Jason Caminiti's It's Like 1984 All Over Again
"Most people have written this book off as a good science fiction work." Says Jason Caminiti, writer of the 1984 critical essay, "It's Like 1984 All Over Again." What he refers to is the public's reaction to 1984, a novel discussing the government's involvement in personal affairs. Caminiti believes that the book holds truer to modern times than people believe. Although there may be no Ingsoc, telescreens, Newspeak, or even helicopters darting in and out of windows, the government still has their own wicked methods of controlling and monitoring American society. Modern technology has just helped accomplish this feat. Caminiti explains how everything acts as a monitoring tool, from the Internet to the Social Security System, and even ID cards for schools and college campuses. "Our government is taking steps towards this type of Orwellian society all the time." He realizes. Jason Caminiti is right. 1984 is not just some nondescript science fiction novel, but a reflection on life today.
Before the criticism on Jason Caminiti's critical essay, "It's Like 1984 All Over Again" can be distributed, a few unclear terms must be defined. A telescreen is a technological advancement, allowing "Big Brother" to peer into the homes of those who have them (And in 1984, they are mandatory.) The telescreen watches, day and night, and can never be shut off, and can also communicate back. Big Brother is the elusive government in 1984, never seen, only heard of. The Ministry of Truth is the office where Winston, an Outer-Party member works. Ministry of Truth is an ironic title, for all that the Ministry of Truth does is lie to people, changing facts and hiding facts. That's not truth at all, but deceit instead. A prole is another term from 1984, and is short for "prolitariat" or "prolitarian". Proles are pleasure-seeking human beings, representing the lower class of society. The government rarely concerns themselves with prolish matters. Lastly, the V-Chip is not a term from 1984, but a modern day invention. Advocated by former United States president, Bill Clinton, the v-chip is supposed to be used by parents to help block out any questionable material on television.
The novel, 1984, written by George Orwell, gives readers an insight to a possible frightening future where one government has complete and definite control of the people. But “control” might not be the term to describe such a rule. The Party dominates every aspect of life. There is not a single thing that is not under the Party’s rule. Feelings, history, language, statistics, and even human nature are submissive to the Party. They corrupt the mind so much that there is no longer a line that separates truth from a lie. Slogans are repeated through telescreens on a daily basis so the people are gradually forced to believe in illogical statements. Upon first glance, it may seem that a 1984 society is not even imaginable in the world we live in currently. But is it really logical to make such an assumption so quickly? Do we know that what we see on the news and read in our history textbooks is completely accurate? The Internet is one of the most powerful technologies our world has, consisting of an insurmountable amount of information, which is not always what it seems. Ultimately, there are so many things that we do not know, some of which is being held a secret from us. Modern day society shockingly has evidence of a transformation into a menacing 1984 society because of similar government actions and abuse of advanced technology.
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.
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.
When George Orwell’s epic novel 1984 was published in 1949 it opened the public’s imagination to a future world where privacy and freedom had no meaning. The year 1984 has come and gone and we generally believe ourselves to still live in “The Land of the Free;” however, as we now move into the 21st Century changes brought about by recent advances in technology have changed the way we live forever. Although these new developments have seamed to make everyday life more enjoyable, we must be cautious of the dangers that lie behind them for it is very possible that we are in fact living in a world more similar to that of 1984 than we would like to imagine.
In a world of manifest superheroes, Mrs. de Winter, in Daphne du Maurier’s novel, Rebecca, though quite an unanticipated heroine, proves to be selfless and courageous, the very definition of a hero. Her name never being mentioned, Mrs. de Winter, also the story’s narrator, stands in direct contrast to the story’s vilest character, Rebecca, and her sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers. By observing the characters and setting of Rebecca, we manage to catch a glimpse of the author’s personal life and how it may have influenced the writing of her novel.
Ultimately, common ideas found in the novel 1984, totalitarianism, surveillance, and lack of privacy are also ubiquitous in modern society and government. Big Brother and modern day government have been able to control its citizens through surveillance equipment, and fear all for a little more power. There is much to learn from such an undesirable form of society much like the one of Oceania in 1984. Examining Big Brother government closely, alarming connections can be made to real-world government actions in the United States and the cruel world within Orwell's book.
