Individualism In George Orwell's '1984'

Nhuy Nguyen
AP Literature 4th Hour
February 7, 2017

1989 and the Trump Organization

George Orwell's "1984," illustrates a dystopian future where Oceania exists in a state of continuous war. The state is run by the Inner Party and its ministries, which manipulate public perception through the alteration of historical facts, the redirection of hateful emotions, and the suppression of individualism and independent thinking. Government surveillance is omnipresent, and the Party utilizes a charismatic figure of power, Big Brother, a cult of personality demanding absolute allegiance and orthodoxy. However, despite how controversial these elements of the novel may be, there are many parallels that can be drawn between Orwell’s novel and President

Trump’s victory was secured, as he was able to combine racism with narratives of “economic insecurity.”, uprooting fear and rallying hate amongst the white supremacist majority. Similar to the Ministry of Truth in the novel, which is in charge of manipulating details of history to fit the Inner Party’s objectives, Donald Trump has threatened to sue news media members who revealed facts, or articles he disliked. He produces conspiracy theories that “the media” was unfairly slandering his campaign, calling reporters “scum” and “disgraceful”, making them the objects of mockery and violence at his

For example, the Ministry of Truth is ironic, as it is responsible for the manipulation of historical facts. The Trump administration seems to have taken a cue directly from "1984's" fictional ministries, as he has provided us, in the name of security, with a travel ban on immigrants and refugees from countries whose citizens themselves have not caused the terrorism deaths any Americans. In addition, the people appointed to his cabinet appear set on demolishing the government, nominating an energy secretary who has proposed abolishing the department, an education secretary who is a critic of public schools, a housing secretary who once called fair housing “communism,” and a head of the EPA who actively sought deregulation of air pollution requirements. However, Trump’s supporters fail to recognize the contradictory nature of their leaders’ positions, as they “hold simultaneously two opinions which [cancel] out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing both of