Cover of Nineteen Eighty-Four
English: Woman with sign “Dance like Big Brother isn’t watching” on the edge of a dance party at Occupy Seattle, Westlake Park, Seattle, Washington, USA. DJ Riz at the turntables. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Category:George Orwell Category:Nineteen Eighty Four (Original text : George Orwell, 1984. This self-made image is based on a picture that appears in an old acreditation for the BNUJ.) Picture of George Orwell taken from File:GeoreOrwell.jpg. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I remember reading the book “1984”. I picked it up one day at the library. I had to do a book report for my 8th grade class and the title of the book attracted me. There weren’t too many books with a year as its title.
At the time I read the book, what the author wrote did not really sink in. But I recently re-read it and could not believe how close to my current life the book is.
I’m sure a lot of you read the book, or know about it.
If you haven’t read the book, the year is 1984. The name of the place is Oceania (England). Oceania is run by a totalitarian government.
A man by the name of Winston Smith lives in Oceania in a rundown apartment building. He’s 39-years old, sickly, and works for the government in the Ministry of Truth. His job is to change the history of Oceania and make it appear to be true, even though it is not. The government wants to make people believe that everything it said has always come true. If people believe the government has always been right, it is easier to convince them that what the government says is true. It makes it easier for the government to rule the people and not have them question the government on anything.
So people in Oceania don’t doubt anything the government says and live in a world where the government controls all their actions.
At the beginning, Winston Smith believed everything the government said, but he begins to have doubts about what the truth really is.
The government watches the people 24/7, and is known as Big Brother. Big Brothers takes care of everything. It creates food shortages to inflame hatred of the people toward the people known as proles. It also forbids sexual contact. And every day, the government has two-minute hate rallies. It rallies the people against rival nations and people. It encourages children to take part in the rallies.
Now, if you’ve read the book, you know the things that happen in the book are very much like the things the government is doing to us.
Our government turns people against us; it denies us sexual freedom. We can’t engage in sex with anyone because we’re constantly watched. It turns children against us. We have 24 hour surveillance. Big Brother is always watching us. Just as in the book, we have cameras watching us. We have to be very careful of what we say and watch, because it will be held against us. As in the book, the “thought police” are listening to everything we say.
The government creates sexual frustration in us and incites people to hate us. The frustration builds up in us and eventually the government hopes we’ll take our frustration out against other people. The government can then put us away in prison or put us in a mental health facility.
That’s how the government in the book keeps the people in line. And that’s how our government today keeps the people in line. Turning us against each other instead of turning us against the government.
This way, the government can go ahead and do what it wants and the people will not protest anything it’s does.
The people turn their frustration toward the targets instead of turning their frustration toward the government. The government gets a free pass.
The book “1984” is so current as to what’s happening today that’s it’s scary. It gives me chills to think that what was written as fiction is coming true.
George Orwell was way ahead of his time.
I recommend you read “1984” again, or if you’ve never read it, read it. You’ll see your life in this book. “1984” has finally arrived. And we targets are part of it.
Remember: BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.
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