1984- Blog#1 pg 81

George Orwell was not really praised in the 50’s when he wrote the book 1984. Predicting what government was going to do to the world and would mind sweep the nation one by one. In the 1950’s saying the government watched our every move scared and angered a lot of people, but today he is not entirely wrong. Today’s government they tell us that we have freedom but thinking about it they are slowly taking control of our freedom. It is so subtle that nobody sees it coming. Today’s government is also not necessarily portrayed as a dystopian society. Dystopian means a futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate or totalitarian control. Looking at the world today it is not what it looks like but thinking about the future George Orwell made a pretty great prediction.

The society in the book 1984 is a dystopian society with a telescreen that watches every move of the people. Even the remote action of using or speaking your own rights or freedoms will result in prosecution or death. Everyone wears uniforms and nobody is allowed to read or write slowly creating a world like this results in destruction of all freedoms and individuality. The people become robots and the next generation after become worse than the first and it goes on. 1984 is dystopian literature because the society that George Orwell writes about is negative. Clues that prove this are that the citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance, independent thought is prohibited, citizens are expected to be in uniform perfection, and the society is portrayed as a utopian world.

Winston, the main character in the book, is called the dystopian protagonist. The dystopian protagonist is the person in the dystopian society that feels trapped and out of place. He knows that the things the government is doing are wrong and that everyone around him is brain washed. But for survival Winston needed to follow the rules are be executed. He trained his brain to follow the rules and stay alive by being subtle around others. But while doing so Winston brain washed himself while training his brain to survive. Clues that prove Winston is a dystopian protagonist is he often feels trapped and alone, he feels that something is terribly wrong with society, and he helps the audience recognize the negative effects of the society. He is starting to show even more of his own personality and individuality just by writing a couple pages of his diary. But keeping it a secret from the police, his own neighbors, and the so-called surveillance telescreen will be the hard part.

1984 is a book about what was predicting government would be in 1984. George Orwell was made fun of in the 50’s but now he is thought of as brilliant. He may not have been exactly right but he was closer than anyone could have predicted. Just starting the book 1984 has already opened eyes and given different perspectives of life and what it could be like. I am predicting that something dramatic will happen to Winston with his diary and what else he has to say.