Ever felt that the book in your hands seemed to mirror the happenings of the present?
That’s the exact feeling coursing through me as I read George Orwell’s “1984”.
Interestingly, despite “1984” being a work of fiction, its profound influence has led many countries to outright ban the book, fearing its powerful ideas might inspire their public!
First published in the late 1940s, Orwell’s book spins a terrifying tale of a reality where individual privacy is nonexistent, state authorities regulate knowledge, and divergence is perilous.
Sound familiar? If you’ve been tuning into recent news cycles, you’re likely nodding your head.
The world crafted by Orwell in ‘1984’ bears uncanny similarities to modern-day situations in North Korea, Russia, and China.
In the dystopian society of “1984”, the omnipresent ‘Big Brother’ is constantly monitoring you. Can you visualize that?
Ubiquitous surveillance, documenting your every action.
That eerily resonates with North Korea, doesn’t it? In North Korea, dissenting voices are swiftly silenced, and citizens live under a watchful governmental watch.
This society parallels Orwell’s concept of ‘thoughtcrime’, where harboring negative thoughts about the government is a punishable offense.
Orwell also delves into the idea of governments distorting facts to their advantage, much like the ‘Ministry of Truth’ in his novel.
Reflect upon Russia for a moment.
In Russia, media is heavily state-influenced.
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
Frequently, the narrative spun by Russian news deviates from international viewpoints, mirroring the ‘Ministry of Truth’ in “1984”, which alters history to further its agenda.
Let’s shift our gaze to China.
In “1984”, Big Brother doesn’t merely oversee actions but penetrates minds and emotions.
While China hasn’t reached such extremes, its expansive surveillance network and ‘social credit’ system hint at similar tendencies.
This system is employed to reward or penalize citizens based on their conduct.
While reading “1984”, one could dismiss it as pure fiction.
But a closer look at our surroundings reveals eerie echoes of Orwell’s dystopia.
That’s the significance of this book – it serves as a stark reminder to champion our liberties and resist the rise of a ‘Big Brother’.
“Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.”
Ultimately, as Orwell vividly illustrates, a world devoid of freedom is a world no one desires.
And there we have it.
A journey paralleling Orwell’s “1984” with our current world.
It’s quite unsettling, isn’t it? How a book authored over 70 years ago can bear such striking relevance to aspects of our world today.
But that’s just my two cents.
