Preview

How Is 1984 George Orwell Relevant Today

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
814 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Is 1984 George Orwell Relevant Today
Book Critique Kyle
1984 by George Orwell
1984 By George Orwell Offers the unique perspective of a man during the year 1984, where a totalitarian government controls everything with omnipresent government surveillance and public manipulation. The book becomes even more relevant today, as in some cases governments around the world creep very slowly toward the Totalitarianism of George Orwell’s created government without even knowing. Orwell incorporates many deep subtexts into his novel that create a chilling presentation of what may become of our government, and our entire world.

In the year 1984, a disillusioned Outer Party member in Oceania named Winston Smith begins to question the validity of the party and its doctrines. He feels the party overpowers free will, but he fears the Thought Police, who patrol people's thoughts and make people that disagree with Big Brother "disappear" They force Doublethink into the heads of people, which “means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them”. One day, he meets Julia, who becomes his mistress, and together, they decide to take the
…show more content…
Language as mind control, one of the government’s most powerful weapons, appears everywhere, with citizens seeing words like “Big Brother is watching you” wherever they go. This idea manifests itself in the language of Newspeak, which the Party introduces to replace English. As explained by O’Brien when speaking to Winston, “if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” The Party constantly refines and perfects Newspeak, with the ultimate goal that no one will have the power to conceptualize anything that might question the Party’s absolute

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    1984 was written more than 60 years ago by an author named George Orwell. This book was very much like today's society. Some people agree that 1984 is still relevant in today's society, some disagree. 1984 has so many references to today's society and relates. This book was written many years ago and was a book for analyzing the future.…

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In conclusion, 1984 is an interesting novel that gives readers a view of the future world. It reveals what the world would be like under a party or government so strict that…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    1984, being written at a time where Stalin and Hitler were forces to be reckoned, many knew what could happen if these two ever trusted their way into power. Orwell uses satirical themes in his book to relate to what was going on at present time. Totalitarianism was something to be feared. In this novel where it was a complete totalitarianism society, Winston struggles with ‘Big Brother’ having complete control. “His pen had slid voluptuously over the smooth paper, printing in large neat capitals—DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER (18)”. The fight over ones true identity was also a theme that arose throughout the novel. Orwell mocks the ability for people to not become individuals…

    • 1906 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “They always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” – Andy Warhol…

    • 1529 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    To begin, the author shows how the government abolishes individuality through the use of mind control. First of all, the creation of Newspeak restricts the individual from saying things that he/she wishes to say. More specifically, the task of the Party’s philologists is to regulate the vocabulary and language of Oceania to ultimately be able to control the actions and behaviors of the people. Literary critic Stephen Ingle argues, “The more vocabulary contracts, the more the Party will be…

    • 1645 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The book 1984 depicts a utopia built on a world of fear and corrupted power. While the book seems like a false thing, 2016-17 has shown that objects of this book are in the world today. When it comes to power and people, 1984 is slowly becoming a reality. This is shown in today’s technology, in Trump’s Immigrant ban, and in the ‘sin taxes’. While 1984 seems like a weird book that most every highschooler reads, this fictional story is slowly becoming America’s reality.…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many similarities between life for us now and life for the citizens of Oceania from George Orwell's 1984. Through our attachment to technology and the media, we are constantly bombarded by information that is not always accurate. We need to sift through the mountain of falsehood to obtain the reliable truth available to us. Contrary to the novel though, we at least have the freedom to access both the fiction and the facts. Winston's job was to literally rewrite history, and cause people to believe that everything the Party has said, says, and will ever say is the truth. "Who controls the past,’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’" (pg. 44) In contrast, using our the technology we…

    • 400 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel 1984, author George Orwell makes many predictions as to what society would conform to in the year 1984. Although these predictions are jurassic and farfetched, many of Orwell's predictions are expressed in our modern day American society. 1984 showcases the empowerment of a totalitarian government. The main Character, Winston, lives in a society where the government controls every aspect of his life, ranging from his food to his razor portions, and even his thoughts.…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Winston Smith is a man with an illusion of a life, a life created by the government that decides what to think. He is forced to devote his life to Big Brother, the great dictator of the Outer party. Winston leads a seedy existence in the year of 1984, in Oceania. The party is casting sexual frustration upon him along with psychologically stressing him. He takes out this frustration by journaling his obstinate thoughts of the Outer Party, which serves as a place for him to “escape” from the stress. The journal also sparks his rebellious spirit and initially encourages him to be independent. Winston then meets a woman, Julia, who starts a love affair with him. They meet secretly, falling deeper in love with each other and with the desire to rebel…

