*Post written by Mikayla Hanks, student assistant of the University Archives and Special Collections.

Book of George Orwell’s novel, 1984, 1961.

Is our society today as strict as we think it is? What is the government like in other countries throughout the world? The iconic story about a man named Winston Smith, and the Big Brother watching you. George Orwell’s 1984 is a story more relevant than ever today. The dystopian society consists of three countries: Eastasia, Eurasia, and Oceania. War is rampant which increases patriotism and nationalism for each land. Society conforms to the government. Free speech and free thought are illegal. Newspeak is constantly amending the language used and no one will dare speak out. Big Brother is always watching. This book teaches the reader to always question government. Downfalls of authoritative government are explored within the novel. With topics today in our news cycle like free speech and hate speech, this book will stay relevant.

Our major communication source today is social media, with social media everyone, is able to have free speech on many different platforms, with the connection of the book, there is little to no freedom in the world of 1984. In today’s society, everyone is thinking their lives are under complete control of the government, but in the United States, we have so much more freedom than other countries.

This book opens up a view about different countries and how there are differences in the way speech and being human means. This book is a great read for anyone wanting to learn about a different take on governments today.