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How Is 1984 Relevant Today

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"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I 'm from the government and I 'm here to help" explains Ronald Reagan. 1984 is a dystopian novel written by George Orwell that takes place in London, Oceania. George Orwell was born in India as an Englishman in 1903. He despised intellectuals, lying, political authority, and totalitarianism. Orwell opposed Hitler and Stalin although, ironically, he looked like Hitler. His book 1984 is the story of Winston, a low-ranking Party Member, and his adventures to overthrow the Party. The citizens of Oceania are constantly monitored and must obey the government and Big Brother. It is a totalitarian state that is feared among the readers although, if one would closely examine the story, it is not that different from today 's world in some countries. Like some governments today, the Party restricts the citizens of Oceania by observing their demeanor through telescreens, employing doublethink to control the past, and resorting to the Thought Police to monitor Thought Crime.

Tele screens are one of the …show more content…

The Thought Police censor the citizens by instilling fear into them and in turn, controlling their minds. For example, Winston describes the moment when a person is caught by the Thought Police and how they secretly shoot them in the head. After they are murdered, the person is vaporized and their existence in the world is erased. Another example is when Winston and Julia are caught in Mr. Charrington’s room from a hidden tele screen in the wall. This shows that the Thought Police is everywhere and not even Party members are safe from the fear of the government. At the end of Book two, it is shown that Mr. Charrington is the head Thought Police. Winston and Julia trusted the prole although; they never realized the possibility of his profession as a Head Thought Police. If the fear instilled in the people was not enough, the Party had to create the Thought Police to not only control the human, but the their mind

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In the novel 1984, outward conformity is crucial to the survival of the citizens of Oceania. One character in particular who practices this extremely well is the main character, Winston Smith. He not only conforms outwardly, but also questions his society inwardly, due to the overhanging fear that Miniluv will find and torture him. Winston constantly questions Big Brother and all of the laws that the citizens of Oceania are required to obey while also inwardly questioning his forbidden romance with Julia. Without this rising tension throughout the novel, 1984 would lose its suspenseful tone and would easily lose the focus of readers.

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In both 1984 by George Orwell, and The Veldt by Ray Bradbury, the themes presented are both able to present a clear warning to the readers of the power of technology, and the damaging power it can have on our lives. In Part 1 of 1984, The Inner Party establishes a facade of protection to gain control over Oceania and the citizens. This is mainly achieved through the technological advances that gives The Party authority over people 's actions because of the 24/7 surveillance of their every move. At the beginning of the novel, protagonist Wilson says “the instrument (telescreens) could be dimmed but there was no way of shutting it off altogether” (8). These telescreens are used to minimise the amount of Thoughtcrime, which, in Oceania, violates

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1170 Words | 5 Pages

Although America in the 21st century is developing similar dystopian qualities to the fictional society within George Orwell’s novel 1984, the dystopian qualities of constant surveillance, news modification, and dehumanized state demonstrate how dystopian qualities can exist within the United States without becoming problematic. The United States of America passed the Patriot Act because of the government’s obligation to itself and others to become a safer place from both internal and external threats, showing striking similarities to George Orwell’s 1984 where citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance. After being apprehended and locked inside the Ministry of Love for conspiring against the Party, it was made aware to Winston that “for seven years … there was no physical act, no word spoken aloud, that [The Thought Police] had not noticed, no train of thought that they had not been able to infer” (Orwell 276). The secrecy and power of the Thought Police to monitor Winston’s activities is frightening and demonstrates the fear inhabitants of Oceania live under.

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922 Words | 4 Pages

1984 by George Orwell is a dystopian novel that follows protagonist, Winston Smith, as he retells the past in his own point of view. This novel is set in a fictional country, known as Oceania, during the year 1984. This novel is told in the past tense and contains elements of figurative language, including hefty loads of foreshadowing. Dark and frustrated, the author utilizes this tone to illuminate the dystopian aspects of the book. Winston is a low-ranking member of society, which is under the rule of the Party.

