 If George Orwell were alive today, do you think he would be either: A- relieved to find that 1984 had not proved itself to be true, OR B- horrified to find that it had in fact become true on some level?  In your answer, compare specific details from your own observations/experiences of life today with details describing life in the novel. by Smith, Cary (CCPS)

2025-10-08 14:30:43 UTC

I think he would be horrified to a extent. While the manipulation of the citizens isn't as outstanding, their are some subtle similarities, specifically, the comparison between the telescreens and the current news.

2025-10-08 14:33:35 UTC

I think if he were alive today, he would be very horrified to find what he had predicted so many years ago to be true in the way it is today. I think he would also be incredibly disappointed that people can see the power the government has over its citizens and choose to continue to be ignorant, especially with social media having such a huge influence, I feel he would find that no one has the privilege of saying they don’t know about such prominent topics. I think he would agree that the proles in today’s time would have to be the younger generation, who has to be strong enough to speak out against the wrongdoings and the manipulation governments enact on their people.

2025-10-08 14:34:19 UTC

George Orwell would be terrified to see how our world is becoming similar to 1984. Currently the government can spy and keep watch on us through social media, just like how telescreens were used to spy and keep watch on the citizens

2025-10-08 14:34:34 UTC

I believe he would be horrified to some extent. In a way despite society becoming more 'welcoming' to individuality and the personal experience, we have also become more monitored with the advancement of technology. Anything and everything can be tracked, through your phone, smart devices like Alexa, and cameras, which are everywhere now takes to Ring and other companies captalizing on home surveillance. Everything is open for the government to tap into, which is similar to 1984 where through telescreens kept eyes on party members at all times 24/7.

2025-10-08 14:35:51 UTC

I think that George Orwell would be horrified to find out that it had in fact become true on some level as there are many similarities between the book 1984 and our society today. One of those similarities is the amount of surveillance that is happening such as being constantly recorded with cameras and social media. This is very similar to what was happening in 1984 as they were under constant watch which is happening today. Another way in which they are similar is the amount of censorship and editing of history. In our society today, there is a lot of censorship happening in our media, news, and articles that our gov't and agencies are behind. This is very similar to the censorship happening in 1984 that was happening in order to keep citizens manipulated and in place. Some actual examples would be the removal of historical articles pertaining to gender equality and African American History from gov't official pages. This happened in 1984 as there were people whom would edit and delete resources/articles in which history was erased such as who The Party was in war with.

2025-10-08 14:37:09 UTC

I think that George Orwell would be horrified in some aspect due to the fact that a lot of media and narratives exposed to citizens and society are controlled by those of higher power. Similar to his concepts in 1984, government asserts their values and power through their control in media and entertainment such as taking down Jimmy Kimmel's show.

2025-10-08 14:37:22 UTC

I agree with Gabriel when he mentions how online activity is constantly monitored which is use to control the people.

2025-10-08 14:37:27 UTC

I think Orwell would be horrified to find that it had in fact became true on some levels. Although, the world today does not exhibit some of the extreme measures taken to oppress their people, in real life methods of control are more subtle. With the Jimmy Kimmel situation, he was practically censored because of something he said, reflecting the eradication of thoughts and emotions that oppose the Party in 1984. The internet today also feeds ideals to younger generations, causing them to be indoctrinated with extreme ideas, reflecting the child in 1984 that snitched on her own father.

2025-10-08 14:37:58 UTC

In my opinion, I believe that Orwell would be horrified in the way some of his fears and warnings about society have come to fruition in our society. His book was dystopian in that many aspects were exaggerated, but his fears about government manipulation and loss of political nuance in our society have been moving in the direction of the book. The way citizens obtain media is controlled by large corporations and the government, the way that issues are painted as either having a right or wrong side, the way that nationalism has been on the rise—these are just a few examples of our society coming to model Orwells fears.

2025-10-08 14:38:11 UTC

I agree with Zahria when she talked about how similar to 1984 today's society is, especially with the promotion of propaganda through news channels and TV, which promote certain political parties. In 1984, the same thing happens with how telescreens and the Party promote propaganda of themselves at all time to keep some sort of rheterioc, and in turn keeping the citizens in check.

2025-10-08 14:38:29 UTC

I think Orwell would be horrified to see our world becoming somewhat like the world of 1984. The idea of the party listening in to our conversations seemed like something out of a dream, he probably did not expect that our smart devices like siri and alexa listen to us 24/7 even when we don't call their names. I think he would also be surprised to learn that our government is authorized to dig into our personal communications and phone records.

2025-10-08 14:39:02 UTC

I think he would be horrified to see how similar our world is now compared to 1984. Just like the book, we are being watched and control. The government has gained so much control and they are using their power in every way they possibly can.

2025-10-08 14:39:06 UTC

In George Orwell was alive today he would be horrified to some extent that it has become true. The government has means to spy on people through devices, just like how telescreens spy on others. also recently how opposing voices have been silenced just how in the book, those with critical voices(Jimmy Kimmel) is silenced. Additionally, the removal of history document and historical sites with just like how Winston would burn things in the memory hole.

