Literature has always played an important role in the way we see society, giving us a different lens to look at the world through. But even decades after the novel has been published, some pieces of literature continue to color the way we see the world. They influence the current works of the time, giving us plots, literary devices, and references that are still relevant. And while there are centuries of work that still influence us today, some pieces are so prevalent that they seem to be inescapable.
I'm sure there was an earlier introduction to George Orwell's novel 1984, but the first time I really recall it was in my AP English class in high school. We were allowed to choose a good portion of the literature we read for the class ourselves, with the only requirement being a presentation of the novel at some point in the class. With this free range of reading materials the class became an interesting hodgepodge of ideas, some people gravitating to more modern pieces while others went with older classics. But one book that continually popped up was 1984 and it's concerns about Big Brother. It's certainly not hard to see why, angsty teens who are starting to question the society they were raised in can easily relate to this classic dystopian novel. The concerns it brings up about a government controlling the way we see the world and our thoughts is certainly something that is still relevant to today's society, especially amongst adolescents. While I certainly can't fault people for relating to the fears of Big Brother, I do believe it's become a bit of an over used reference. We have a television show that is partially based off of this idea of constant surveillance, a multitude of graffiti like the sticker above warning people of the dangers of Big Brother today, and you can trace a good portion of the current conspiracy films back to the ideas presented in this novel. I may have become slightly jaded about this because it seemed like everyone I knew was enthralled by 1984, but when I finally sat down and read the book for myself I really wasn't that impressed with it. I vastly preferred the bleak future presented in Brave New World and even Orwell's other big novel Animal Farm to this must read. I completely understand why this reference is so prevalent. The increase of surveillance around the world is ridiculous. We have developed multiple programs that can track our movements and our preferences over social media, creating an easy way to influence our choices and opinions. We have placed easily accessible cameras in places that Orwell would never have dreamed of. And while we certainly have increased the ability to connect with the world around us, we have also created plenty of ways to close ourselves off from it. I guess all I'm trying to say that I wish we would give Big Brother a break and find a new way to express our concerns about society.
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Maggie Ondrey
An amateur photographer and writer capturing a small portion of the city. Archives
August 2017
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