George Orwell's 1984: Government Of North Korea

Stephen Hoffman

Mrs. Schroder

English IV - Honors

April 25th, 2018

1984 Essay The horrid reality characters in 1984 face seems impossible in today’s times; however, at the same time, it is easy to draw parallels between their universe and ours. George Orwell’s 1984 tells the story of a man who is attempting to escape the tyranny of his own government. The book is set in the dystopian super-state Oceania, where a mysterious government, known as the Party, uses brainwashing and constant surveillance to turn citizens into slaves of their will. Techniques used by the Party in George Orwell’s 1984 can be best compared to tactics of the government of North Korea. This can be seen in the methods the government of 1984 uses to control its citizens,

In 1984, Proles make up 85% of the population of Oceania, however, it is easy to interpret from the book that the proles are kept uneducated and in poverty so they can be controlled with ease. The Party provides the proles with pornography, alcohol, and a lottery as a way to distract and subdue them. One quote that describes the desperation and misery of the proles is “It was probable that there were some millions of proles for whom the Lottery was the principal if not the only reason for remaining alive”(Orwell 109). This quote shows that many of the proles live only for the hope of winning the lottery and rising above their class, though it is later revealed soon after that the prizes for the lottery were mostly “imaginary.” On the other hand, Inner Party members are treated with nice living quarters, servants, and even had the luxury of turning off their telescreens for short periods of time. Winston, a member of the Outer Party, had never seen some of the luxuries provided to the Inner Party. This is best shown when Winston first experiences wine, he describes the liquid as “seen from the top the stuff looked almost black, but in the decanter it gleamed like a ruby. It had a sour-sweet smell…”(Orwell 216). This situation also exists in North Korea. According to Newsweek, "Amidst political tensions, an estimated 18 million people across DPRK

In 1984, the punishments for having or expressing thoughts against the Party are extremely harsh. If suspected of acting or conspiring against the party, those accused shall have their freedoms taken away, and they will be at the full mercy of the party. Once convicted, criminals will be sent to a prison and tortured while their fates are decided by the party. It is clear that the party does whatever necessary to remain in power, people can be imprisoned for any slight action against them. For example, during Winston’s sentence in Miniluv he meets a man named Ampleforth, a poet who is soon to be incinerated for his crime. When asked what crime he commited, Ampleforth says “I allowed the word ‘God’ to remain at the end of a line”(Orwell 291). There is also public hangings, these show the public what will happen to them if they oppose the government. Unfortunately, North Korea handles criticism of their government in a similar way. According to Business Insider, “About 200,000 people are currently imprisoned in these camps, while some 400,000 people have died in them”(Szoldra). Lim Hye-jin, a former guard who defected, claims “We were manipulated not to feel any sympathy for prisoners”(Broomfield). Also, high ranking officials who are suspected of committing treason are not spared from cruel and excessively brutal punishments, in fact,