Big Brother is Watching

Peter Nguyen
1984
George Orwell

Big Brother is Watching 

Big Brother is watching. That's a phrase you would hear a crazy hippy say while standing around in front of the White House and shoving a sign in your face. However, this isn’t the case in 1984 by George Orwell, in which Big Brother is real and the citizens of the government are brainwashed. The story takes place in 1984 in London, which is a part of Oceania, one of 3 totalitarian titans in the world. The protagonist is Winston Smith, who is one of the very few that realize how oppressive and controlling the government is. The totalitarian government is led by Big Brother, which controls people actions, desires, and thoughts with branches that carry out the controlling such as the Thought Police and Ministry of Truth. With Winston being aware of the oppressive government, he joins The Brotherhood, an underground organization that seeks to overthrow the government. Orwell provides the perfect example of a dystopian future that includes a controlling government. In his novel, we follow Winton’s struggle to fight against the oppression of human rights


The concept of a totalitarian government is present in endless books, movies, and songs. 1984 captures the concept and possible outcomes perfectly. Clearly, Orwell is not only writing a story but a theoretical situation that could happen in real life. While speaking to a coworker, “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end, we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible because there will be no words in which to express it.” (Orwell 53) With the huge influence of social media and news channels falsifying stories to fit agendas, this aspect of the book has somewhat translated into reality. It’s interesting to see how Orwell weaves in his ideas and philosophy by incorporating subtle parallels such as this one. According to his ideas, the events in 1984 could one day become reality so, in a way, the book is also a warning about the dangers of society.


The overall mood of the book is suppressed and leaves the reader feeling terrified of the world Winston lives in. He describes everything in great detail but at the same time, keeps it simple. The sentences are almost all direct and blunt. This gets the point across without any fluff yet also reveals a deeper angle into the story giving it an element of creepiness. During the description of how the Party works, Winston states “This last was for the disposal of waste paper. Similar slits existed in thousands or tens of thousands throughout the building, not only in every room but at short intervals in every corridor. For some reason, they were nicknamed memory holes.” (Orwell 42) The sentences are blunt and matter-of-fact. Orwell himself stated that if there were any long or unnecessary words, they should be taken out or replaced, which is the reason behind the simplicity of his writing.


As stated before, this book is also a hypothetical situation that seems to get more real daily. It was written in 1949; more than 50 years ago. It’s interesting to see how many of the events in the novel have slowly become true. For instance, Google and Facebook taking user data, the NSA spying on people, and so many more. There are eyes everywhere and channel news seems to be submitting to one agenda and reporting biased news. When I read about Winston, I thought about Edward Snowden, who released top-secret NSA info and was wanted by the US Government. The first few pages of the book include “In the far distance a helicopter skimmed down between the roofs, hovered for an instant like a bluebottle, and darted away again with a curving flight. It was the police patrol, snooping into people's windows.”(Orwell 9) For a book that was written so long ago, there are many things that are locking into place in today’s society. At this point, I may sound like one of those hippies I made fun of earlier, but the facts are there and Orwell was right in warning about the dangers and influence of society and government.


I would highly recommend 1984 to anyone that enjoys reading dystopian novels such as The Hunger Games. It would be a waste not to read, as there are many interesting ideas and core philosophy that I haven’t even considered until I read it. If a book from 1949 can still have that type of impact on a person today, then it is definitely a must-read for anyone in general. The writing, the story, the characters, everything is well executed.

Sources

George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," The Complete Works of George Orwell, http://www.george-orwell.org/Politics_and_the_English_Language/0.html, Accessed 4 March 2009.

Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Penguin, 1949. Print

Open Culture. “Hear the Very First Adaptation of George Orwell's 1984 in a Radio Play Starring David Niven (1949).” Open Culture, 10 Aug. 2015, www.openculture.com/2015/08/hear-the-very-first-adaptation-of-george-orwells-1984-in-a-radio-play-starring-david-niven-1949.html.