Contrasting George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four to Our Modern Day Events

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Can society survive under total control of something that doesn’t even exist? In George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, readers find a dystopian society under totalitarian control. Big Brother controls all aspects of people’s lives. Jobs, housing, even sex and marriage are controlled by the party. By the end of the novel, it is revealed that Big Brother is merely an idea used to keep citizens under control. Orwell paints a picture of a society that is destroyed by political lies, spy technologies, and social segregation. Orwell’s novel is a warning. A modern society could very well fall into a position similar to Nineteen Eighty-Four. With political scandals, advancement in technology, and a great division in social class modern American finds itself along a path which can ruin the future. Society relies on political leaders to make the right choices and protect the citizen. Many times, political leaders can become corrupt and abuse their power. For example, people might put their trust into a president but ultimately have that trust broken by something like the Watergate Scandal. The Watergate Scandal refers to several scandals involving President Nixon and committee members close to him from 1972 to 1974. Nixon was secretly taping white house conversations and stealing documents. On an early June morning in 1972 several people were arrested in connection with Nixon. Although the president’s actions did not come to light for another two years, Society’s view of political leaders changed. Americans were shocked when his actions were revealed, “Although Nixon was never prosecuted, the Watergate scandal changed American politics forever, leading many Americans to question their leadership and think more critically about the preside... ... middle of paper ... ... politicians, intrusive technological advances, and drifts in social class will lead to daunting future full of paranoia and corruption. Works Cited Beale, Lewis. "We're Living '1984' Today." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. Davis, Gary. "LG Smart TVs Leak Data Without Permission." McAfee LG Smart TVs Leak Data Without Permission Comments. McAfee Incorporated, 02 Dec. 2013. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. "Enforced Disappearances." Amnesty.org. Amnesty International, 2014. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. History.com Staff. "Watergate Scandal." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. Lütticke, Marcus. "A Chronology of the NSA Surveillance Scandal." DW.DE. Deutsche Welle, 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. Orwell, George. 1984. Ed. Erich Fromm. New York: HarcourtTh, 1949. "Politics." Boundless. Creative Commons Attribution, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.

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