Orwell First Post (Free Writing Assignment)

The book "1984" reminded me very much of the movie "V for Vendetta". Both stories revolved around a totalitarianism government, and how this government affected the people of the age. In a world where even your thoughts are monitored and the government has total control, it seemed that there is always some people who don't agree with the mainstream. In "1984" there was Winston and Julia, while in "V for Vendetta" there was the protagonist and his follower, Evie. These two pieces of media, and observations of our world today, show me that no matter where you are, there is always someone with a different thought process than you, and there will always be someone who disagrees with you.

In our country today, in the year 2009, we have a plethora of freedom. Once we reach a certain age, we can decide who we want to lead us, we can decide what we want to eat, what kind of car we want to drive. We also have the liberties to speak out if we believe something is wrong. We have freedom of religion, and we are allowed to read and believe what we want. And people do speak out. There are always riots or strikes, and some people even resort to violence to get their message across. In the novel, and also in the movie, people weren't allowed to speak out. All of their freedom and liberties were taken away, but there were rebels. My point is, in fact or fiction, literature, visual media, and everyday life, people are so....different. Even when united under a common banner, such as the United States, there are different beliefs and creeds. In America, these differences are often celebrated. In the novel, however, being different was considered a crime. But this just caused more rebellion. Even though it was a secret society, the Brotherhood was a working rebellion fighting for what it believed in. This shows me and all readers that people will always fight for what they believe in. Since the beginning of time, the human race has fought to be free. Through colonization and slavery, we are fighting to get our message across.

Even though it was a small act, Winston clearly wrote "Down with Big Brother" in his secret diary. It made him feel empowered, and he felt he needed to get his feelings out, or he would not have written his message. Orwell, when he wrote this novel, knew the fact that we are different. He wanted to show us, through a drastic exaggeration, that people will do anything to get their message out, even break the law.