Stuck In 1984
It is that time of the year when 10th graders are reading George Orwell’s 1984 and they begin to question their true freedom. It continues to be a classic 70 years since its publication, perhaps because this made-up world is not so fictitious after all.
1984 introduces us to the world of Oceania, an orthodox society in which authority indoctrinates perpetual fear and doublethink, attempting to eradicate consciousness and control everyone at all times.
Telescreens are set up in every room, regularly spying on characters. The community is under constant surveillance and any suspicious behavior is used against them. Everything is heard and seen. It sounds daunting, but this is our reality. The 21st century’s technological advancements are overwhelming. Phones, tablets, computers, and televisions are part of our daily lives and we underestimate their ability to spy on us. While tech is abundantly advancing, modern voice-activated controls and exceptional cameras don't only make the device better, but they allow for it to record everything that goes on around it. There is no longer such a thing as private life. Whether we realize it or not, we are trading our privacy for convenience. Why fear Big Brother if it is our phones, computers, and smart gadgets that control our lives?
Big Brother holds perpetual power over all citizens, representing a figure of authority that knows everything and is watching at all times. Citizens obey the rules because Big Brother encourages them to do so. Whatever Big Brother does is valid, and whatever he hates is disliked by everyone as well. In reality, we don't follow Big Brother, however, we follow a religion. As humans, we believe in a higher power and follow scriptures that guide us in our everyday lives. Whatever our religion declares truth is what we learn to accept and believe. Religion promotes social cohesion essentially facilitating control of the people. We are undeviatingly persuaded to act a certain way because religion encourages us to do so.
The Thought Police portray government workers in charge of eradicating anyone with controversial thoughts to eliminate all possible threats. In this century we claim to have freedom of speech, yet the President of the United States labels any controversial information “fake news,” and the FBI claims conspiracy theorists urge “domestic extremists.” Not so free after all.
The Inner Party, a political group of elites, has access to information classified for the commoners. The only news that citizens have access to is filtered by the government Nowadays, political figures hiding data is not unusual. In fact, we’ve encountered people like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange who released classified media for the people and then ended up being put in jail as whistleblowers. The government frets when the truth comes out because the truth signifies a threat for power. There is a sharp resemblance here.
To the reader’s surprise, Orwell’s fictional world does not fall far from our dystopian reality. Throughout the novel, we face the grim accuracy of our truth, perhaps a reason as to why 1984 remains such a significant piece of literature. Take a look around, this is our world.