1984 Analytical Essay

For decades, governments all over the world have abused their power at least once. Whether it was erasing events in history, not telling the full story of wars and crimes, or using surveillance on their citizens without them knowing. This was brought to life in the novel 1984 by George Orwell. The government in George Orwell’s 1984 is closely similar to the governments in the United States and other countries in the past few decades.

There have been times where 1984 was a symbol for rebellions and protests. It became so popular that Philippine Airlines had to warn their passenger that they could get into trouble with the authorities if they were carrying a copy of the novel (Ricks).

George Orwell has said that “historical memory is dangerous to authoritarian regimes because it has the power to both question the past and reveal it as a site of injustice” (Giroux). His idea of the government having the ability to make us forget is supported by the creation of malls, theme parks, violence from the media, and a culture of consumerism, self-interest, and sensationalism for those who can afford participation. They use this tactic to distract

American teens, late or younger, probably cannot remember a time in their life where the United States were not involved in a war, the most recent the “War on Terror”. The US also uses torture as a tactic, foreshadowing 1984. After the September 11 terror attacks, “..for the first time in American history, torture became official policy (Before then it had been used occasionally but always in disregard of the law, and sometimes it was prosecuted)” (Ricks). In the novel, they would use torture as a way to “cure” people when they went against Big Brother. For example, O’Brien would hurt Winston everytime that he would say that 2+2=4 when O’Brien wanted him to believe it was five (Orwell