I read this book only because it was recommended by my English Language teacher, who said that it who improve our literature skills, but little dd I expect that it would leave such a great impression on me.
George Orwell wrote 1984 a year before his death to show the world the grim and bleak future of a society subject to totalitarianism. It’s a disturbing and chilling story of Big Brother, where sex is frowned upon and only to be used for reproductive purposes. It was written in 1949, four years after the end of WWII and the paranoia and fear that arose from that time, as well as the threat of communism, gave birth to 1984. In the novel the world has been grouped into three opposing forces: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Winston Smith, of Oceania, is living in London, a society where you are monitored constantly through telescreens which are in every room. Even if you are physically alone, you are always being watched and individualism is forbidden. The government provides the ‘entertainment’: movies and music. Crime is monitored by the Thought Police, an elite and secretive government organisation that can erase you and all records of your existence. There are 3 classes of people--the smallest group, yet the people with the most power and privilege is the Inner Party. The Outer Party have very few creature comforts, but they work in government office-type jobs. The remaining class, which make up 85% of the population, are the "proles." They are looked down upon as unintelligent, and have hard labor-type jobs. Though English is still spoken, many words have been completely dropped off, with the introduction of "Newspeak." The goal is to have a language that is so easy and has so few words that people really don't have to think very much at all, and there is literally no way to have thoughts of words such as "freedom." Along with the language, the past is slowly being wiped out. Books of all types have been altered to remove anything that is not in alignment with the Party. Reading, writing, thinking, and feeling are not only discouraged, but punishable.Winston Smith, an average 39-year-old Outer Party member is unhappy with this life and occasionally has flashbacks to his childhood when things were different. He knows the history books aren't accurate, as his job is to actually update the past events to make them parallel with the Party's agenda. He only takes part in the Party rituals, such as the Two Minutes Hate, because he doesn't want to disappear forever, to become and "unperson." He lives in constant fear, and knows he can't trust anyone...until he meets Julia. It is only after he begins spending time with her (which completely isn't allowed), that Winston really learns what happiness could be like, as well as what the Party is capable of.
Imagining this world of despair and loneliness is depressing. I'm glad that even though we are well past the year 1984, our world is not even close to the dreary place pictured in the novel. In this book, technology such as spy-cameras, weapons and a "Telescreen", which was a 2 way device that monitored the behaviour of the owner, are misused by the governments in order to monitor citizens of the country and kill them if necessary, which once again reminds us the consequences of technology, it can take many lives and the results could be dire if technology is placed in the wrong hands, in this case the government in the totalitarian society. In my opinion, George Orwell was actually quite inaccurate in predicting the future, however, he was still quite accurate in predicting the interactivity of the internet, during Orwell's time, the internet was still not invented and it was something he had thought correctly. The internet now can do what the book describes it can do, it can monitor behaviours through "Spycam", and check what others are doing through password-secured webcams, he was also accurate in predicting the use of social media, where in the book, television is used to spread ideologies. This reminds me about how much science and technology has improved and I and thankful for this great advancement in technology.
No comments:
Post a Comment