Introduction
A special place in world literature is occupied by works belonging to the genre of utopia and dystopia. The authors of utopian novels tried to predict a beautiful future, promising immense universal happiness and social harmony. Anti-utopians have debunked the myth of the possibility of global equality, brotherhood, criticizing the absolute subordination of all spheres of human life to the state. One such book is Orwell’s dystopia, 1984. This work of fiction, created in the late 40s of the 20th century, has become one of the most popular today. It is noted that the content of Orwell’s novel has many similarities with the current situation in the US. This paper aims to relate the book to the issues of freedom of choice and thinking in the United States of the 21st century.
Novel’s Background
The book is written in the genre of dystopia and tells about the possible development of events in the future. The author lived and worked in the middle of the twentieth century –time that might be the most drastic for the history of humankind. He even took part in the civil war in Spain, which considerably changed his political views. The terms invented by Orwell and the world he created are known even to those who are far from literature. For example, the phrase “Big Brother is watching you” is a very popular meme today.
Winston Smith – a protagonist – works for the Ministry of Truth, which is constantly updating and rewriting history, regularly changing it to meet the needs of the ruling party. He and his colleagues are watched over by Big Brother – the party leader who knows and sees everything. The whole world around is designed so that its inhabitants do not have any doubts about party ideology. A special language is being developed, from which all words that may express doubt are removed. The population is continually being told that the standard of living is increasing, although, in real life, it is the other way around.
The land is divided into three states that are at war with each other. And again, the party needs this war in order to foster patriotic feelings and love for the country among citizens. At some point, the main character starts a diary and begins to think about what is happening; naturally, both these diary and divergent thinking are prohibited. In the novel, Orwell shows what totalitarianism can lead to – a policy in which power completely controls society.
For a long time, there was an opinion that the author described the USSR and tried to prick Stalin, but today it is considered otherwise. Rather, the novel was influenced by a variety of factors: working life at the BBC, studying at Eton College, participating in the Spanish Civil War. Orwell assembled his world in pieces, which made it very real. The novel is a sign of what the total control of power over people leads to and what will happen to a person if he or she is deprived of freedom, both physical and spiritual. Hence, it seems appropriate to relate the novel to the current US state of the art through the prism of freedom of choice and expression.
1984 and US Freedom of Choice
In general, it must be said that literature provides few novels the imagery of which has made the same impression on the audience as the pictures from 1984. “Big brother is watching you,” Police of thoughts, room 101, thoughtcrime – these literary images are known even to people who did not get acquainted with 1984 and did not see its movie adaptation. In this context, the essence of the state ideology that rules Oceania should be understood. It does not seem that Orwell aimed to claim that English socialism would inevitably result in tyranny. He emphasized that no country was protected from such an outcome if fundamental democratic principles were not followed.
Thus, all the elements, mechanisms, techniques, methods, and principles of the totalitarian regimes that existed at that time, but in an exaggerated form, were taken and described. The primary place of events – London – was made in order to show that a totalitarian regime can be established everywhere, regardless of the country and despite its advancement in ensuring democratic rights and freedoms. That is, it is possible everywhere; the only point is the time that will be required to establish it.
At this point, it might be rational to appeal to the current US reality. The country is perceived as one of the most advanced and democratic ones. However, today’s democracy – which is accepted by all civilized states – is based on the principle of fair elections. It means that people are free to decide which politician will present them in the governing institutions. The violation of such an approach is considered unacceptable for a developed and democratic country. Any deceit or misleading in this regard cannot be applied by governors (Sides). Nevertheless, it seems that this has become an integral part of the elections in the US.
Plenty of scholars notice that in the 21st century, potential country’s leaders have been manipulating public opinion during elections to a great extent. For instance, in 2012, both Obama and Romney “used “microtargeting” to create voter profiles to help them identify friendly voters and nudge them to the polls” (Gorton 68). Furthermore, according to Cheeseman and Piston, Donald Trump is already manipulating the U.S. elections with a broad range of approaches – starting from discrediting the system and ending with attacking the news media. The US regime is far from totalitarian, but when even a single fundamental democratic principle is not followed, the country may face despotic policies that were depicted in 1984.
It seems rational to note that Orwell’s 1984 is an expression of mood and also a warning. The atmosphere that is expressed is relatively close to despond for the future of humanity. The caveat is that if the course of history did not change, then people would lose their most good qualities, turn into soulless machines, and would not suspect it. It seems difficult to disagree with such motives throughout the novel. They emphasize boldly enough that Orwell’s book was particularly valuable in expressing a new mood of helplessness that filled time before this mood took hold of people’s minds. Hence, in order not to allow such a state of mind of the citizens, it is essential to get rid of manipulation during elections. There should be freedom of choice that is not affected or adapted – it is the primary foundation of democracy.
