1984 by George Orwell George

¶ … 1984 by George Orwell

George Orwell's 1984 vs. present day U.S.

George Orwell's 1949 novel 1984 obviously employs a dystopian character in describing conditions in the "future." One can actually be inclined to relate to the book as being a hallmark for dystopian thinking. The world as seen by Orwell is virtually a place no one could ever think of, not in the present and not at the time when the novel was issued.

Winston Smith, the protagonist, is located in what once was England, a place currently called Airstrip One. Society is dominated by oppressive concepts, with a dictatorship system constantly controlling people and preventing them from expressing themselves freely.

To a large degree, Orwell's novel is likely to have been influenced by conditions in Europe at the time. The Allies and the Russians were struggling to seize as much power as they could consequent to the war and tensions were high, with some factors indicating that a major conflict was about to take place. The writer went ahead of time and put across his perspective regarding how the future would look like.

People in the future are apparently monitored every step they take, with the Thought Police being responsible for imposing the law in situations when individuals perform Thought Crimes. Judging from the leading party's motto- "War Is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength" (Orwell 16), it is obvious that the system is primarily interested in preventing the masses from doing anything else but being indifferent to their fate.

Consequent to reading Orwell's book, readers are likely to think that society is indeed in danger of reaching a phase similar to the one described in the novel. Although most people can think that Orwell's book did not become real (the nuclear war did not take place, the general public is now free), matters are different when seen from another perspective. Given that society is presently controlled through a series of laws and that there are billions of cameras monitoring people, it appears that Orwell's Thought Police exists in the present. Even with that, it would be absurd to compare the contemporary society to the one in Orwell's book, as the former is less restrictive and generally supports constructive thinking and liberty.

Orwell was right in claiming that two of the most important aspects of any form of society are discipline and control. However, the 1984 society did not want to impose discipline with the purpose of benefiting people, but it wanted to control them as if they were animals meant to be exploited. Most people presently living in the U.S. are somewhat similar to Smith, considering that they are also interested in developing in accordance to different standards, constantly being unhappy with the way society functions. Whereas they are initially ardent about changing the system and doing as they please, it slowly but surely becomes obvious that they eventually have to subject to the authorities.

Considering that the U.S. has become accustomed to going at war against underprivileged countries with the apparent reason of wanting to better conditions there, it seems that authorities today are capable of imposing law through force everywhere they please, with disadvantaged individuals having no change but to subject. The government is also monitoring the way people spend their money, even with the fact that individuals should be free to use their finances however they want, without having to give reasons for their behavior. In spite of the fact that Orwell's perspective regarding the future is obviously exaggerated, a great deal of elements in the book can be compared to aspects of our present society.