George Orwell's 1984-Dystopia Is Not Fiction

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Dystopia Is Not Fiction Everyone loves a good dystopian novel. The action, the love triangles, that inspiration which springs from the underdogs refusing to comply with the wolves of the government. But is it truly fiction or mere entertainment? The media does not often report eerie similarities between real world countries such as North Korea, and fictional dystopian worlds such as Oceania from George Orwell’s 1984. The parallels of fictional 1984 and real world North Korea are greater than most realize. The year is 1984. At least, that’s what main character Winston thinks. The past is altered so often, no one is quite certain of the approximate date. Yet this is the year Winston writes in his diary, the keeping of which is an extremely …show more content…

It is a somewhat cheap way of entertainment. It is also a great way to control a dictatorship. In both of these societies, the government does its absolute best to make sure that any and all media the people receive comes directly from the government. Nothing foreign is allowed. In 1984, Winston’s place of employment is the Ministry of Truth where his task in the records department is to make alterations to past articles and papers so they read in favor of the Party. Any time the tides of the war or economy shift, all documents must be altered so it is impossible to prove any other past once existed, and this is what is projected to the people. This is where the term doublethink comes in to play. Doublethink is the process of having two contradictory ideas and simultaneously believing in both of them. The citizens are conditioned to use this process so they accept the new truth whenever the past is changed. The telescreens are installed in every household and can be lowered in volume, but not completely turned off. They spout an endless torrent of great news on the front lines of the war, economic success, and praise for beloved Big Brother. In North Korea, Kim Jong-un’s speeches are sometimes broadcast in city squares for up to three months continuously. “North Koreans can’t escape the omnipresent propaganda” (Secret State of North Korea). Both governments would have their citizens and the world believe that they are prosperous nations of plenty, but that is not the case. It is perhaps more extreme in North Korea, where destitute orphans line the streets begging for money, but both countries’ citizens

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