I do not think that our society is anywhere close to the society created in the novel 1984. Our government may seem as though it is 100% controlling, but the fact is, we do not have a dictatorship. We do have our freedom and we do have privacy. In the novel 1984 every second of every day is monitored. This lack of privacy is illustrated through Winston's actions. Even when he was able to escape the visual eye of "Big Brother", his sounds were still being monitored. This, in my opinion, is way too much governmental involvement.
In our society we are able to do what we wish behind closed doors. We have freedom of speech, and we have freedom of our writing. In 1984, they are unable to voice their opinions because the fear of death is a consequence. We are able to say what we want about the government with zero consequences.
When I read this novel I have a new appreciation for our freedom. I realize that a lot of us take our freedom for granted and we would rather complain about things, such as the government, than relish in the fact that we are 100% free.
Free is in the eye of the beholder, while the government does not control all of our actions we are still not completely free. We pay taxes, our phones can be tapped into, we can be followed by government officials trying to discredit our claims ( like disability). Sure we have a lot of freedom compared to the people in the novel, but it seems to me that saying were 100 percent free is inaccurate.
ReplyDeleteI agree reading this novel makes you have some appreciation for our freedom. I think we should appreciate what we have now because it could be worst. We could of all grew up in a dictatorship. The way the government was so involved in their lives was ridiculous to me. All the monitoring and death penalties is way to much. They seem more like robots than human being. It's unfortunate that they can't voice their opinions in the novel. Its kind of a my way our the highway ideal.
ReplyDeleteI think what the blog prompt was alluding to was largely the Patriot Act. This act gives the government to tap into any electronic device if they feel the need to, no probable cause necessary. The idea is to use probable cause, but they wouldn't have to provide in any circumstance. I have even heard (but cannot find evidence) that they can activate the microphones in our cell phones even if they are off. However, does it matter if they really can or not? This book really demonstrates the flakiness of truth over fear. If we all believe our powered down phones can be tapped into, that produces the same effect.
ReplyDeleteAlso, like I said in my blog, we can't do anything we want behind closed doors. For instance, the use of marijuana. A good argument against this is that it is for the good of the people that this law stands. It very well may be. However, it would be just as easy for the government to TELL us it was bad for us, when really it wasn't, and make a law under those pretenses.
Like I said, I'm not sure if the illegality of marijuana is good or bad. All I'm saying is the government has therefore told us what we can't do behind closed doors.
I do agree this novel makes you realize how much freedom we actually have, however I also would agree that we do not have 100 percent freedom. The government still has a big hold on what we can and cannot do, in the open and behind closed doors.
ReplyDeleteI feel like this novel reassured how much privacy we don't have. It made me realize that someone can always be monitoring what I am doing and that only my thoughts are private. I agree that we are 100% free to make decisions and to do whatever we want, but we are not free of those consequences.
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