Is Orwell's World In 1984 Becoming A Reality?

In what ways is Orwell’s world in 1984 becoming a reality?

Orwell’s world in 1984 is becoming a reality; we can see evidence of this through the media and today’s current events and in our own technological advances. Much like the world that Winston Smith lives in the novel 1984, we too have a figurehead that is worshipped by the citizens of a specific society; that society being North Korea. Today, Kim Jong Un is to the Korean people as Big Brother is to the people of Oceania. They live in a dehumanized state, where their only concern is idolizing Kim Jong Un (Lopes). This is mostly due to the fact that in their society, they are perceived to be under constant surveillance by the government and many are in fear of the outside world (N.C.T.E.).

Would you say the novel’s ending represents for Orwell an optimistic or pessimistic view for the future of our society? Do you think that Orwell believed the coming of such a society was inevitable? I would say that, for Orwell, the ending of the novel represents a pessimistic view for the future of our society. At the end of the novel, Winston has, in a way, completely given up himself. He has put his real self aside and has sort of hidden his old self and all his memories from his thoughts. He has done all this simply to please the party, and Big Brother. Winston is now one of the masses by the end of the novel. “And he awaits the bullet in the back of the head to finally set him free”(Orwell). Totalitarianism has completely won over humanity at last. Which may be a prediction of what may inevitably come in the future, according to Orwell himself. He is saying, or rather warning us, that if our society doesn’t change, we may end up like a society such found in the novel 1984. Things may only get worse from here if we as a nation do not make the conscience decision to change our mentality and ways of living. We are blind to what is going on around us. We are easily manipulated through media and are openly influenced by other people's’ opinions. Because of this, our own views have been completely jaded and we are naive to the fact. As a result, I think Orwell believed that the coming of such a society as the one found in 1984 was in fact inevitable, just maybe not

Why? Of the three propaganda: Glittering Generalities, Card Stacking, and Transfer, I think Glittering Generalities is the most effective in the novel. Although Transfer is largely used during the Two Minutes Hate and hate week, Glittering Generalities is used continuously throughout the novel. It can be found on posters and news articles. One terms that describes how it is used to influence the people is doublethink. This is when there are two contradictory thoughts being accepted by someone simultaneously. The slogans: “War is Peace”, “Freedom is Slavery”, and “Ignorance is Strength” are all examples of Glittering Generalities, or doublethink (Orwell). Another example is in the Ministry of Truth. Contrary to its name, the Ministry of Truth is actually in charge of producing lies and destroying the truth. Workers here are expected to get rid of any evidence of the past so as not to be questioned by the people. In this sense, society blindingly follows Big Brother and his ways because to them, it seems to be the only constant in their lives. The people are not able to interpret the very principles and things that which they live by. This is why I believe that Glittering Generalities had the most impact on the lives and actions of the people in the 1984