Table of Contents
1984 is a dystopian novel that is written by George Orwell. The novel tells a story of a man named Winston smith who is at battle with the totalitarian and oppressing Oceania and its unfair ruling parties, even though he works for one of the ministries he doesn’t agree with their way of ruling, rebelling against BIG BROTHER, One day he decides to write in a diary which is one of the biggest crimes anyone could ever commit. And he also engages in a relationship with one of his co-workers, Julia, she doesn’t have an opinion about the government but she still rebels as well. One day they are caught and both of them are taken to be tortured by a man named O’Brien which Winston thought he was also a rebel but as it turns out he is a part of the thought police; they are both tortured until they betray each other and they give into the totalitarian rule
Public’s Opinion to “1984”
George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four has long been regarded as one of the most influential pieces of modern literature. Its impact on political discourse can still be felt today. The author’s fear that the very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world is evident in today’s society (Conley, 2017). A crucial starting point for the book can be traced from the author’s experience in the Spanish Civil War. In 1936, Orwell landed in the hands of communists who oppressed people, giving him the personal experience of living under totalitarianism. The dystopia described in the book feels too familiar and so real. A world where the government insists that reality is not something objective, but rather whatever the Party holds to be true remains the truth. The public has exhibited mixed reactions towards the claims made by the author, but indeed, his thoughts have been felt and experienced in reality up-to-date. This paper presents the public’s reaction over the years, from 1949, when the book was published, and personal opinion regarding the achievement of the author’s aim of warning the people about a totalitarian regime.
The immediate reaction to the novel can be traced from the first reviews written after the novel’s publication in June of 1949. When it was first released 50,000 copies were sold in the UK and more than 1/3 million copies were sold in the US. The public viewed the work as a deliberate and brutal attack on socialism. It received a warm welcome as not only anti-communist but also anti-socialism. However, it faced a lot of rejection from communists as it was banned in many countries. In the 1960s, the public had seen most of the claims made in the novel, and governments continued to experience resistance as they fought for their freedom, a good example being the rise of American Civil Rights organizations (Orwell, 2016). In the 1970s, the world experienced wars, including the Iran Hostage Crisis and the Vietnam war, and the public indeed experienced the prophecy that the world was in everlasting wars.
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In the 1980s, the public acknowledged the political and social consequences as they had occurred in reality. Several cases about threats to privacy were experienced as anticipated, and the public experienced the prophecy in reality. During the 1990s, the public realized the effects of communism and social democracy, and their reaction was evident through the revolutions experienced in communist countries for example: Republic of the Congo Civil War (1997–1999). 2000s marks a decade where the public was filled with the desire to see things as they are and find out facts to support their current and future observations. The fight for freedom of expression was widespread across the globe. From 2010 to present, the public feels that the government expects the population to place their faith in the leadership unquestionably (Conley, 2017). The same ideas were long described in Nineteen Eighty-Four, and the public is experiencing them in reality. However, Orwell did not predict how religion would also play a vital role in people’s behavior and controlling how people act and think and many nations’ ruling system
Nineteen Eighty-Four strongly provides undisputable truth regarding the problems of totalitarianism, and the author succeeds in warning the people about the effects of such a regime. Orwell is right as it is obvious that the totalitarian regime rests on lies because they are all lies. The subjects of this system are expected to accept and believe information from the leadership as the only truth and reality. This leads to the creation of a society that lacks the foundation of truth but instead believes in propaganda and fake news. Orwell, in Nineteen Eighty-Four, predicted and successfully warned the population that the totalitarian regime would destroy every concept and possibility of truth (Orwell, 2016). Today, it is evident that there are several cases of fake news over social media platforms, even when the truth is known. What Orwell referred to as “schizophrenia” has also been borne out. People living under Soviet society feel insignificant as they continue to live in conditions of enforced poverty and deprived of modern conveniences that even the poor in the West have taken for granted (Dwan, 2010). These warnings made in Nineteen Eighty-Four have been experienced, and the public unknowingly uses Orwell’s prophecy to survive.
Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four has had a great influence on the global political structure. Today, the prophecy made in the book remains relevant to the success of modern society. The author’s prior encounter with the totalitarian regime gave him a first experience of how it feels to live under such a system. Since its publication in 1949, the novel continues to receive mixed reactions from the public. Soviet society was strongly opposed to the work, and the novel was banned in several communist countries. However, other countries and scholars saw it as a great motivation that deserved global recognition as it pointed out the problems of the totalitarian regime. The author achieved his aim of warning the population about the totalitarian regime as he cites the problems of lies, propaganda, corruption, and dictatorship. Those in such a system continue to yearn for the freedom of thought and expression, clearly symbolizing that the system is not good for human development.
References
- Conley, Tim. (2017). Fact or Fiction: Are We Living in an Orwellian Era? The Globe and Mail.
- Dwan, D. (2010). Truth and Freedom in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. Philosophy and Literature, 34(2), 381-393.
- Orwell, George. (2016). Nineteen Eighty-Four. New York, New York: Randomhouse.
- Harris, Robert. “60 Years after Orwell Wrote 1984 and Was Destroyed by the Book, Chillin Reminder That His Sinister Vision Is Almost Reality.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 13 June 2009, www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1192484/60-years-Orwell-wrote-1984-destroyed-book-chilling-reminder-sinister-vision-reality.html.
