The beginning of 1984 held the themes that I feel most stories about a dystopia begin with. This includes the introduction of themes such as an oppressive totalitarian government and a protagonist who holds the seeds for rebellion. In both The Handmaid's Tale and Brave New World I have seen this. But at the same time, I feel as though the orthodox beginning for the novel is a necessary element that should remain constant throughout the genre for how else would the basis for the novel be established?
Though I thought it interesting the parallels that can be drawn from the tactics used by this fictional government and the governments of today. In the book, this includes censorship and surveillance, the suppression of the basic rights such as those that are guaranteed by the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution, and finally the hatred that the government intentionally installs within the populace through the Two Minutes of Hate. These instances are not limited to fiction and happen in both worlds. Examples that can be seen in today's world with the Patriot Act, "First Amendment Zones" on college campuses, and media bias acting as an arm of a political party.
How can an oppressive government stay without uprising? Just like today, to remain in control a government must win the opinion of the people, and since Big Brother has control of constant propaganda and history, fear and hatred of the opposition convinces the people their way is the best.
The control of propaganda leads to extreme falsehoods. I found it quite ironic that the leader of The Brotherhood, "had a sheep like quality" (14) but it was really the masses following Big Brother without question who are more sheepish. At least Goldstein has the courage to push the opposite way against the oppressive regime. This brings about the topic of the government's psychological manipulation. Would this government be even possible if it weren't for this manipulation? I think that as the book continues, we will view more scenes of this control especially was resistance grows through Winston.
With this idea, I believe Orwell reveals what the meaning of the work as a whole is. Just like Margaret Atwood bestowing a warning and reality check to our society in The Handmaid's Tale, Orwell draws parallels to display a potential end result if we permit government's continued growth. Although it is still early in the novel, I believe Orwell is attempting to show that big government is a harsh reality that holds evidence for the possibility for the work to be accepted as speculative fiction.
But just as the populace may read this book to fight against totalitarian rule, though unlikely, it seems as if some of today's governments read it in order to discover manipulation tactics. These affiliations seem that apparent.
