Nineteen Eighty Four A Grim P
Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Grim PNineteen Eighty-Four: A Grim Prediction of the Future
Nineteen Eighty-Four was written between the years of 1945 and 1948. Orwell got the title from switching
the last two numbers of the publication date. In Orwell�s criticism of a perfect society, his book became
known as one of the greatest anti-utopian novels of all time. The book�s message is so powerful that some
say it went so far as to prevent the sinister future from realizing itself.
Althought the book starts out as the story of a neurotic, paranoid man, it quickly turns into a protest
against a quasi-utopian society and a totalitarian government. The book appears to be a satire at the start,
similar to books such as �Gulliver�s Travels�, or Huxley�s �Brave New World�, but all too quickly the reader
will �discover, quite unpleasantly, that it is not a satire at all.� Nineteen Eighty-four is not simply a criticism
of what Orwell saw happening in his national government with the coming of English Socialism, but a
warning of the consequences of contemporary governmental practices, and what they where threatening to
bring about.
Perhaps the book seems so bleak because the events in the book are a somewhat logical projection from
current conditions and historical environment that Orwell observed in 1948. Perhaps people would be more
comftorble with the book if they could rule out in their minds the possibility of the profecy becoming a
reality.
In a critique of his own work, Orwell called Nineteen Eighty-Four �A work of a future terrible [sic] because it
rests on a fiction and can not be substantiated by reality or truth. � But perhaps this future is realizing itself
more than Orwell thought it would. Orwell, more than likely, would have made note of, but wouldn�t be
astonished by, the fact that in 1983 the average American household spent over 7 hours in front of the
television every night. The number is even greater for those households which currently subscribe to a
cable service. Those families watch television for more that 58 hours a week. That is more that 2 days
straight without sleeping, eating, or going to the bathroom.
He also wouldn�t have passed by this magazine advertisement that could be seen in 1984: Is Big Brother
watching? If you are tired of Government, tired of big business, tired of everyone telling you who you are
and what you should be, then now is the time to speak out. Display your disgust and exhibit your
independence, Wear a �Big Brother Is Watching� tee-shirt. $10, Canadians remit us dollars. Big Brother is
Watching LTD. Neenah, WI. This advertisement makes one wonder if there is really a group dedicated to
the rise to power of someone called �Big Brother�.
No true reader could ever pass off Winstons experience with indifference....
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