Orwellian Juxtapositions Essay

509 Words2 Pages

“Orwellian Juxtapositions” It is quite easy as a society to read a Dystopian novel such as 1984 and judge those peoples’ reality. In society today citizens may stand complacent to certain similarities due to their commonplace and possibly a skewed perception of reality. These similarities can range from contemporary surveillance and police to certain governments found in the modern world. Though people of the modern world may not immediately see such similarities, they are hidden in plain sight. For instance, Turkey has several similarities to Oceania, there is surveillance at every turn, and even modern police officers have a semblance to the Thought Police in 1984. Firstly, the most disturbing of these comparisons are shown in real-life Orwellian society. Of course …show more content…

He also mentions that “Dissidence, real or suspected, will lead to punishment” (Ruben). Turkey shows many similarities to a totalitarian form of government. The definition of totalitarianism is “relating to a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state” (Oxford). “Turkey’s relationship with Russia is enough to give any observer whiplash, moving from cautious trade partners to sanctions and military bluster to the tightest of allies over the course of a year” (Ruben). The use of whiplash in the previous quote is perfect for the context that it is in. It relates to Oceania’s inconsistent relationship with Eastasia and Eurasia. “[President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan has seized control of the media in order to impose narratives that change” (Ruben). Erdogan demands for the press in Turkey to pick up whatever narrative he wants to become truth. “Likewise, even though Erdogan’s coup-night narrative is full of holes, Turkish journalists and academics are not allowed to ask questions about the

Show More
Related

  • Similarities Between 1984 And 1984

    461 Words  | 1 Pages

    Between the poem, ¨ No one died in Tiananmen Square¨ by William Lutz and the novel, 1984 by George Orwell there are multiple similarities. Subjects such as their government, their denial of history, and the use of doublethink and re-education are all parallel between the novel and the poem. For instance, both the governments have a highly strict government. Their governments are so controlling of their people that they use brute force in order to help re-educate them. For example, in 1984 the main character, Winston Smith was trying to go against their government, The Party, and because he tries to do so, he is placed in The Ministry of Love and brutally beaten by the man whom he assumed was a part of the Brotherhood, O'Brien. O'Brien claimed

    Read More

  • 1984, by George Orwell and the USA Patriot Act

    1923 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Real-Life Counterparts of 1984's Oceania

    1614 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...of the world if fascism were to continue. In Orwell's day, the leading fascists were Hitler and Stalin, and today there are Muammar Qaddafi, Kim Sung-un, and Xi Jiaping, while in 1984 there is Big Brother. All of these governments are very similar to each other, as Orwell had predicted. These points reveal that even though those who live in free nations think that 1984 is dystopian science-fiction, in some places around the world, 1984 is almost a work of realistic fiction.

    Read More

  • Orwell And 1984 Comparison Essay

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    North Korea, China, and even Cuba are similar to 1984. They try to control their people just the same as in 1984, and just like in Jonestown. The only people who were free in 1984 were the Proles. The community in Jonestown began as everyone wanting to be there, and then as conditions worsened the people wanted to leave. They were not allowed to, much like 1984. The people in both situations are similar, in that they are oppressed by their governments, but only the people in Jonestown are given the ability to think they are even able to

    Read More

  • 1984 Fahrenheit 451 Analysis

    1066 Words  | 3 Pages

    Two of the most iconic dystopian novels are 1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. These novels expanded the genre significantly and while having different details about Dystopian life, share remarkable similarities. Throughout the novels, similar themes such as media control and war demonstrate that both authors share common ideas about what would be important in Dystopian life. On the other hand, the way in which the authors approach each issue highlights a difference in both time period and values.

    Read More

  • Characters, Theories and Principles of George Orwell's Novel 1984

    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through out the course of history there have been several events that have been a pivotal point which has molded the behaviors and thoughts of this century. A lot of notable activist and authors wrote stories and speeches about how they believed that this day and time would be like. A lot of these views were very accurate surprisingly. In the novel 1984 author George Orwell gives his vision on how he believed that the countries would be like if they kept going the way they were.This report will give you a brief rundown of the characters, theories and principles of this novel along with some of my personal insight of the novel.

    Read More

  • 1984 vs Today

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 being 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 conditions seem to be moving towards that controlling state, where the citizens are surveilled by the government at all times. The 1984 community provided many ways to surveill its citizens, one being The Thought Police.

