1984 {blog one}

                I want to first start off by saying that the novel 1984 is one of the strangest books that I have ever read. Not only is it terrifying that the author, George Orwell, sees that this is how the future portrays itself to him, but also the fact that this is actually somewhat possible. When I say that this type of society is possible, I more or less mean the government controlling every aspect of our lives. For example, this type of dictatorship was experimented in Germany and Russia and neither in my opinion were successful. However, the potential of this society being implemented into our American lifestyle is more than likely almost impossible, but it is still scary to think about.

                To begin with 1984, the main character Winston Smith is first shown to be rebellious compared to the abnormal standards of his society. He begins writing in a diary which we soon learn is very much illegal, even thinking about writing in a journal is illegal! I don’t know about you guys, but that seems a little bit insane to me! The narrator goes on to tell us more about the society itself. This country is completely controlled by a select group of people. A citizen’s life is carefully watched by a group named “Big Brother”. This security group, I am assuming was established to disallow any threats of rebellions against the government.

                This government style is extremely over reactive in the way it handles misdemeanors or small crimes as compared to the society we live in today. For example, our country handles enemies of the state by usually putting them in a high security prison. But here, you best not say anything that is offensive to the government or else you will be hung for public display. In 1984, the government seems to be handling everything with a sense of utter disgust and utmost authority.

                To continue on about Winston, he seems to fear all the power that the government is obtaining. Winston is scared to death that all the little things he has committed against the government will soon be uncovered and will be in some serious trouble.

                Another major issue talked about in this novel is the topic of sex. 1984’s political parties see it unnecessary to engage in the action and all Winston seems to think about is sex and all the things you can be punished with for doing it. I am not going to go into great detail about this, but it looks to me like the leaders of this society believe that they do not want their citizens to be able to be free in any way imaginable. That being free in itself is a crime and something as simple as sex can somehow overthrow the authority that they have gained.

                To conclude, 1984 is about a society that is completely controlled by the government. Everything you do, say, look at, even think of is monitored by the Big Brother program. Even though the main character of the novel, Winston Smith, is terrified of the power that his leaders have achieved, he cannot take any action in overthrowing them, at least not by himself. We are just going to have to keep reading to see what happens…