“War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength”
Looking at North Korea and China we see totalitarian regimes reflected in modern society bring to fruition Orwell’s nightmare
Seventy years ago, Eric Blair, writing under the pen name George Orwell, published “1984,” now considered a modern-day classic. The novel’s protagonist Winston Smith is a middle-aged man frustrated with his way of life, the governments control and political movement in Oceania, governed by constant surveillance, hidden microphones, and secret police, as well as by fellow citizens that will alert the government if they witness illegal behavior and a special police force, “The Thought Police”, keeps constant surveillance over all people reminding them that they are watched at all times, especially with propaganda and slogans such as “Big Brother is watching you”. The question ‘Is 1984 a classic?’, ‘Is 1984 relevant?’ and ‘Does power abuse still happen today?’ The answer to all three is, yes. For a novel to be classic, it must have been written decades ago as well as being read and admired by many book enthusiasts. The novel must still be mentioned in modern times and be relevant from the time period it was written in and a character that is significant decades later is still relatable. Winston Smith is a character that can easily be imagined by readers, why? Because he is nothing remarkable, with a bland and quite boring personality. He feels and for the most part acts like we would in that situation. Orwell’s fresh and new ideas were revolutionary for the dystopian novels introducing technology like the telescreen, the idea of the government using cameras and modern technology to monitor the people was new and frightening. A term developed by Orwell himself ‘Newspeak’, which is a term used for erasing words from the language that went against the views and beliefs of the party, reducing the vocabulary will stop people from potentially forming ideas against Big Brother and the government. All of these things make 1984 timeless, and that is the true mark of a classic. Throughout the decades, people have found ways to link the abuse of power in 1984 and The Circle to the real world. The Soviet Union and its collapse, North Korea’s Communist states, which both governments eerily mirror the actions made by Big Brother and the political parties in 1984 and the workers in The Circle and their thirst for 24/7 surveillance.
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The power of surveillance
The power of surveillance is a common theme in the novel 1984 as well as the film The Circle. The abuse and tyranny from the government and its leaders were not all fiction, North Korea and China both used similar methods to Big Brother. The power of surveillance in 1984 is maintained by telescreens, microphones, thought crimes, and the children in Oceania themselves. The Party holds its power by using children as extra surveillance forces for the Party, they watch their parents and neighbors for any signs of unorthodoxy. The Party maintains its power by severing private loyalties. With children, the success of the Party’s plan is furthered in that the children serve as extra surveillance forces for the Party. “The children turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel against the discipline of the Party. On the contrary, they adored the Party, and everything connected with it”. (pg. 25, book 1, 1984). Political totalitarianism aims to enforce a union among citizens to destroy an individual’s ability to distinguish oneself from others, thereby imposing party doctrines as morally correct and removing any capacity to resist the State. “People simply disappeared, always during the night. Your name was removed from the registers, every record of everything you had ever done was wiped out, and your one-time existence was denied and then forgotten.” This quote delivers a chilling insight that the people of Oceania have no control over their lives and what is even more frightful is that this quote from a fictional dystopian novel is similar to events that occur in today’s modern world. The government in 1984 eliminated and vaporized people who would go against the party much like what happened in China in 1989. The Chinese government in 1989 completely removed the identity of a man now only known as “Tank Man”, for protesting against the government’s decisions. China removed Tank Man from existence, he ceased to ever exist except for the photo taken. This shows that elements from dystopian fictional novels are present in the modern world.
They love their leader
In 1984 and The Circle, what both the novel and movie have in common is that the people who work for the Circle and civilians of Oceania love and idolize their leaders, much like in North Korea. Big Brother is adored by the outer and inner party members, and in some ways almost worshiped as a divine ruler. The people who live in Oceania aimlessly follow big brother around praising him, which eerily resembles cult behavior. Totalism is described as the way of complete and unrestricted power in the government. In 1984, the main themes [image: ]include language as mind control and psychological and physical intimidation and manipulation. Big Brothers’ followers believe anything and will do anything that the party tells them. Loyalty and power are what the party wants and is often forced onto everyone, with no exception. Furthermore, the Party wants loyalty and love in everyone’s hearts and minds. That’s what they forced also on Winston when he was brought to Room 101, she betrayed Julia there, and they finally succeeded in forcing Winston’s loyalty into his heart and mind, and was finally secured. The North Korean people’s loyalty and devotion to their supreme leaders have existed for decades and are deep in the history of the country, and examples of this can be seen in North Korean culture. There are laws and severe penalties for those who criticize or do not show proper respect for the government and regime. The devotion towards the Kim family is so strong that many see their leaders as idols who have divine powers and can choose who lives or dies and their words are absolute and must be followed without question or hesitation. In the circle the employees believe every word Eamon Bailey, the CEO of the company, says and that this is all for a great cause. They hang off every lie he tells them, this can be accurately linked to the people and big brother in 1984 as well as the whole population of North Korea towards their leader.
Literary Devices
Foreshadowing, irony, symbolism, satire, and flashbacks are all literary devices used by Orwell to create a connection with the reader. Literary devices help readers to better see and feel the storyline. The irony in the 1984 quote 'The lie became the truth'. This symbolizes how big brother takes every part of history pertaining to them and twists it into their own imaging, creating a 'lie'. 'Everything faded into mist. The past was erased, and the actions of what the people did were forgotten, the lie became truth. Just once in his life, he had possessed, after the event: that was what counted concrete, unmistakable evidence of an act of falsification.'
In the circle some of the aesthetic devices used to draw the viewers in and feel the emotions and storyline are imagery and foreshadowing. An example of foreshadowing includes: Mercer voicing his forebodings about the dominance of an invasion of privacy caused by the Circle, and these very things end up causing his suicide as well as Annie's breakdown, and Mae's distancing from her family.
Conclusion
The burning questions that everyone wants to be answered after reading 1984 are “Is this a modern classic?” and “Does this novel portray the abuse of power, the continuous surveillance, and extreme love and devotion for their leader which can be linked to today’s modern world?” The answer is yes, yes, and again yes. There is strong evidence that links both 1984 and the circle to modern-day events and the government ruling. Abuse of power which can be seen in 1984 by big brother resembles similar parallels to the Chinese government in the late 80s, successfully eliminating any evidence of people who act against the government. For the protagonists in 1984 and the circle; Winston Smith and Mae Holland, hope remains for freedom when individuals are able to defiantly remain true to themselves, and to maintain a sense of self-interest and intellectual freedom despite the forces struggling to control the mind, whether these forces be power-hungry leaders or commercial surveillance. Hence making the circle and 1984 deeply relevant today.
Bibliography
- Quora.com. (2020). Why is 1984 classic? - Quora. [online] Available at: https://www.quora.com/Why-is-1984-a-classic [Accessed 11 Feb. 2020].
- VT. (2020). 7 Ways that North Korea is exactly like 1984. [online] Available at: https://vt.co/news/world/7-ways-north-korea-exactly-like-1984/ [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].
- Prezi.com. (2020). Abuse of power in 1984. [online] Available at: https://prezi.com/emjunzxozvjh/abuse-of-power-in-1984/ [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].
- Anon, (2020). [online] Available at: https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-does-1984-represent-power-39815 [Accessed 3 Mar. 2020].
- Anon, (2020). Loyalty was a theme in 1984. [online] Available at: https://www.quora.com/How-is-loyalty-a-theme-in-George-Orwells-1984 [Accessed 5 Mar. 2020].
- Gradesaver.com. (2020). The Circle Literary Elements. [online] Available at: https://www.gradesaver.com/the-circle/study-guide/literary-elements [Accessed 6 Mar. 2020].
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