    Read More

  • Essay On Lack Of Privacy In 1984

    1567 Words  | 4 Pages

    George Orwell’s novel, 1984, depicts a dystopian vision of the future, one in which its citizens thoughts and actions are controlled by Big Brother government. This novel relates the ruthless surveillance and lack of privacy of the citizens to government actions today. Totalitarianism, surveillance, and lack of privacy may all be common themes in Orwell’s novel 1984, but are also prevalent in modern day society and government. Many people today have and will continue to dismiss the ideologies mentioned in 1984 as unrealistic predictions which could never occur in the democratic run system they live by today. But, are Orwell’s ideologies completely implausible, or have his predictions already played a hidden role in society?

    Read More

  • Why Do We Exist In George Orwell's 1984

    925 Words  | 2 Pages

    I strongly agree with Fromm’s viewpoints and interpretations of Orwell’s 1984 text. He warns that the future federal powers will dehumanize society and leave everyone alienated. Thus, I agree with Fromm to the extent that he acknowledges the fact that humanity can indeed cease to exist as a result of our own self-destruction as well as the effect of our actions. Many of his opinions and warnings expressed by Orwell to an extent appear in contemporary society.

    Read More

  • Brainwashing of Constituents in George Orwell's "1984"

    3231 Words  | 7 Pages

    These examples display the inevitable fact that all over the world subtle but significant events are taking place that appear to signify a shifting toward a totalitarian government, much like the one present in 1984. This is extremely disturbing because most people will agree that the life lived by the characters in 1984, is not one of any value. Though they are “protected” from several of the problems that many of the free world citizens and officials face, they have no control over their thoughts or actions. This leads to unbearable uniformity. It is chilling to know that though George Orwell’s book was written as fiction, portions of it are becoming factual.

    Read More

  • Up to what extent Orwell’s warning is still relevant in today’s American society?

    1437 Words  | 3 Pages

    American society still resembles the Orwell’s fictional world of 1984. In the novel, Orwell comes up with various future warning. Orwell warned about the danger of a totalitarianism society. 1984 is a warning for the future that the government can reach up to dominance existed during 1984. Orwell is explaining that there are extreme instances that are already existed in American society. He described that our society is not too far away from the present condition that our government could easily turn into the fictional world of 1984. Orwell’s point out some of the issues as a major issue including psychological control, political misinform and propaganda. Government is monitoring the individual lives with technology seems that most important evidences that could result our country to be in that situation in near future. During the fictional world of 1984, the government used telescreens on individual room to make sure that they were not against them. There were hidden telescreens, hidden microscope and so on. Today’s American society is not exactly the same but we have lot of evidences that resembles Orwell’s fictional world of 1984. National Security Agency is listening to the phone conversation of the citizen. During the world of 1984, there is a new speak. It was only the way that people are made to think and express less. There wasn’t any place for those who were against the government. Every citizen is afraid that the government is watching every individuals. People were afraid of the propaganda. Those types of propaganda that were present on Orwell’s fictional world of 1984 are still relevant in our today’s American society. Propaganda’s plays an important role in the ways that the people are growing up. People are compel t...

    Read More

  • Theme Of Corruption In 1984 And Animal Farm

    1681 Words  | 4 Pages

    Novelist, George Orwell, in his novels 1984 and Animal Farm, defines dystopian societies. Orwell’s purpose is to suggest the government corruption in the Russian Revolution, a current event of his time, and predict the consequences of it. He adopt a condescending tone in order to produce insight of the government in his readers. Both 1984 and Animal Farm are prime examples off corrupt governments through Orwell’s use of violence, strict class structures, and strong propaganda.

    Read More

  • 1984 George Orwell Conflict Analysis

    1268 Words  | 3 Pages

    The author of the novel 1984 utilizes the element of conflict to portray the evils of psychological manipulation amongst characters. Throughout the novel, the author George Orwell uses the conflicts between The Party and the people which this particular variety of government controls. An example of this would be the external conflict between Big Brother and Winston because he likes to express himself in his diary and have human interaction. However, for people in this society this is not possible since, “Big Brother is watching you” (Orwell 3) constantly. Despite the fact that expression is not allowed it is only human nature to have an interest towards those topics, creating Winston’s grievances with The Party. The constant overviewing from

    Read More

  • Is 2015 A Real Life 1984 Analysis

    611 Words  | 2 Pages

    The horrifying message 1984 by George Orwell conceives will never be forgotten by those who have read it, yet a select few believe 2015 resembles a dystopia. With the adaptation of “futuristic” technology, and torture the government of the Oceaina; the superstate in which the main character Winston Smith lives, controls the people. Likewise, the U.S.A. benefit from tech, and torture likewise. Therefore the book 1984 continues to retain it’s full relevance.

    Read More

  • George Orwell 1984 Research Paper

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    Orwell’s vision of the future has some aspects of it that’s have come true. For example, in 1984, it says “It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen”(Orwell 44). This relates to

    Read More

More about Orwellian Juxtapositions Essay

Open Document