    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1984 by George Orwell, novelist and essayist creates a dystopian novel that features his frightening vision in 1949 of the world we were soon to become. Orwell’s purpose in this passage is to convey the effect of Winston's stolen and mysterious past. Orwell uses foreshadows and symbols. He adopts a nostalgic and mysterious tone in order to hypothesize a horrific ending.…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel 1984, George Orwell demonstrates to the people of the future how one governing body can manage to manipulate a whole country such as Oceania. Throughout our past we have seen totalitarian governments take absolute control over their countries. Some examples of leaders of countries that have demonstrated a totalitarian regime are Hitler and Stalin in World War II. Totalitarianism is a manipulative dictatorship that strives to limit the freedoms, abolish individuality, and brainwash its citizens (dictionary.com). In the totalitarian society of Oceania, people are controlled in every possible way. Rhetoric and language are constantly used by Big Brother, the figurehead leader, to maintain power over the society. Newspeak uses meaningless words to keep the thought of rebellion and freedom out of peoples’ minds. Doublethink encourages people to hold two contradictory ideas at once, accepting them both as truth. The Ministry of Truth is devoted to changing past history to conform with current government goals. The author leads us to recognize that all too often, instances of similar attempts at mind control by mass media occur in today's real world. (Johnson, Hayden)…

    • 796 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    All societies are controlled by their government in many different ways. Many societies are controlled by a democratic government, while other societies are controlled by dictatorship. These styles of government both have pros and cons. The passage from "1984" by George Orwell distinctly shows that society is a horrible and harmful place to live in because there are certain rules that people have to follow. "It was Mrs. Parsons, the wife of a neighbor on the same floor (" Mrs was a word somewhat discountenanced by the Party- you were supposed to call everyone "comrade"- but with some women one used it instinctively)"( Orwell paragraph 2). In this part of the passage, it is told that there are rules that are needed to be followed in society,…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel 1984, the author George Orwell uses diction and symbolism to convey the message that in order for a government to obtain absolute control over its people, it must demolish the past and human spirit. When Winston revisits Mr.Charrington’s shop, he finds himself searching through endless, insignificant items from before the Revolution. Rummaging through more meaningless items, Winston comes across an exquisite and precious item. The paperweight “[had] such depth of it, and yet it was almost as transparent as air. It was as though the surface of the glass had been the arch in the sky, enclosing a tiny world with its atmosphere complete…” (80,81). Orwell uses diction to describe how delicate and beautiful the coral paperweight was, and to accentuate the sentiment Winston felt towards it; it represented another world which was enclosed inside the coral. Through his description of the coral and his diction choices such as “enclosing” and “depth”, Orwell illustrates the idea that the coral not only represents the past, but is metaphorically trapping the past beneath the surface of the glass, “enclosing” it within its “depths”, concealing it from the outside world. Similarly, Orwell uses symbolism to show that the coral is a representation of the government and the Party; while the past is inside, the government is “enclosing” itself around it, creating a barrier so that it may not escape. Not only does the coral symbolize the government, but it also represents Winston’s and Julia’s life as well. The paperweight was not mesmerizing to Winston due to the appearance of it, but “What appealed to him about it was not so much its beauty as the air it seemed to possess the belonging to an age quite different from the present one” (80,81). Although he found the coral beautiful and delicate, the real attraction was what it symbolized. Being an object from the past, the coral represents the past Winston and Julia had dedicated…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the year of 1949, George Orwell saw a possible future from his reflection of the totalitarian regimes of World War II and experience in Spain as well as Russia, especially with Stalin. This would culminate into the novel known as 1984, in which the Party and their leader – Big Brother – have complete control of the nation known as Oceania, where everyone is under constant surveillance by the Thought Police. The story is set in London which has decayed just as much as the people’s souls and minds, shown as a “negative utopia”.…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    George Orwell writes his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four not as a story of fiction but as a warning about the dangers of totalitarian control. The concepts of free enterprise and individual freedom no longer exist in 1984, all of the power is split into three groups Eastasia, Eurasia, and Oceania. In his novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell uses certain literary devices, introduces new linguistic concepts and uses propaganda techniques to suppress freedom, controlling the people and forming a totalitarian society. Orwell introduces two new linguistic concepts in 1984; newspeak, and doublespeak. Newspeak is used by the Party to reduce and limit thought, and simplify the english language to the bare minimum. Doublespeak, on the other hand, which is commonly used by Party members to distort the actually meaning of words, and use the words against those who do not understand what they mean. George Orwell uses the propaganda tactics of “plain folks,” as well as the use of the Big Brother posters to achieve the idea of suppressing freedom. By utilizing propaganda techniques, introducing new language concepts and using literary devices, Orwell successfully warns us about the potential dangers of totalitarian control in our society today.…

    • 1818 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays