Author: George Orwell

In 1984 by George Orwell, we find a world always being under surveillance by Big Brother. Reality is not based on facts anymore. In this world, reality and the truth have been shaped and modified by the government. Orwell’s book provides an enjoyable reading experience filled with powerful subjects such as politics, surveillance, freedom, and truth.

“War is peace.

Freedom is slavery.

Ignorance is strength.” George Orwell – 1984

In this dystopian world, the government controls the news, banners, advertising, and all kinds of propaganda that people see. Modified advertising is fed back to people to change their minds about subjects and beliefs.

The Party which is the organization in charge of controlling and defining the truth uses telescreens which are devices to spy on people and make sure that people are kept in check. These telescreens are used by the government to catch people who are thinking about rebelling against the system.

“Who controls the past controls the future”

Big Brother is always watching and the Party controls the reality that people perceive. Winston Smith is the main character in the book. The story revolves around his interactions with this world. He is a low rank member of the Party. He lives in one of the three superstates called Oceania. The Party states that two and two make five and that’s reality in this world. On other hand, for Winston freedom comes when you can say that two and two don’t make five but make four.

“Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.”

The government has created many ways to opress and control people’s lives. For example, one of them is by creating a new language called Newspeak which uses carefully selected words in order to avoid the use of language to rebel against the Party.

Another way in which the Party controls reality is by erasing and modifying the past. If someone dared to think in a rebellious way, there are crimes called thought crimes which make people afraid of even having other thoughts. Oceania and other superstates are in constant war because this is the best way to prevent and eliminate resources which also keeps things from getting out of control.

“Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else.”

The book explores many interesting aspects of how a dictatorial and powerful government can become dangerous to the point of creating its own reality. Facts can’t be ignored because once we start allowing people to do this, there would be nothing keeping powerful individuals from constructing a false reality and engulfing society into it.

Additional Resources:

BBC Article about 1984 by George Orwell

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180507-why-orwells-1984-could-be-about-now

George Orwell’s literature

1984 by George Orwell audiobook version with full transcript.

Other books by George Orwell:

Animal Farm

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