Claim: Nineteen Eighty-Four is dystopian.

A thoughtcrime is an Orwellian neologism used to describe an illegal thought . The term has also been used to describe some theological concepts such as disbelief or idolatry , or a rejection of strong philosophical or social principles .   The term was popularized in the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell , wherein thoughtcrime is the criminal act of holding unspoken beliefs or doubts that oppose or question the ruling party . In the book , the government attempts to control not only the speech and actions , but also the thoughts of its subjects . To entertain unacceptable thoughts is known as crimethink in Newspeak , the ideologically purified dialect of the party . `` Crimestop '' is a way to avoid crimethink by immediately purging dangerous thoughts from the mind .