Plain Style Revision of Open Prompt October 28

1987. Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader's or audience's views. Avoid plot summary.

            “Remember; remember the Fifth of November the Gunpowder Treason and plot.  I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot.”  When people watch V for Vendetta and some can even quote that line, they are watching a dystopian story play out in London, the author wants the audience to know something is wrong and needs to change or else the world could end up like this.  Another author who successfully writes a dystopian novel is George Orwell; in 1984 this is very apparent.  Orwell warns that if we do not stop this habit of war and the societal structures we set up to keep such wars going the world will end up in a state much like this dystopia, the world Orwell sets up through imagery and details gives the reader a clear idea of what Orwell is saying will come to exist.

            The world Orwell created in 1984 showed readers a terrifying glimpse of a possible future for the real world.  When the book was written the world was full of tension from the Cold War, this sterile environment that 1984 showed was a real threat.  The government could take over and become like Big Brother with telescreens, always watching you and controlling your actions.  This warns against the actions the governments were leaning towards at that time.  The imagery is clear in the descriptions: the elevator is broken and always has been, there aren’t any colors in the city, it is an unpleasant world to live in.  Orwell tells us, this is our future, let’s change it, and change it fast, let’s end this war to stop our government’s chances at pulling a change like this on us.

            The societal structures that George Orwell creates are disturbing to the readers.  The fact that there are two separate levels with the proles, the lower class, and the upper classes does not sit well with most people.  The details that show the main character’s attempts to escape that system for the entire book bring the reader’s attention to how horrible it is. 

            Orwell creates a novel that shows the future for his world, one full of unhappy lives where the government watches everyone, and the country is perpetually at war.  The country is split into two separate social classes and the world is displeasing.  1984 challenges the reader so that when the year 1984 came and passed people could rejoice and say things like “Ha look at that George, the world’s not as bad as you said it would be.”  But we must be careful to not let down our guard because if we get lazy we will be in an even more vulnerable position to let our governments become the atrocities seen in Orwell’s book.  Hopefully the novel 1984 will continue to stand as a warning to all future generations, be on your guard, it may seem extreme but only a few steps away is Big Brother and a telescreen in your home.