1984 and US Freedom of Thinking
Another vital question that the author raises is whether truth exists within the scope of politics or not. The ruling party in 1984 states that there is no objective world outside of people. Reality exists only in a person’s head and nowhere else, and what the party declares it to be true, it will be true (Orwell 42). If such circumstances are real, then by governing ones’ consciousness, the party is capable of controlling the truth. Orwell reveals that in a society in which the essence of truth as an objective judgment that is related to reality is absent, everyone who belongs to a minority may rightfully consider himself or herself crazy.
Describing the prevailing way of thinking in 1984, Orwell found a word that has also become part of the modern vocabulary. It is “doublethink” (Orwell 42) – the capability to sincerely trust in two mutually exclusive suggestions or to change the mind to the opposite when ideologically necessary. According to Orwell, the idea of doublethink can be clarified by the following slogans from the novel: “War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength” (9). There is also another critical point in the Orwellian discussion that is closely connected with doublethink.
For example, if this person has no independence, then he or she is not aware of the difference between truth and falsehood. Thus, thanks to the dystopia of Orwell, the audience received a notable warning regarding the hazard of the emergence of a society of robots that lost the roots of personality, love, and critical thinking. This society does not even realize its issues because of doublethink. It would be inappropriate if the reader smugly understands 1984 as another description of Stalin’s barbarism and does not notice that this applies to all people.
It might be assumed that the described problem is characteristic of modern US society. Numerous and sophisticated technologies allow those in power to gather necessary information about the citizens to affect the way they think from blue screens. This daily surveillance takes place continuously and is not visible enough to be claimed and dismissed (Groening). It means that politicians are able to use such tools for their own purposes and transform public opinion.
The restriction of freedom to think critically and the application of the doublethink concepts provides a politician with the opportunity to do everything he or she wants. For instance, “Trump indulged in a doublethink propaganda campaign throughout 2019, and in the run-up to and wake of the El Paso terrorist attack” (DiMaggio). According to DiMaggio, “In declaring a “national emergency,” Trump confiscated taxpayer funds without Congressional authorization to use in building his separation wall between the US and Mexico.” Moreover, Lakoff and Duran claim that Trump utilizes several linguistic weapons to manipulate public opinion. This example shows that the ideas presented in 1984 remain relevant and reflect some pivotal aspects of the contemporary conditions in the United States.
To summarize, the desire to remain human – to love, suffer, and feel inner freedom – makes the protagonist of 1984 seeks the truth in the world in which he lives. This inner freedom is the ability of a person to make an informed choice in various situations, which is determined by needs and understanding of what is appropriate. It is a state of a person in which his or her thoughts, desires, and actions depend on himself or herself, and not on the external world. For the inhabitants of Oceania, the unlimited power of the party turns into arbitrariness and the loss of human individuality. It is impossible to get used to the constant violence against the human personality, the passion of others to remake a person, and reshape him or her in accordance with what this person should be.
The protagonist acutely feels his loneliness, internal dissatisfaction in the world of a drill, total surveillance, and inhumanity, but still wants simple human participation in the life of society. His awareness of what is happening leads him to the idea that it is worth fighting the system. His actions depict that if one is in the minority, and even in the singular, this does not mean that he or she is insane. The abovementioned can be easily related to the United States of today. American society tends to demonstrate a significant extent of self-awareness and disagreement with the violation of democratic essentials. There are numerous opposite demonstrations, blogs, and strikes revealing Americans’ aspirations to build the future full of freedom in all spheres of life.
Conclusion
The above analysis depicts that the two intersected and interdepended issues – of freedom of choice and thinking – were shown in 1984 and are directly related to contemporary US society. The novel was discussed in the framework of these problems, and its relevance was proved by referring to examples from recent events in the United States. Orwell’s concepts and ideas may still be perceived as actual and help realize a plethora of issues that the country faces and will face in the future. Through the lens of such literary masterpieces, reality may be understood concisely and coherently. It should be admitted that the investigation focused on two interconnected themes; however, the book contains plenty of significant topics that may be applied to the United States. The novel tends to constantly prove that it is out of time and may be discussed in the framework of various approaches – starting from politics and ending with psychology.
Works Cited
Cheeseman, Nic, and Piston, Spencer. “Four Ways Donald Trump is Already Manipulating the U.S. Elections,” The Washington Post, 2020.
DiMaggio, Anthony. “Orwell’s Doublethink, Alive and Well in Trump’s America.” Alliance of Sustainable Communities lehigh valley. 2019.
Gorton, William. “Manipulating Citizens: How Political Campaigns’ Use of Behavioral Social Science Harms Democracy.” New Political Science, vol. 38, no. 1, 2016, pp. 61–80.
Groening, Stephen. “What Orwell’s ‘1984’ Tells us About Today’s World, 70 Years After it was Published,” The Conversation, 2019.
Lakoff, George, and Duran, Gil. “Trump has Turned Words Into Weapons. And he’s Winning the Linguistic War,” The Guardian, 2018, Web.
Orwell, George. 1984. The University of Adelaide, 2016.
Sides, John. “New Research Shows Just how Much Presidents Try to Manipulate Public Opinion,” The Washington Post, 2015, Web.