ipl-logo

Is Orwell's World In 1984 Becoming A Reality?

1513 Words7 Pages

In what ways is Orwell’s world in 1984 becoming a reality?
Orwell’s world in 1984 is becoming a reality; we can see evidence of this through the media and today’s current events and in our own technological advances. Much like the world that Winston Smith lives in the novel 1984, we too have a figurehead that is worshipped by the citizens of a specific society; that society being North Korea. Today, Kim Jong Un is to the Korean people as Big Brother is to the people of Oceania. They live in a dehumanized state, where their only concern is idolizing Kim Jong Un (Lopes). This is mostly due to the fact that in their society, they are perceived to be under constant surveillance by the government and many are in fear of the outside world (N.C.T.E.). …show more content…

Would you say the novel’s ending represents for Orwell an optimistic or pessimistic view for the future of our society? Do you think that Orwell believed the coming of such a society was inevitable? I would say that, for Orwell, the ending of the novel represents a pessimistic view for the future of our society. At the end of the novel, Winston has, in a way, completely given up himself. He has put his real self aside and has sort of hidden his old self and all his memories from his thoughts. He has done all this simply to please the party, and Big Brother. Winston is now one of the masses by the end of the novel. “And he awaits the bullet in the back of the head to finally set him free”(Orwell). Totalitarianism has completely won over humanity at last. Which may be a prediction of what may inevitably come in the future, according to Orwell himself. He is saying, or rather warning us, that if our society doesn’t change, we may end up like a society such found in the novel 1984. Things may only get worse from here if we as a nation do not make the conscience decision to change our mentality and ways of living. We are blind to what is going on around us. We are easily manipulated through media and are openly influenced by other people's’ opinions. Because of this, our own views have been completely jaded and we are naive to the fact. As a result, I think Orwell believed that the coming of such a society as the one found in 1984 was in fact inevitable, just maybe not …show more content…

Why? Of the three propaganda: Glittering Generalities, Card Stacking, and Transfer, I think Glittering Generalities is the most effective in the novel. Although Transfer is largely used during the Two Minutes Hate and hate week, Glittering Generalities is used continuously throughout the novel. It can be found on posters and news articles. One terms that describes how it is used to influence the people is doublethink. This is when there are two contradictory thoughts being accepted by someone simultaneously. The slogans: “War is Peace”, “Freedom is Slavery”, and “Ignorance is Strength” are all examples of Glittering Generalities, or doublethink (Orwell). Another example is in the Ministry of Truth. Contrary to its name, the Ministry of Truth is actually in charge of producing lies and destroying the truth. Workers here are expected to get rid of any evidence of the past so as not to be questioned by the people. In this sense, society blindingly follows Big Brother and his ways because to them, it seems to be the only constant in their lives. The people are not able to interpret the very principles and things that which they live by. This is why I believe that Glittering Generalities had the most impact on the lives and actions of the people in the 1984

Show More
Related
317 Words | 2 Pages

To begin the novel, George Orwell expresses his main character's distaste of the people around him. It is narrated that, “Winston’s hatred was not turned against Goldstein at all, but, on the contrary, against Big Brother, the Party, and the Thought Police” (Orwell 15). Orwell's choice to write about Winston's disdain for the party foreshadows Winston's character because of how his hatred was turned against the Party, Big Brother, and the Thought Police. It also means that he is already committing a Thought-Crime due to his opposing ideas which predicts that he will do additional Thought-Crime against the Party. In addition, Orwell chooses to write about Winston’s feelings towards the propaganda spread by the Party.

Read More
394 Words | 2 Pages

I get that this is part of writing, but prior to getting too deep into this section, I was expecting Winston to come out strong in the end, although may die, win the mental fight of his morality. He is just completely brainwashed. It frustrates me how Orwell wrote the ending as so. I really felt the fact that

Read More
458 Words | 2 Pages

Winston was never a devoted follower, constantly questioning the world around him. Even when in custody, Winston continued questioning motives and denouncing the Party and Big Brother, despite the futility. He knew no societal changes would result from his actions, but desperately wanted to share his ideas with someone, and since he was already being tortured, he was capable of speaking freely in the jail area. The purpose was to rid him of his rebellious mindset, and to do so, O’Brien needed to know everything Winston honestly thought in order to ‘correct’ it fully. For example, O’Brien forced Winston to recognize that whatever the Party said was true by holding up four fingers and saying there were five, “But there had been a moment- of luminous certainty, where each new suggestion of O’Brien’s had filled up a patch of emptiness and had become absolute truth, and when two and two could have been three as easily five, if that were what was needed (Orwell 258).

Read More
1159 Words | 5 Pages

Society is made up of multiple factors including individuality and opposition. George Orwell’s 1984 is a novel that depicts a communist dystopian society. Orwell wrote this novel to show what will happen to society under Communist control—more specifically, Joseph Stalin’s control. Orwell presents the reader with a protagonist, Winston, and through Winston, the reader can see the effects of extreme, forced conformity in a society. Through 1984, the reader can conclude that a society as a whole cannot thrive when constrained.

