The novel 1984 by George Orwell introduces a very dreadful and negative place. However, the official location of where the story takes place is Airstrip One, Oceania, which is a fictional country. The time period of the story is also very important because the novel was published in 1949, but the story starts out on April 4th, 1984. This leaves the idea that Orwell wrote this story to explain a possible outcome of what could have happened to England, due to the Red Scare during the Cold War.
The most important thing about this setting is that it is run by a totalitarian government. This is a type of government that holds total authority over society and has the ability to control the actions and thoughts of people. The leading political figure, known as “Big Brother,” seems to keep order by using devices that can monitor and spy people. These devices consist of outdoor posters with hidden cameras and the telescreen, which was especially powerful. Orwell explains how, “Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard.” (Orwell 4) To back this up, the powerful police force known as the Thought Police is also constantly watching the citizens to ensure no one can go against “Big Brother.” Other people in the country are again, encouraged to stay suspicious to any one close to them and tell the government if there is any form of rebellion. For the people who do go against the government, the punishment can be death, or torture. Due to this, no one in the country has any private life and cannot have an option against the government.
The government is by divided by four main ministries. The Ministry of Peace was focused in war. The Ministry of Plenty was responsible for economic affairs. The Love Ministry was concerned with law and order. However, it was the most frightening one of them all. The only way to enter the Ministry building was by going through, “a maze of barbed-wire entanglement, steel doors and hidden machine-gun nests.” (Orwell 6) Finally, the Ministry of Truth in which protagonist, Winston Smith worked in, focused in media, education, and entertainment. There is a time in the story, where Smith works and introduces censorship towards the people of Oceania. This reveals the people are constantly being lied to, and are completely blocked by the outside world and the perspectives within them.
It is also revealed that Oceania is one of the major countries in the world; the others being Eastasia and Eurasia. However, these countries are constantly in war with each other. Therefore, the living conditions of the people in Oceania are terrible and they are only regressing. Rationing and lower wages are commonly inputted. Even Winston Smith, a high government worker, doesn’t really have enough resources and is hungry at times. This was shown when Smith was asked for a razor blade, but replied, “Not one. I’ve been using the same blades for six weeks myself. “(Orwell 64) The streets also seem very polluted and dirty. Even buildings in many of the areas are run-down and partly destroyed, making Oceania very war torn.
GOVERNMENT CONTROLS OUR LIVES
EDITORIAL
WRITTEN BY: LESLEY KONG
SECTION 2
Now, in modern day society, there is more than a sense that the government wants to control our lives now. Although there is no existing of a telescreen, but there are more security camera’s in modern society than ever existed in centuries. George Orwell has predicted that the future of citizen in the country is going to be control of the government. The government also wants citizens to know that they protect them by using communist and dictatorship force. And it’s true that everywhere we go now has cameras surrounding us. Although the government doesn’t have much portion of two control citizens' lives, but there are controlling physical freedom and what we do on the internet needs to be monitored by the police. Specially when massive problem occurs, the security around builds up around citizen having a less freedom for future generation.
As Winston Smith described his days under the control of the government is terrible. And always having a camera upon them to see every action and listen to every word we said. The government has the ability to control what we see in the newspaper and what we listen to on the radio. It’s a fact that everything we do in our daily lives is monitored by the government and the camera around us. If something was done wrong, then action will be placed as well as consequences. The modern society, is somewhat leading like what George Orwell wrote in his book. How the government is expanding on modern technology to have more control over the country and citizen. Although with modern technology, life is easier in some ways, but it as adding a lot more freedom that what could be done online. Laws always needs to be obeyed by the citizen of the country, with online internet, a lot of major issues can be active with technology can lead the government to increase their security level up.
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