George Orwell^s vision of the world in the year 1984 is horrific and chilling. Written in 1949, this piece of literature is an everlasting classic that reminds us that history is a vital part of human existence, although we often forget it. The past, present, and future are as changeable as human opinions and beliefs. In this book, Orwell highlighted on some of the fears that many people have for the world that we are creating. The control of the Party that he speaks of is like that of the Nazis of World War II. The only difference between the Nazis and Orwell^s imagined Party, is the emotion. The Nazis fell from power because of the emotions of its leader, Adolph Hitler. The Party held up because their leader, Big Brother, was merely an image and had no emotion at all. Within my reading, I encountered many interesting points, both scenes and lines, that I remember vividly. All of these points reflect the type of power that we humans have to control our existence as we know it.
From the points that I concentrated on came my own thoughts and fears about what future the human race was able to create. The point that I remember most vividly is the motto of the Party. The motto is: ^Those who control the past, control the future; Those who control the future, control the present; Those who control the present, control the past.^ This slogan played a main part in the plot. George Orwell incorporated this theme into the story to show the kind of power that the Party actually had. The Party did control the present, so they were able to do with it what they wished. The members of the Party rewrote history at every current change, whether the changes be as simple as a human dying or a change of enemy in the ongoing war. The Party had every piece of literature rewritten and every photo reproduced to fit their fictional stories of war success and economic advance. By having this power, to control the past, they controlled the future. With the power to control the future of the human race, the Party manipulated the human body and its functions.
It also controlled the hum! an mind through physical experiments and the enforcement of complete orthodoxy to fit their needs. This absolute power is everlasting and definite. This idea of total power made the line memorable. A second prominent concept that I came across in my reading was the idea of doublethink. This meant that a person was to know and believe in one idea while subconsciously knowing that it was wrong. Everyone knew the ideas of the Party, forgot them when they didn't serve a specific purpose, and then they remembered them again when they were needed. This could all happen to a person with in a single moment. After the moment passed, the idea was forgotten again. One of the concepts of the party was that two plus two equals five. Everyone was to believe this if and when the Party said so. If it was convenient at any one time to think it, they did, if it was not, they did not.
This is an example of doublethink. The Party manipulated people into thinking what they wanted. In this way, it controlled the human mind, body, and spirit. The third most memorable point in this book was not a concept of the Party, but it is about human instincts. Humans naturally need the love, affection, and acceptation of another human. To feel any of these primitive emotions, one had to secretly brake all of the rules and regulations of the Party. Two of the main characters in this book shared human feelings for each other that the Party didn't encourage. They secretly read forbidden books, sang age old nursery rhymes, and made love to each other, all of which the Party banned because they encouraged free thought and human emotion. After reviewing all of these points, I find that my fear of what the human race is capable of is more realistic than I originally thought.
The thought that human existence was regulated with such rigidity is disturbing and unnerving. George Orwell^s writing may, in some way, keep us from forgetting that we can learn from the past and what we did then will determine what we do in the future. As long as we always remember that free thought and expression are uncontrollable, no one person or organization can stop us from experiencing them. As long as we understand this concept there is no way to go but forward.
Our Networks