1984: Was Orwell Right?
Was Orwell Right?
George Orwell’s book 1984 depicts a futuristic society in the city of London located in the province of Oceania during the year 1984. In his book, Orwell’s purpose is to warn the audience against the dangers of his predicted modern era by presenting Winston Smith’s rebellion against the Republic of Oceania, and the repercussions he faces throughout the novel.
In his book Orwell wanted to depict a democratic government that turned totalitarian, the Republic of Oceania. Orwell’s predictions are based on the communist government developing in Russia during the late 1940’s. His main idea was to present to people how the society around them can control their reality. Orwell is not far off from his prediction in 1984 compared to today. He predicted through his book that the government would spy on the people, manipulate their minds, not tell the truth, and control their lives. In fact, the United States government is constantly spying on their citizens through a government organization called the N.S.A., meaning the National Security Association. Every email, text, phone call, and even internet search is being compiled at this very moment and sent to someone sitting at a desk in an office to monitor the information. Also, the N.S.A. is currently building a massive data center in Bluffdale, Utah called the Utah Data Center, where all the information will be stored and processed once construction is finished by late 2013 or 2014. The data center brings a hefty price tag with a cost of over $2 billion (Bamford). The Utah Data center fits Orwell’s prediction about our government spying on us. “There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug on your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live-did live, from habit
George Orwell’s book 1984 depicts a futuristic society in the city of London located in the province of Oceania during the year 1984. In his book, Orwell’s purpose is to warn the audience against the dangers of his predicted modern era by presenting Winston Smith’s rebellion against the Republic of Oceania, and the repercussions he faces throughout the novel.
In his book Orwell wanted to depict a democratic government that turned totalitarian, the Republic of Oceania. Orwell’s predictions are based on the communist government developing in Russia during the late 1940’s. His main idea was to present to people how the society around them can control their reality. Orwell is not far off from his prediction in 1984 compared to today. He predicted through his book that the government would spy on the people, manipulate their minds, not tell the truth, and control their lives. In fact, the United States government is constantly spying on their citizens through a government organization called the N.S.A., meaning the National Security Association. Every email, text, phone call, and even internet search is being compiled at this very moment and sent to someone sitting at a desk in an office to monitor the information. Also, the N.S.A. is currently building a massive data center in Bluffdale, Utah called the Utah Data Center, where all the information will be stored and processed once construction is finished by late 2013 or 2014. The data center brings a hefty price tag with a cost of over $2 billion (Bamford). The Utah Data center fits Orwell’s prediction about our government spying on us. “There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug on your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live-did live, from habit
Cited: Crouch, Ian. "So Are We Living in 1984?" The New Yorker. Conde Nast, 11 June 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. < http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/06/so-are-we-living-in-1984.html>. Grant, S. "10 People Who Exposed US Government Secrets And Lies." Listverse. Listverse Ltd, 27 June 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.< http://listverse.com/2013/06/27/10-people-who-blew-the-whistle-on-the-us-government/>. Ismail, Benjamin. "North Korea Frontiers of Censorship." Investigation Report (2011): 1-14. Oct. 2011. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. < http://en.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/rsf_north-korea_2011.pdf >. Orwell, George. 1984. New York, NY: Penguin Book, 1981. Print.