re not human beings.'" (Orwell, p. 56) From our viewpoint in the year 2001, this novel is not an accurate portrayal of the year 1984. George Orwell wrote that Oceania consisted of the Americas, Australia, and the Atlantic Islands (including the British Isles.) These countries were, and still are, democratic nations, and not, as Orwell had predicted, socialist totalitarian states. Although the U.S.S.R. and China were similar to Oceania politically in the 1980's, in the book they form part of Neo-Bolshevist Eurasia and Death-Worship Eastasia, respectively, not totalitarian Oceania. Orwell's division of the super-states is more like that found in the Cold War than that of the 80's.There is no real possibility of a revolution occurring in Nineteen Eighty-Four, since revolt lies in the hands of the proles, who are too uneducated and simple to understand the state that the world is in. However this is not the case in the real world. There were many riots during the 80's, such as the protests at Tiannamen Square and the youth riots in British cities during the early 80's. People had the right to freedom of speech and expression in the Western World, something Orwell saw as being a crime in his futuristic novel. Although these protests during the 80's were punished, the fact that they even occurred shows the difference from Orwell's prediction.Many of the ideas in Nineteen Eighty-Four were based on tactics repeatedly used by governments. The secret police were used by the Jacobins during the French Revolution, Hitler during World War II, Russia since WWII, the government of South Africa, as well as many other governments throughout Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Orwell?s ideas were not completely farfetched, he simply predicted that technology and society would move at a faster pace than it did. For example, the concept of telescreens and being monitored at all times has slowly crept into our society today. The use of surveillance cameras in ...
