Totalitarian Government In George Orwell's Novel 1984 By George Orwell

The novel 1984 by George Orwell is more relevant today in that the three mottos of the totalitarian government of Oceania can be related to society today. Some may argue that Orwell’s novel 1984 is more relevant at the time of its publishing, 1949. It would seem obvious that Orwell was specifically targeting events happening while he was writing his novel, but it is much more exciting to see how he is able to predict current events that can be related to his novel. While we now understand that totalitarian governments existed during World War 2, 1984 is more relevant today because not many people understand that totalitarian governments still exist today. War is peace. This motto may seem contradictory, in fact it is, but the government of

To allow the goal of peace to be possible, the citizens have to rally under a common enemy. This is seen during the Two Minutes Hate, in which the citizens all unite under the party’s primary enemy, Emmanuel Goldstein. In the second half of the Hate, the crowd began to become hysteric. People began to jump from their seats, screaming at the top of their lungs so that you could no longer hear the voice of Goldstein. A blonde haired woman’s face had turned flush from the constant shouting at the screen. Even O’Brien, an inner party member, turned pink from the rage. O’Brien was still seated, heavily breathing so that his breathes were easily visible by the contractions of his chest. A brown-haired girl seated to the rear of Winston began to yell “Swine, swine, swine” when she hurled a dictionary at the screen, hitting Goldstein in the nose. Winston noticed that he too was roaring at the screen and violently kicking the legs of his chair with his heel. The worst part of the Two Minutes Hate was that it was not required, but no matter what, nobody could resist but to participate. (Orwell 16-17). By creating a universal enemy for the citizens of Oceania, the government has united the citizens under the leadership of the party. By declaring war against

Regardless of what the information is used for, evidence of a citizen’s location, at a certain time, with certain people or objects. Again, quoting Van Drehle, “Privacy is mostly an illusion.” (1). People are slaves to the idea that their information can be totally secure, and that they cannot avoid the watch of the government. Some do not understand just how much information is kept, and given that nearly infinite information is capable of being held, nothing is stopping the government from tracking a citizen’s every move. Freedom is