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Utopia vs dystopia
Orwell's view on totalitarianism 1984
Orwell's view on totalitarianism 1984
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The best feeling in the world is love and happiness. In today’s society, we are very fortunate to experience love, happiness, and liberty. After reading the works of Aldous Huxely and George Orwell, it made me realise how different my society is compared to the depiction of the future by Huxely and Orwell. Orwell described the future as if we live under a dictator, and Huxely described it as “everyone can have their needs, as long as you let me be in complete power”. In today’s society, we have the freedom to speak out against unfair policies set by the government. 1984 explained what can happen if we lived in a dystopian society. He gave plenty of examples of how the government has an impact on our lives. For example, in the story, the quote “Big Brother is watching you” (Orwell, 2) indicates that no matter what you do, the government is monitoring our every move. The quote blends in with society today because our phones are tapped to see what we search, the apps we use, and the government listens to our phone calls for our …show more content…
Personally, I think it is the most magical feeling. Our vision of love in this society is so much more than taking pills to make us happy, or “engaging” with others to make us happy. Love is about being with those who make us feel special. “Actual happiness looks pretty squalid comparison with the over-compensation for misery, and of course, stability isn’t nearly so spectacular as instability…”(Huxely, 221) This event shows how different 1984, Brave New world, and our society is. One version of happiness that we have in our society, are books. Orwell and Huxely have very opposite views about books. According to Bill Moyers.com, he says “The book 1984 is a warning” because “ Hate can ruin us”. However, A Brave New World is about “pleasure” because Huxely believed that “love can ruin us”. “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words” (chapter 5, 1984,
Imagine being watched by your own government every single second of the day with not even the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and all the above to yourself. George Orwell’s 1984 is based on a totalitarian government where the party has complete access over the citizens thoughts to the point where anything they think they can access it, and control over the citizens actions, in a sense that they cannot perform what they really want to or else Big Brother, which is the name of the government in the book 1984, will “take matters into their own hands.” No one acts the same when they are being watched, as they do when they are completely alone.
Today’s modern world may not be exactly like 1984, but there are some issues that are very similar to it. Some of the biggest issues that is becoming compromised today is the issue of privacy, which in the book 1984 was something that the people did not have much of because of things like telescreens. Not only is our privacy compromised but the government is also being too controlling. Ways today’s privacy is being compromised are through things like game consoles, phones, social media, and drones and not only is our being compromised through these things but the government is also gaining too much control by compromising our privacy.
His Death Written Life The novel, 1984, by George Orwell, depicts a dystopian society where no freedom exists; not even the freedom of thought. The scene takes place in Oceania, a society in which the ruling power called “the Party” strictly controls everything people do: from the way they speak, to how they move, to their very own thoughts. Winston Smith, the main character of 1984, struggles through the day to day life of having to blend into the brainwashed citizens of Oceania, where monitors called telescreens record and analyze every little movement. Anyone not showing signs of loyalty and homogeneity becomes vaporized, or in other words, ceases to exist and becomes deleted from history.
In 1984 many government issues take place, for instance propaganda, secret police, brainwashing, and a wide manner of other devices to oppress their populations. The idea is to illustrate the dangers of totalitarian government whether it be Communist, Fascist, or otherwise. Totalitarianism is an imposing form of government which the political authority exercises control over all aspects of life such as their sex life, and health in general. “If you can feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can't have any result whatever, you've beaten them” (George Orwell, 1984). Also psychological manipulation and mind control are a big controversy in 1984. Psychological manipulation is a social influence that moves towards the behavior of others through deceptive, or even abusive tactics. “And so it was with every class of recorded fact, great or small. Everything faded away into a shadow-world in which, finally, even the date of the year had become uncertain” (book 1, chapter 4). The author, Orwell wants the readers to think that the government monitors and controls everything that the humans do, and that basically everything that people do are against the law.
1984, a novel by George Orwell, represents a dystopian society in which the people of Oceania are surveilled by the government almost all the time and have no freedoms. Today, citizens of the United States and other countries are watched in a similar way. Though different technological and personal ways of keeping watch on society than 1984, today’s government is also able to monitor most aspects of the people’s life. 1984 might be a dystopian society, but today’s condition seems to be moving towards that controlling state, where the citizens are surveilled by the government at all times.
Throughout the world, failures seem to occur all around. Whether it be in the form of losing oneself or losing the people around the individual, many failures commonly occurs with the accumulation of power. In George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, Winston Smith is a low-ranking government official under the oppressive reign of his leaders, Big Brother. He is just one example of the many characters in written works that will eventually be defeated in one way or another. In British literature, it has become evident that characters affected by tyrannies have ultimately experienced loneliness, paranoia, and defeat.
