1984 By George Orwell's Failure To Control The Future?

1742 Words4 Pages

"He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past." (George Orwell 1984 ch.3) This quote from Orwell's great story "1984" is a true example of how governments try to control our life through changing and lying about the way information is introduced to the people. The creative idea of brain washing and media effect was introduced by George Orwell in a dystopian novel that was published in 1949. The name of the story is 1984, which is a year that comes thirty five years later. Orwell tells us about a future world that doesn’t allow freedom or dreams. Citizens in Air Strip One which lies in the Nation of Oceania are seen as machines who work for the party which defeats the people in the name of the Big Brother. This powerful Big Brother rules through fear, propaganda and surveillance. In “1984”, "lies, myths and false information controls the thinking of the citizens. The Party uses propaganda as the worst weapon of control. Back in 1949, Orwell directs his irony towards the rise to power of dictators such as Adolf Hitler in Germany and Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union first through his masterpiece animal farm and later through "1984". The novel predicts the future of humanity in a few decades in hope that people rise against tyrants and enjoy living in freedom. The question of whether the world in "1984" existed or not has not become a rhetorical one. In the present day governments are using massive programs that record phone calls, read emails as well as use the media to control them. "1984" is also a lesson on history that can be read like history books. The Party understands the power of history. A citizen educated to understand history would not allow the Party to survive. Thus, the P... ... middle of paper ... ... India for about three hundred years. The control of language leads to the control of culture and history. Propaganda and surveillance are the main themes in "1984". The manipulative use of these two factors helps the party of the Big Boss to control the minds of the citizens and spy on their private lives. The threat of how the Big Brother is watching everybody all the time helps the government to control all aspects of human life. Telescreens that brainwash the citizens and watch every minute of their life even in the bathroom are everywhere in Air Strip One. In "1984", technology is not used for good of the people but for taking control over them. The propagandist activities of the party changing history, language and minds to change the nature of the people lie to them claiming enemies are friends, and to make people think the way the party needs them to think.

Open Document