1984 is a futuristic novel about a world where the government has become overpowering. Called Big Brother, the government monitors people’s actions, words, and even thoughts. The main character, Winston Smith, begins the novel trying to rebel against this. There are many parallels that can be drawn between the United States today and the governmental enterprises of the novel, as will be explored in this paper. The story 1984 by George Orwell is set in London where a depression is taking place, people are poor, starving, and have no clothes. There are these large pyramid government buildings that rise above the skyline and look down on the people. There are cameras and microphones everywhere and the government is watching the citizens every second of every day, they are even watching them through their own …show more content…
The government is monitoring people’s thoughts and beliefs. It is even illegal to have a diary. This is one of the earliest crimes Winston breaks. He spends his evenings mingling with the poor (called proletarians) congregate, as he is able to slip under the radar more in those areas. It is in these prole slums that Winston purchases his diary. Right from the beginning, he is not optimistic about his future, and is sure that he will be caught eventually. This pessimism is another constant theme in the novel, and it reflects and general distrust of the government, and fear of inevitable downfall. One day in the story, Julia slips Winston a note that reads “I love you”, and it’s obvious that Winston feels the same about her but it's difficult for him to express this because of the government watching and listening to everybody all the time. Eventually Julia and Winston meet where there is privacy and “have a date”. They know this is dangerous because if they’re caught by the spying government, they could be killed or separated and sent off to work in intensive labor camps for the rest of their