In George Orwell’s novel 1984, he illustrates how those who are being oppressed by totalitarian power, soon become isolated and emotionally modified by society, resulting in their loss of individuality and personal expression. Overall, Big Brother was the largest oppressive power of the society, and all of the citizens’ right’s were taken from them, due to this overwhelming government. Orwell’s warning was to alert those that if we are not careful with our decisions of who runs our country, then this terrifying event could have possibly occurred during 1984. War, is not peace, and freedom, is not slavery.
Many people today are fighters and make attempts to stand up for what they believe in. Another way 1984 impacted us today is that the novel was a prediction of a controlling government. “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever” (page 267). Just like in 1984 they had “telescreens”monitoring their every move, we know there are so many surveillance cameras used everywhere we go. There are also microphones and the government is able to tap their citizens’ phone to monitor what they say.
1984 was a representation of what the future held in store, and how society could change. By creating a leader who people feared and appreciated society could easily be controlled and how one person could control everyone. Orwell predicted the future in a sense with things he noticed in real life experiences and how the world was changing in such an early time. Based on ideas he had, he was correct! We are all watched, we are controlled and the world is in fact changing.
In Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Huxley’s Brave New World, the authoritative figures strive for freedom, peace, and stability for all, to develop a utopian society. The Utopian society strives for a perfect state of well-being for all persons in the community, and over-emphasizes this factor, where no person is exposed to the reality of the world. As each novel progresses we see that neither society possesses family values nor attempts to practice them. Neither are passionate nor creative in factors such as love, language, history and literature. Our society today, in general, is unsure about the future: The nightmare of total organization has emerged from the safe, remote future and is now awaiting us, just around the next corner. It follows inexorably from having so many people. This quotes represents Watts’ fear for the future; George Orwell and Aldous Huxley both explore the future state of civilization in their novels. They both warn us of the dangers of a totalitarian society. Both books express a utopian ideal, examine characters that are forced into this state and are compelled to dealing with this society and all the rules involved.
It is of mixed opinions as to the popularity of modern society and that of the current government. Some believe the United States is, frankly, the best and most free country. They are those who enjoy the freedoms granted by the government and indulge themselves into the American culture. Others are not as fond; always searching for an excuse to criticize the current happenings, whether they be in the government or on the streets. In previous decades, such as the 1940s, the majority of citizens shared the more patriotic view. When comparing the current United States as a whole to that of a dystopian society, it becomes clear that the former faction may be looking through rose colored glasses. The dystopian motifs in George Orwell 's 1984 stemmed
From the moment of birth, to the moment of death, humans are flooded with emotions both good and bad. Individuals are continuously seeking fulfillment, some failing to find it while others succeed. Many seek adoration; love, accomplishment and greatness. In literature, authors take the readers on journeys that allow imagination, granting the possibility for the reader to grasp inner desires and decide what is truly important in life. Literature allows readers to dive into a different world where happiness and fulfillment is plentiful and eternal, also described as a utopia, while other pieces of literature direct the reader into a world of dissatisfaction which is a dystopia. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is in 26th century England. With the help of advanced technology and drugs, happiness fills the lives of the people living at that time period. But, the people are missing out on one of the most important feelings of life. That is sorrow or unhappiness. The society in Brave New World is very different from modern-day society; many aspects of life are removed such as family, monogamy, and religion. The citizens of Brave New World live in false happiness with all the necessities of life provided for them but have the lack of an inferred deeper satisfaction. In Brave New World happiness is the lack of unhappiness because the inhabitants can never truly know what happiness is without experiencing true unhappiness. The lifestyle in Brave New World is built on the notion that happiness is the only thing necessary in one’s life. This novel suggest that the reader should seek things besides happiness because the citizens in the World State live bleak and monotonous lives which show the faults in this so-called ‘perfect’ society. In thi...
Dystopian novels are written to reflect the fears a population has about its government and they are successful because they capture that fright and display what can happen if it is ignored. George Orwell wrote 1984 with this fear of government in mind and used it to portray his opinion of the current government discretely. Along with fear, dystopian novels have many other elements that make them characteristic of their genre. The dystopian society in Orwell’s novel became an achievement because he utilized a large devastated city, a shattered family system, life in fear, a theme of oppression, and a lone hero.
In today 's society, people love reading books because of the feelings that the characters can create. They allow people to connect and relate to their problems and challenges; however, some characters can represent the despair and destruction of the world around us. The book 1984, by George Orwell, is a dystopian novel written in the 1950´s. His book is a truly terrifying and intense story, which is brought to life by his characters. Orwell 's characters affect the course of the story because they represent the corrupt minds of the government, the idea of rebellion, and the psychological breakdown of society.
Would one rather have a life with no control over what happens; or would one want to have a life with some power, but a limited pursuit of happiness? The Government in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 let the citizens do whatever they want to do. The only exception is that they are not to be left alone to think about life and the enjoyments that are involved; they are supposed to live and forget. Illegal activities are considered normal in these novels. America’s society compared to these two Utopias is completely different. Things that make one happy might be illegal in America’s society, but are considered normal in the novels.