Read More
911 Words | 4 Pages

Even though Orwell's predictions of what 1984 would look like may have not been one hundred percent accurate but they are pretty close to becoming true. The technology may be more advanced in today's society but the idea of people being watched by their governments is still there. It doesn't matter if the technology has changed in the past decades but it still doesn't stop any government from being able to look through your things without you noticing them in the first place. You can live in a place where the government is completely democratic or totalitarian but the thing is anyone can monitor your every

Read More
714 Words | 3 Pages

1984 depicts the circle of submission a citizen, or “comrade,” of a totalitarian government experiences. From Orwell’s numerous rhetorical devises, themes and plot outline it is clear the purpose of 1984 is to enlighten the reader to the dangers of a totalitarian government. Orwell was known to detest the notion of totalitarian governments and even assisted in wars to prevent them. From a minor amount of background information on Orwell combined with a basic understanding of rhetorical devises the reader can infer that Orwell is most likely addressing the rising existence of totalitarian governments of his era. Throughout the later sections of 1984 Orwell alludes to the Soviet empire and Nazi Germany.

Read More
1757 Words | 8 Pages

Did George Orwell’s 1984 predict the future or simply recognize common trends among moments of high political tension? Over time, the novel 1984 and its ideas have become more and more relevant. While yes, Orwell did in a way predict the future, his analysis of society and the behaviors of people during times of war are the reason for the relevance of his ideas today. 1984 centers around Winston Smith, a middle aged man living in an oppressive society. Winston is one of the few citizens who recognizes the manipulative nature of the government, the Party. Because of his opposition to the Party’s ideas and their leader, Big Brother, the Party arrests and tortures him.

Read More
227 Words | 1 Pages

To begin, the suppression of privacy by technological invasions diminishes freedom. Others posit that it shows when the party slogan reads, “Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.” They think, proles, who are the middle class, should be kept in subjection; their thoughts should be controlled and kept in fear, but if not, then the beliefs need to be converted. The proletariat is satisfied with its misery and with no acknowledgment of its suppression. Otherwise, the population will not survive.

Read More
742 Words | 3 Pages

George Orwell, the author of 1984, emphasizes his aversion towards totalitarian states throughout the novel. While Orwell develops a dystopia where freedom and individualism are nonexistent, he also displays a deep-seated sense of skepticism about the ability for the individual heart-its spirit of love and freedom-to survive against tyrannical inculcation. Strong leadership usually govern us to better things, but in 1984, Orwell illustrates how the power given to the government leads to corruption: Winston-the main character of 1984- notices this corruption. To seek complete control over the people, the party not only implemented physical restriction, but also mental restrictions also.

Read More
819 Words | 4 Pages

Joseph Goebbels once said,”Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident they are acting on their freewill”. This statement is proven to be true in 1984. The author, George Orwell, creates a fictional dystopian society in which the population is manipulated into thinking they live in a great world, whereas the government has full control over them. In 1984, George Orwell’s prime message, supported by the article called Liberty in North Korea by Hae Re, was the lack of individualism gives power to the applicable leader, which is conveyed using the characters speech and symbolism. Orwell’s dystopian society showed the author 's message through what a character was saying and symbolism.

Read More
633 Words | 3 Pages

He loved Big Brother.” (Orwell 298). Before this, Winston had been 100% against the Party and Big Brother. Due to the physical and mental abuse O’Brien inflicted on Winston, Winston’s entire way of thinking was overthrown against his will. O’Brien had physically taken away Winston’s free will-

Read More
1266 Words | 6 Pages

The media does not often report eerie similarities between real world countries such as North Korea, and fictional dystopian worlds such as Oceania from George Orwell’s 1984. The parallels of fictional 1984 and real world North Korea are greater than most realize. The year is 1984. At least, that’s what main character Winston thinks. The past is altered so often, no one is quite certain of the approximate date.

Read More
847 Words | 4 Pages

In a time when the United States was hurling into a decade full of change with regards to society, with flappers and the New Negro Movement, many American citizens change the idea of themselves. Women turned their modest, Victorian image of themselves into a modern Flapper. African American citizens began to challenge the second class position given to them by fellow white Americans. With the New Negro Movement and the First Great Migration came the Jazz age, the explosion of a new musical and cultural phenomenon, from which the Harlem Renaissance sprouted from. However, the explosion of change brought about by women and African Americans was met with resistance led by the resurged Ku Klux Klan, which specifically targeted African Americans.

Read More
951 Words | 4 Pages

In 1949, a man predicted the domination of citizens by the totalitarian government and their custom of technologies to dictate the society. His name is George Orwell, a well-known British author, who wrote one of the most famous dystopian novels, 1984. The novel 1984 illustrates the totalitarian society and the life of Winston Smith, who works at the Ministry of truth and his humiliation by the party of the country, Oceania. George Orwell’s exaggeration and mockery of the totalitarian governments in the novel 1984 is now turning out to be one of the nightmare come true in our modern society.

Read More
1500 Words | 6 Pages

In the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the main theme is of conformity to the wants of society and the government. Themes of dehumanization of our species, as well as the danger of a totalitaristic state are repeatedly expressed. Orwell demonstrates this theme by using setting and characters in the novel. The setting helps to convey the theme because of the world and kind of city that the main character lives in. Winston’s every move is watched and controlled by the governmental figurehead known as “big brother”.

Read More

More about Is Orwell's World In 1984 Becoming A Reality?

Related Topics

Open Document