Comparing George Orwell’s 1984 and Our World Today

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George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, set in Airstrip One, originally named Great Britain, is a fictional story that describes a time where England is overruled by English Socialism. The story’s point of view is through the main character, Winston Smith, who is an intelligent member of the middle class. The audience is walked through the later stages of his life, where his intellectual thought is most prominent. Throughout the book, Winston goes through everyday life, as well as visits many places that are described in great detail. Every place he goes has varying effects on him and other individuals surrounding him. The place that has them most effect on Winston is his home in the Victory Mansions, which ironically, are just apartments. This particular space affects how he walks, talks, and even thinks. Fortunately, in comparison to our world today, we don’t have to be as precautious about our every move. In Winston’s home, there is a “telescreen”, which is actually in every resident’s home. This device is embedded with a surveillance camera that watches every move made, and can hear every sound made. This is how “Big Brother” (BB) is always watching, and if someone does something that BB doesn’t approve of, they have the ability to arrest and completely erase their existence. Winston has to be careful in his own home and can’t make any sudden movements that may attract negative attention. Therefore Winston is very delicate in his movements just so he can avoid any trouble. In a particular scene, all the citizens had to participate in morning exercises, while the instructor watched from the screen. All of a sudden, “Smith! 6079 Smith W! Yes, you! Bend lower please! You can do better than that. You’re not trying. Lowe... ... middle of paper ... ...hough we have the freedom of speech, we should still be wary of how we say or write things to avoid any unnecessary trouble. In conclusion, Winston’s home made him a very cautious and careful person, who felt the need to sneak to do anything. This is a very scary feeling to have in one’s own home, because a home is normally where someone has the right to relax, sit back, and enjoy their freedom. In Winston’s situation, it is the complete opposite circumstance; he is nervous, peace less, and has feelings of entrapment, except for the little area that provides him with some form of liberation. Luckily this isn’t the circumstance for our society and hopefully it will never be the circumstance. We gratefully have been granted amendments that give us many rights to live and thrive freely amongst the world. Works Cited http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell/1984

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