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George Orwell, born in Motihari, Bengal 1903 - 1950, is considered one of the greatest authors of all time, best known for his books; Animal Farm and 1984.
In English 5, we had the opportunity to analyze and read both books, spending time to discuss and talk about what we think about the style of writing and the books in general.
Starting with 1984; The book is set in a dystopic, totalitarian society where a dictator in this case ‘’Big Brother’’ takes control of every aspect of someone’s life, and thoughts, forcing people to put Big Brother first.
‘’War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.’'
In Animal Farm, Orwell takes a different approach to address the situation going on in the Soviet Union using animals such as pigs and dogs to represent different political figures which are called an allegory. An example of this would be; the horse Boxer, he’s an allegory for the working class in the Soviet Union.
In simplest forms of explaining things; Animal Farm is about a group of animals rebelling against its masters to create a place where animals can be free, equal, and happy.
‘’Man serves the interest of no creature except himself.’’
Animal Farm and 1984 might have more in common than people think. Orwell in both novels writes about the dangers of society at the time.
Both books also contain a dark setting of sorts, 1984’s reasoning behind it being the wars going on at the time when the book was written such as the rise of power to dictators, one of them being Adolf Hitler, and Animal Farm, the Spanish Civil War, and The Russian Revolution. Orwell’s 1984, has also been pledged as a political statement.
The novel that I find most relevant is 1984. The contents of the book can simply not be dated as it applies to most situations in the world right now. In 1984, the book talks about the use of technology for spying on the people of Oceania. Ranging from helicopters skimming down between roofs, spying on people, and having so-called telescreens in people’s homes, constantly on for capturing anything that they think is remotely close to someone committing a thought crime. This can also be applied to the famous party slogan;
‘’Big Brother is watching you’’.
Edward Snowden, a former NSA employee revealed thousands of classified NSA documents to journalists about how the agency is spying on Americans, listening in on phone calls and collecting data on websites that Americans frequently visit.
People started to compare the situation with the book 1984, and how the use of technology is similar to Orwell’s interpretation.
The power of language was something Orwell put a lot of thought into. Newspeak in 1984 is specifically designed to control the range of thought that the people of Oceania could have with Newspeak;
‘’Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end, we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible because there will be no words in which to express it.’’
Kellyanne Conway is another example of how people in this day and age use Orwell’s Newspeak.
In an NBC News interview with Chuck Todd, Conway expressed how press secretary Sean Spicer gave ‘’alternative facts’’.
The ‘’Meet the Press interview’’ also led to a rise in sales of the novel, making it reach the best sellers list in the US, just over the weekend.
After the interview, people were quick to compare the phrase with the book 1984, saying that it sounded very Orwellian, many even compared it with the words from Newspeak such as Doublethink.
In 1984, the act of rewriting history was an everyday thing. The main character Winston Smith worked as a records editor in the Records Department at the Ministry Of Truth, whose everyday task was to rewrite historical events/documents to match the party slogan, believing that if if you control the past, you control the present.
The people of Oceania are then left with a government they have to put their trust and belief into since there isn’t any other fact that can go against them, luring them into a false sense of hope and security.
In Hungary today, President Viktor Orban is using different levers such as; Billboards, and radio programs to influence people’s opinions.
The European refugee crisis is primarily what Orban is concerned about, believing that the refugees are a threat to Hungary, going so far as to voice his opinions in history books.
It is now said that the extent of Orban’s Program is woven into the school curriculum.
In conclusion, 1984’s impact on modern-day society is immense, not only predicting certain things written in the novel, but also teaching us to be aware of our personal freedom, and spreading awareness of what could happen if we didn’t become aware of our rights and the most unthinkable thing, such as to have thoughts.
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