Reflection Paper on George Orwell’s Book 1984

George Orwell’s book, “1984,” had me convinced that such a world or society could exist. As I read I imagined the story of the book and saw it taking place right before my eyes, word after word. I was so convinced that I had to do a little research to ensure that it was merely fiction and could not possibly be true. Any book that can make me question the existence of such a society is definitely a good one. Throughout my reading I gradually came up with my own ending to the story based off of the seemingly easy roundabouts of Winston and Julia. However, I was extremely surprised at the unexpected twist in the story at the end of the book. It confirmed that the blurb on the cover was true in its entirety.

Throughout my reading I was able to identify a few similarities between America today and what Orwell assumed that the year 1984 would be like. Some of his assumptions seemed out of this world at first glance but over time it becomes easier to associate some of his ideas with today’s America. I was able to find similarities in the overall idea of totalitarianism, the elite theory, the power of language, politics and the economy and the roll of the media. The fact that Orwell’s idea didn’t stray too far from what is in fact reality today proves that society and politics have not changed too much from what it was in the past to what it is today. It is merely a revolving cycle of time.

You see throughout the book the concept of the elite theory. The Inner Party are ‘the elites’ and the Outer Party and proles are ‘the masses’. As in American politics elites only account for a small percentage of citizens as with the Inner Party’s 2% of the population and the masses include everyone else. The Inner Party maintains a quality of life more extravagant than any other like the American elites who live in large houses and drive expensive cars. The Outer Party and the proles barely have a sustainable life living in dilapidated buildings while only being allowed certain