1984 - due 10/23/07

Throughout the first section of the book "1984" by George Orwell, you find a few themes and motifs that are apparent in every section of the book, establishing exactly the type of government involved in this particular society that lead the Revolution of complete control over thoughts, actions, past and future events, for the people of the present day. Because of the incredible restrictions this government, lead by "Big Brother," has placed on the people of this society, humans are no longer able to make free choices, become educated in any way, they are not able to recall past events because of the way the government tampers with the press and historical writings, and are restricted from living their lives in any kind of privacy or freedom. Big Brother's signature slogan reads, "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength." In this society, there is a constant state of war lead by "The Party," a group of infallible leaders strong in their loyalty to B.B. The Thought Police also exist to watch every citizen at any given time through things called telescreens, and to judge their every action and even facial expression, making sure they are never in a state of contemplative rebellion or excess intelligence. Lastly, there are 4 Ministry Administrations established to regulate and control every action of society. The Ministry of Truth controlled the news, entertainment, education and fine arts. The Ministry of Peace concerned itself with war, the Ministry of Love maintained law and order, and the Ministry of Plenty was responsible for economic affairs. In the article "Learning to love Big Brother," Daniel Kurtzman writes about a few significant similarities he finds between the Bush Administration today and the novel "1984." He states, "[1984] was intended to be read as a warning about the evils of totalitarianism -- not a how-to manual." Kurtzman compares our situation in Iraq with the state of current war apparent in the novel, because of Bush's statements that the war will continue "indefinitely." He compares our current administration and Pentagon with the Ministry of Truth, stating that our government is set on not only keeping valuable information from us, but also altering it in a way that it removes any shortcomings of our President, and washes over the mistakes of our country regarding it's leadership and initiative in war. He writes on the similarities between President Bush and the novel's "infallible leader" who keeps a watchful eye on every citizen, much like the liberties the government is taking presently to keep tabs on things such as phone calls and recording the events in public places at all times. Lastly, Kurtzman speaks to the action of the Thought Police in the novel, and the idea that someday, Americans may be faced with the issue of the powerful control the government can have on it's people's minds. The conclusion of his article states, "So powerful was the state's control over people's minds in "1984" that, eventually, everyone came to love Big Brother. Perhaps in time we all will, too."


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/07/28/IN244190.DTL