Student Essay on Is the World of 1984 Possible?

Is the World of 1984 Possible?

Summary:   An argument to prove whether George Orwell's vision of 1984 is possible.

Is the world of 1984 possible"

George Orwell's vision of 1984 is a dark and wicked place to be, where trust and freedom are inexistent. It is a world where most people don't know the meaning of privacy and have no sense of love for one another. Orwell's depiction of 1984 is possible and our own world is slowly developing into the novel which he wrote. In different places of the modern world people are subjected to little or no privacy as they are in the novel 1984. The technological development of minute cameras and microphones used to invade society's privacy are similar to the telescreens within the text. Many governments in the world which we live in are seeking 'absolute power' and are depriving peoples privacy to an extent of becoming a totally unjust government. Political censorship of news is occurring all over the modern world even in places with democratic governments, and all of these are the first steps to becoming George Orwell's foresight of 1984. The truth is a secret in the novel 1984 and in our world it is not certain what the truth really is and it is getting less certain as time goes by.

At this present time some nations around the world are controlled by governments which seek total control and absolute power over its people. The societies in theses nations somewhat resemble that of the novel 1984 and this idea of total control over society is slowly developing all over the world even in democratic nations. At this current rate of increasing nations which seek 'absolute control and power' the world around us is eventually going to be filled with societies which are very much alike to the society within the text. Soon it isn't going to be a matter of if the world of 1984 is possible but a matter of when the world of 1984 is going to occur.

Parties in the modern world are continually seeking new methods of controlling their nation's inhabitants. Their benefit of this control over their people is to ensure their power for many years to come. The party of Oceana controls their people for the same reasons as nations of the modern world do so, to maintain power for future generations. There are many similarities of the parties from the real world and the party of Oceana including the fact that both would do anything to stay in power.

In the novel, the telescreen is a vital piece of technology which the inner party uses to limit how much free thought one can make. The telescreen can be dimmed down but can never be shut off. I believe that the rapid development of computerized digital cameras and microphones is eventually going to lead us to something very much like the telescreen. Miniature cameras and microphones are already being used for the same purposes of the telescreen and are being placed in many different peoples living quarters, especially in countries where the party in power sees itself at risk of being overthrown. This spy equipment deprives people of their entitled privacy and this does occur within the novel.

The control of the media is an important way for the party of Oceana to stay in power. The party manipulates newspapers and news reports broadcasted on the telescreen. It also falsifies documents and speeches which 'BIG BROTHER' said. In fact, Winston himself works in this department. All of these censorship acts are forms of propaganda which many governments around the world do openly. They limit the amount of news channels on the television and radio. In some nations the news paper has to be approved of before being released to the public. All of these acts are a form of paranoia so that their position in power isn't threatened by an outside force. Most non-democratic governments will do anything they can to maintain power for the future, just like the party of Oceana would.

The truth in the novel 1984 isn't what it seems, many birth and death certificates are falsified and people go missing without an explanation. The party can remove someone's existence from history and no one within the society is to protest or the same will occur to them. There is a great similarity to this in the real world, in some non-democratic countries people are kidnapped by national security agencies without being given a lawyer and family members aren't given an explanation or even recognition of this occurring. Because of this threat to people from the government people are forced to agree with the government and become blind followers to the party in power, we also see this occurring in the novel. The powers of the government to do what it likes without a reaction from the public are ever increasing and even the idea of removing someone's existence from history in the world which we live in isn't at all farfetched.

Totalitarianism isn't yet occurring in the modern world although it is well on its track to developing parties with theses ideologies. In the Macquarie dictionary totalitarianism is defined as a centralized government in which those in control grant neither recognition nor tolerance to parties of differing opinion. The party of Oceana from the novel is totalitarian, many parties around the world share many similarities to a complete totalitarian party and are quickly on their way to becoming more of an unjust and totalitarian party then that of the novel. People within such nations will slowly learn to unwillingly accept these parties and what they force upon the people of that nation.

Our world is without a doubt on its way to becoming extremely similar if not the same as George Orwell's theory of the future in 1984. Soon the idea of our world becoming like 1984 isn't going to be a matter of discussion but a matter of resolution. The world of 1984 is possible to occur in our modern world and I believe that it already is occurring in some aspects.