Dystopian Website

Characters; fiction and non-fiction.

By: Nick Wilson

 

     From the rebel that Winston was, to the pro-party leader that O’Brien was, we learned many things from “1984” through the characters that Orwell used. While these characters are fictional, there are characters in today's time around the world that are similar to the ones created by Orwell, who have acted the same way Orwell predicted .

 

     Winston, a member of the Outer Party, was a smart man who saw the control of the party and thought/acted out in revolutionary ways; and, knew that “until after they (Proles) have rebelled they cannot become conscious” (Orwell 70). Liu Xiaobo, one of China’s most prominent human rights activists, is similar to Winston in his ways of questioning the government. Charter 08, a manifesto signed by 10,000 people, called for multiple changes to the political system and had multiple forms of propaganda pushing for freedom (BBC). Liu was sent to prison for 11 years in 2009, due to charges of “subversion, the vaguely defined charge” (The Guardian)  often used by Communist party leaders to imprison political opponents. As a leader for constitutional reform, Liu is attacked by the government for his revolutionary thoughts and actions, and has been arrested and mostly likely abused like Winston was.

 

     O’Brien, a powerful member of the Inner Party, persecuted Winston for his revolutionary thoughts and brainwashed him, telling that “Whatever the Part hold to be the truth, is truth” (Orwell 249).  Tuo Zhen, Guangdong (a province in China) propaganda chief for the Communist Party, is similar to O’Brien in his power and devotion to his government. Tuo made headlines back in 2013 when he censored “the ‘New Year’s Greeting.... an annual tradition with notable precedents” (China Media Project) without the knowledge of the papers editors. Some changes include changing the title of the greeting to be “We Are Now Closer to Our Dream Than Ever Before” (China Media Project), and making the criticisms of the government “entirely toothless” (China Media Project). Through his censorship, Tuo essentially showed the brainwashing that the government attempts through propaganda by twisting the truth for the better of the government.

 

     Both of the characters can be seen in many different people in many different situations where propaganda is a form of control, but these parallels are seen clearly in China. Charter 08’s propaganda, led by Liu Xiaobo, is the type of propaganda Winston would have loved to see in order to get the people thinking of freedom. The propaganda for Charter 08 was very effective, for it got over 10,000 signatures and shows that propaganda is powerful and can be used a form of control. Since we know propaganda is a very effective form of control, we see how dangerous people like Tuo Zhen, who resemble O’brien, can be. When a popular written piece is released after being censored for the better of the government, that propaganda will become a form of control for those who aren’t actively thinking. The people and situations that Orwell predicted, especially with propaganda as a form of control, is still occurring in parts of the world.