How Orwell’s 1984 Is Relevant To Today’s Audience

1984 is a dystopian book that uses the horrors from World War II to warn us about our fate. In 1984, George Orwell creates a text that is readable and understood by two readers. He writes it through the eyes and experiences of people in 1948 and today’s audience.

Orwell incorporates Doublethink and Newspeak into his text to highlight the social ominous tendencies. Newspeak refers to Orwell’s oceanic languages that reduce the number of words used by a society. One patron of Newspeak stated that Newspeak’s purpose was to limit thought. Because there won’t even be words to describe it, we will eventually make thoughtcrime practically impossible. Newspeak’s goal is to reduce one’s intellect, “narrow down the range of thought”, so that people are unable to recognize that there’s a problem. Newspeak can also be viewed from the perspective a 1948 citizen. They have experienced wars. Encryption was used to hide the contents of messages, which prevented enemies from comprehending the ‘next step’. Newspeak can be seen as a form of modern-day text-slang. It is a combination of acronyms and short words that are used in speech or to relay electronic messages. Although ‘textslang’ reduces verbiage to a minimum and is more convenient than Newspeak, it does not provide the correct tone that will allow for interpretation by the recipient. Orwell probably eliminated language via Newspeak in 1984 to show how restricting one’s ability to express language can have a negative effect on society. Winston is a dynamic example of this. This extreme example serves to remind readers to consider the social implications. The idea is applicable to anyone Orwell wrote for, including those born in 1948 and to the present day. After Orwell has established Newspeak as a premise, and the potential implications it may have on society’s future, he goes on with DoubleThink to disclose the social ominous traits of DoubleThink. DoubleThink can be described as Newspeak, which is part the 1984 society’s superficial culture. DoubleThink is part the deeper culture. Orwell writes that Newspeak demands a constant alteration to the past…which, in Newspeak, is called doublethink. The past must be altered …[ so Party members, much like proletarians, can tolerate current-day conditions. However, the most important reason for readingjustment of past events …. is to protect the party’s infallibility. DoubleThink is used by Orwell to protect the party’s infallibility and maintain Big Brother’s authority in 1984 society. DoubleThink isn’t just a horrible idea that Orwell created, it has been used throughout history. It was used from 1948 onwards. One might imagine 1948’s Joseph Stalin’s five year plan to make Russia’s industrialization and agriculture thrive. This led to great purges and Stalin’s “infallibility”. People’s willingness to love’ their leader. This tactic has been used even though it is being criticised by Trump. Trump claimed that his inaugural party was the largest ever, despite having a smaller audience than other presidents’. Trump later clarified that he was only able to provide ‘alternative fact’ regarding the official attendance at his inaugural party. This is because the press only counts those who are present in person. They do not count those who view it on the television. The society accepted the “alternative facts” and society moved onto other issues. Trump was infallible. Orwell warned against the danger of society becoming complacent with deep cultural norms that were harmful to society. There is a difference in the way the 1948 audience received 1984 and 2019. 2019’s society has learned from history, making them more likely not to believe one’s infallibility. Orwell used news topics such as Newspeak or DoubleThink to highlight social ominous trends in 1984. Orwell then uses technological ominous traits to alert readers of their lack of privacy. This postulation can be viewed by two readers. A telescreen is a device that allows for entertainment. It is constantly on in 1984: listening and watching. As Orwell puts it, “The telescreen…was…placed…where…Winston was able to remain outside of range…so far as sight went. He could hear, but he was unable to be seen if he remained in the same position. The telescreen’s constant monitoring of every move of the citizen of 1984 takes away their privacy and presumes that they have an innate right to it. The telescreen and citizens of 1984 can be viewed from 1948. People had radios that continuously updated the status of the war. Radios were essential for keeping citizens informed about the state of war casualties. However they could also be misused to keep them in the dark. Orwell’s warning against relying on technology might have been understood by a 1948 citizen. Although technology may not have been as intrusive on privacy as 1948 readers, 2019 readers have access to all kinds of technology, such as Siri, baby monitors or cell phones. These devices can monitor their environment and even who is there. Orwell’s warning about technology dependence might be understood by a modern reader as a warning against technology dependency, but in 2019, it refers to the extent technology has become integrated into society and makes it nearly impossible to imagine a world that isn’t. Orwell also parades technology-savvy spies to monitor the lives of 1984 citizens. According to 1984 society, “Even if he is not alone, he cannot be certain that he’s alone.” He can be inspected wherever he is, whether he’s asleep, awake, working, resting, or in his bath. Orwell employs spies to create a social network that exposes Party members’ loyalty to Big Brother. The 1984 inner-party spy spies mimicking the Gestapo might make a 1948 reader think about World War II spies using radios as a form technology to plot. A 2019 reader, on the contrary, might consider how awful it would be to constantly be observed and not realize the loss of privacy. Anyone can track anything online these days, which makes it easier than ever to spy on another person. The lack of privacy that technology offers to readers in 2019 is likely to be unnoticed by them and they might listen to Orwell’s warning about technology.

Orwell used ominous tendencies in 1984 to convey ongoing trends that readers of 1948 and 2019 can understand in their own lives. Orwell wrote about Oceania’s “four Ministries” that divided the government apparatus: the Ministry of Truth ,…the Ministry of Peace the Ministry of Love ,…and then the Ministry of Plenty. The Ministry of Love…was…impossible to enter except on official business, and then only by penetrating through a maze of barbed-wire entanglements, steel doors, and hidden machine-gun nests”. An old reader might see the ongoing trend of government outlines as the structure of a government. This is similar to the U.S. government. The multiplicity of “four Ministries” can be understood as the three branches of a government: legislative and executive. The complexity of “Ministries”, including the “Ministry of Love,” could be seen as the checks against each of these branches of government. The political corruption of governments could be seen by a 1948 reader as an example of how power can be misused to their advantage, leaving society in disarray. A 2019 reader might think of 1984’s government as the U.S.’s current immigration system. Both have ‘hoops’ people must ‘jump through to reach their goal. This is a long way to maintain supremacy. Trump is currently building a wall of “barbed wire” to make it difficult to enter the United States without fulfilling strict requirements. While both readers will agree that 1984 society is unfair, they would also agree that it mirrors the society of both of them due to the trend towards political control. Orwell addresses Big Brother, the totalitarian leader and ruler of 1984 society. He is “infallible & all-powerful”. His leadership and inspiration are the source of all success, achievements, victories, scientific discoveries, wisdom, happiness, and virtue. Both 1948 and 2019 readers would likely conclude that Big Brother is an abusive leader. He is using power to preserve his position at the top of caste. There is also a tendency to maintain or gain political power. However, their interpretations may differ depending on the circumstances in which they might find relevance. Big Brother might be read by a 1948-based reader in the same way that Hitler was. Hitler set out to build a sense nationality for Germans, but he used his power and discriminated against anyone he considered to be inferior. It was morally imprudent like Big Brother. A 2019 reader may, however, be able to relate Big Brother’s political acts to the actions of Kim Jongun, the Supreme Leader and ruler of North Korea. Each reader can interpret the relevance differently and deduce Orwell used Big Brother to make comments on the impact of controlling political leadership.

The analysis and comparisons show that Orwell is a dystopian author. He foreshadowed many of the same unfortunate tendencies seen in the past and present. Orwell created a text which can be interpreted through the eyes and experiences of both the 1948 society and the 2019 audience. This allows them to see the dangers of modern society and reveal their current relevance.