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265 Words | 2 Pages

Telescreens and the Power of Oppression Ray Bradbury emphasizes the role of dystopian technology in 1984 through extreme surveillance and propaganda, conveying a sense of oppression within the community. Bradbury introduces the character Winston, and his day-to-day life as a citizen of Oceania. Within the society, there are telescreens, or “oblong metal plaques”... “that have no way of shutting off” (Bradbury 3 & 4). These metal screens monitor all the people in Oceania in order to pick up any act of rebellion against the Party.

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The Thought Police have Winston as a big target because of his fractious want to have his own thoughts and fall in love with the person of his own choosing (Miniter). The Theory and Practice of Oligarchy Collectivism, the book that Winston and Julia read every night, was

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810 Words | 4 Pages

“‘Thoughtcrime!’ said Parsons, almost blubbering. The tone of his voice implied at once a complete admission of his guilt and a sort of incredulous horror that such a word could be applied to himself. He paused opposite Winston and began eagerly appealing to him: ‘You don’t think they’ll shoot me, do you, old chap? They don’t shoot you if you haven’t actually done anything—only thoughts, which you can’t help? I know they give you a fair hearing.

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1033 Words | 5 Pages

It has split off from the technology in today’s society in many ways. In this essay I will discuss the differences between Oceania’s technology and today’s technology, and the similarities they share. The technology in the novel 1984 and the technology today have advanced in many similar ways. For example both have advanced their technology to spy on the citizens better. In the novel Winston explains what the telescreens do, “The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously.

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Surveillance 1984, by George Orwell, is a magnificent dystopian novel about a society with a totalitarian government. Winston, the protagonist in 1984, is a confused resident in the city of Oceania. He is constantly questioning the government in a society where an opinion is not allowed. Surveillance is a method that the government uses to monitor all citizens and keep them under control. The government uses surveillance through telescreens, the Thought Police, and people who seem friendly, but are not.

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1984 by George Orwell is a dystopian novel that tells the story of Winston Smith, a low-ranking member of the Party in Oceania. The Party exercises total control over the lives of its citizens, using propaganda, surveillance, and torture to maintain its power. Winston becomes disillusioned with the Party and begins to secretly rebel against it, starting a forbidden love affair with Julia and seeking out forbidden literature. However, Winston is eventually caught and tortured by the Party, which brainwashed him into accepting its version of reality. The novel ends with Winston fully embracing the Party's ideology, having lost all sense of individuality and freedom.

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1559 Words | 7 Pages

In the novel 1984, by George Orwell, he uses truth and reality as a theme throughout the novel to demonstrate the acts of betrayal and loyalty through the characters of Winston and Julia. Orwell expresses these themes through the Party, who controls and brainwashes the citizens of Oceania. The party is able to control its citizens through “Big Brother,” a fictional character who is the leader of Oceania. Big Brother is used to brainwash the citizens into whatever he says. Orwell uses truth and reality in this book to reflect on what has happened in the real world such as the Holocaust and slavery.

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George Orwell’s 1984 is a precautionary tale of what happens when the government has too much control in our lives. The protagonist, Winston Smith, is at odds in a world in which he is not allowed to counter the government’s surveillance and control. Perhaps more striking is the noticeable relationship between the novel and modern society. In George Orwell’s novel 1984 the book predicts the surveillance of Big Brother in modern day societies.

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This is a literary analysis on the novel 1984 by George Orwell. 1984 is a more recent classic dystopian novel. Written in 1949, it's based in the future year of what is presumed to be 1984. It focuses on the life of Winston Smith, a member of the newly established Party that rules over a territory called Oceania and that is led by a man called Big Brother. This novel provides a rather frightening insight into a dystopian socialist environment.

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The children opened the door to see a pale faced shell of a human being. “Oh, Margot!” one of the children cried. With no sign of anything wrong Margot began to run, leaving the children behind. Beyond tears, she ran and ran and ran… faster than anyone ever thought she could run.

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The book 1984 describes a totalitarian society where citizens are forced to renounce all liberties for the sake of social order. They are guided by the rule of a single figurehead called Big Brother, whom the they are manipulated to entrust their lives to. This figurehead exercises his powers of governing every aspect of the people 's lives by observing and manipulating the populace. Big Brother also divides his subjects into classes as a means to keep the populace oppressed. Throughout this literary narrative the main character, Winston Smith, struggles to survive in this society as he struggles to fit the conventional mold that is preached.

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