The Puritans were English Protestants, mostly Protestant extremists, who fled England to escape religious persecution. Most were raised with extremely strict morals and values. Puritans were also known as “Precisionists” for being precise in their sermons and studies. The process in which Puritanism developed was primarily caused by King Henry VIII; he transformed the Church of Rome into a state of The Church of England. In outrage, angered English men and women were determined to continue their faith and way of life; this just so happened in the New World. Across the pond, this region became commonly known as “New England”. The puritan people were distinguished by the clothes they wore and their opposition the episcopal system. Now-a-days most people would think the Puritan way of life would be radical by any sorts. What the Puritans did in their era was completely and utterly wrong, as we now know. As we look back on their way of life, most come to not respect the people as a whole.
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell, is a superb novel with outstanding themes. One of the most prominent themes found in this novel is psychological manipulation. Citizens in this society are subject to ever present signs declaring “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” (Orwell 1). Along with psychological manipulation, physical control takes place. The Party not only controls what people in Oceania think, but what they do as well. Technology is another important theme. Without the constant telescreens, microphones, and computers, the Party would be all but powerless. Big Brother is the main figure of the Party. The main symbol that drives these themes is the telescreens. It is representative of the party always watching and controlling everyone at all times.
Homer’s Odyssey, by, is typically seen as a male dominated poem: the hero is male and the majority of the characters are male. We follow the men on their attempt to return to Ithaca. However, even though women are not the main characters, they are omnipresent through much of the story. Women play a very important role in the movement of the story line: they all want to marry, help or hurt Odysseus. During the course of his journey, Odysseus meets three different women who want him to be their husband: Circe, Calypso, Nausicca, and finally one woman who is his true wife: Penelope. Each of these women has a profound effect on Odysseus journey home. Yet, even though these women are much more powerful than ordinary Greek women are they still carry some semblance of the "good female" in Greek society.
Eventually, the lack of privacy and freedom leads to a suppression of people’s thinking. In 1984, people’s thinking was controlled by lies, invented stories and false information. The stories of the past are all altered and the information is constantly changing every day without any sign of change. The party uses propaganda as a deadly weapon to control its citizens’ minds.
Puritans also known as Pilgrims are nonconformists who refused to accept authority. The Puritans were almost entirely city people. They were not farmers and left Great Britain because they were not pleased with the way they were treated. Even those who had lived in the country had not been farmers. So when they arrived in America as the Plymouth Colony group and suddenly had to become farmers, it was extremely difficult for them. The Puritans had many contributions such as predestine to go to heaven because they lived at a small place in Massachusetts. The teachings of Calvin was followed and believed, like the Separatists, that man are born in sin and they all weary the guilt of Adam and Eve. Therefore, the concepts of life that Puritans want to accomplish set forth the character of America today.
Human trafficking is the third largest international crime industry followed behind illegal drugs and arms trafficking (“11 Facts” pg. 2). The International Labour Organization estimates that women and girls represent the largest share of forced labor victims with 11.4 million trafficked victims compared to 9.5 million men ( ). Trafficking comes in many forms, forcing victims into prostitution, subjecting victims to slavery or involuntary servitude, compelling victims to commit sex acts for the purpose of creating pornography, and misleading victims into debt bondage (11 Facts. Pg 2). According to federal reports estimate that 14,500 to 17,500 victims are trafficked into the United States each year (What is Human Trafficking. Pg 2). Traffickers will often make their victims’ new birth certificates, passports, and drivers’ licenses making it almost in possible for them to ...
Classification by occupancy defines the different groups of occupancy classification. There are nineteen kinds of occupancy groups. The groups are A(high hazard), B-1(storage-moderate hazard), B-2(storage-low hazard), C(mercantile), D-1(industrial-moderate hazard) , D-2(industrial-low hazard), E(Business) , F-1a(assembly-theater, etc.) , F-1b(assembly-churc...
Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca shows us a great representation of love and hate. This is a story about a woman who marries a very rich guy named Maxim de Winter, whose first wife, Rebecca, mysteriously dies. Rebecca was praised by all of the workers in the house, which was called Manderley. Maxim’s new wife, whose name was never mentioned, was not able to make a personal connection with the workers there, and felt like they were out to get her. They were always comparing her to Rebecca and getting her into trouble with her new husband. When news comes out about finding Maxim's ex-wife’s dead body, the mystery becomes solved. The illuminating moment in Du Maurier’s Rebecca is the moment in which we find out how Rebecca actually died.
The Puritans were a group of people who grew discontent in the Church of England and worked towards religious, moral and societal reforms. The writings and ideas of John Calvin, a leader in the Reformation, gave rise to Protestantism and were pivotal to the Christian revolt. They contended that The Church of England had become a product of political struggles and man-made doctrines. The Puritans were one branch of dissenters who decided that the Church of England was beyond reform. Escaping persecution from church leadership and the King, they came to America.