. None of us knows anything about our parents any more. Which is fine by me--I'd have nothing to say to them anyway. (pg.8)

In the society depicted in the novel, The Declaration, the thoughts of the people are controlled by the government. Since thoughts are no longer an expression of freedom, the things they do and the perspectives they possess are not their own. The ideas are all the same, meaning this society is an example of a conformist society.

The children who were born because their parents disobeyed the “Declaration” were given the status of a surplus. The government placed these children in an orphanage-type of residence that forces them to perform hard labor. The government isolates the children of the law-breaking parents in order to send a message to the rest of society. It uses the children as an example of how people who break the law are treated. Everyone in this society lives the way the government wants them to live. The people are told to not have children or they will be placed in prison. The government establishes fear within the society to get them to obey their every command. It uses the basic idea of being considered an outcast to get the people to follow the rules. Everyone outside of the orphanages fears the surplus because they are different. With this fear, the government is able to create conformity within the community because everyone is given the longevity drug to stay young and they are forced to sign the “Declaration” that tells them how they should live their life. Not only does the government manipulate the minds of the people outside of the orphanage, but they also manipulate the minds of the children within the asylum.

The children are told that they were a mistake and that their parents committed a sin by deciding to give birth to them. The government ordered to put this information and this thought into the minds of the children. For example, in this specific orphanage, Mrs. Pincent drills the idea of the parents being criminals into the mind of Anna. In the beginning of the novel, all Anna knows is that their parents are in prison—meaning they are viewed as a danger to society. Only absorbing this thought on the people who go against the government, Anna is taught to “hate [her] parents”. The government tells the children that what their parents did is unjust and morally wrong in order to prevent them from rising against it. The government doesn’t want the children, and the rest of the world, to think it is normal that they are born. In my opinion, I believe that the government wants to easily keep track of its people. Therefore, it forces everyone to think and act the same way. The government would easily find out who is misbehaving when everyone is doing the same routine while one person is doing it reverse. This allows the government to obtain absolute control over everyone.