2025-10-08 14:39:20 UTC

I agree with lauren in how the media is often very biased and narratives are highly controlled, making it hard for citizens to truly know what information they can trust and what they can’t.

2025-10-08 14:39:22 UTC

George Orwell would be entirely petrified to see that his vision in 1984 is becoming increasingly more similar to our day to day. He would be very upset with the overreach of power and invasion of privacy through new technology and things of the modern age. Specifically I think George Orwell would take a strong stance on the decrease of privacy that has happened post 9/11 with the government having more access to private things under the guise of safety for citizens. As well as the increase of technology we could have "telescreens" in the form of alexa, smartphones and any other technology without being completely aware. The way the media is very biased and hard to determine also would dissapoint Orwell.

2025-10-08 14:39:41 UTC

I agree with Zahria and Danyel that are privacy has practically disappeared and tech like Alexa have now become our telescreens. I think that ties back to how in 1984, such technology was used against the people of Oceania to discourage independent thought and rebellion, it was used as a source of control and surveillance. I think governments today feel the same way, in order to keep your citizens in line, you have to be able to tap into all of these different sources of technology that they’re accessing and all this different information from around the world in able to spin the narrative your way.

2025-10-08 14:40:02 UTC

I agree with Lauren when she mentioned how hard it is to determine through the media whats fake news and whats real.

2025-10-08 14:40:21 UTC

I like Laurens take on how we cannot decipher what is true or not, tying in the quote to what we see in modern times with everyone saying that Fox or CNN is fake news. Everything opposing is fake.

2025-10-08 14:40:49 UTC

I agree with Gabes example of how simple phone calls and text messages can be deleted but still kept track of forever. Nowadays nothing is really "deleted" or gone. Records of everything is kept somewhere somehow and this same idea is scary in terms of having a sense of confidentiality and security.

2025-10-08 14:41:07 UTC

• People are aware that the government is watching them, but they chose not to think anything of it.

• People that write history are biased, ans it's your choice if you believe in the same thing that they do.

• You can't really put anything on social media without it been used against you.

2025-10-08 14:41:19 UTC

I think if George Orwell were alive today, he'd be horrified to find it had become true in several different aspects. Today, there is an increasing amount of surveillance, which is sanctioned by the government, there is restriction of freedom of expression, and extreme corruption in the government facilitated by propaganda they produce. That is all described in 1984 and the parallels are terrifyingly similar. Our electronic devices are listening to us, therefore we're being surveilled 24/7 like in the book with the telescreens. The Patriot Act is technically a violation of the fourth amendment but is sanctioned for "security" which is seen in 1984. We have less personal freedoms such as expression with the current government; our President is quite literally threatening jail time for "heresy" if you speak poorly of him or his administration.

2025-10-08 14:41:28 UTC

I agree with Lauren on her thoughts about how we truly don’t know if what we see is true or not.

2025-10-08 14:41:52 UTC

Gabe and danyel had really good responses to how phones are always watching us even without of our consent/ knowledge and how that connected to the telescreens

2025-10-08 14:42:23 UTC

I really Daniel mentioned how our perspectives of certain things can be influenced with what we consume on social media. I think this an important point as our media can be edited to fit a certain narrative.

2025-10-08 14:42:24 UTC

I liked Gabe's take where he stated that it's everything that's written down that gets passed down to the younger generation. History really is in the hands of whoever is the beholder, or there's always a bias depending on where you get the history from. If the younger generation gets one story of something they view as subjective, most won't think to question it further.

2025-10-08 14:42:30 UTC

I agree with Zahria and Gabe, how she mentioned history is in the hands of the writer because our history is what is being told to us a lot of the time not always what is shown to us to the point that our government is able to twist and manipulate events that actual citizen lived through.

2025-10-08 14:42:34 UTC

I agree with Zahria when it comes when it comes to the people who write the history are the real ones who control the past. This is what shapes the future specifically when historians pick and choose what to include when writing events. This can change peoples perspectives while not even knowing the whole story.

2025-10-08 14:42:57 UTC

I like how Dylan and Milana related our government actively erasing parts of our history to how the government in 1984 was constantly rewriting and changing history as it was happening in order to manipulate the narrative. I think this further goes to show how aspects of 1984 have came to come true in our modern society.

2025-10-08 14:43:31 UTC

I agree with what Danyel said concerning Alexa listening in on conversations.

But even scarier than Alexa, is that sometimes my friends reference a tiktok video that I had never seen before, then as soon as I open my phone when I get home, that video is on my fyp. Now I don't know if it's coincidence, but it has happened one too many times.

2025-10-08 14:43:31 UTC

I agree with what Milana said regarding the government and its connection to the Ministry of Truth from 1984. I agree that the government may not directly change or edit history, but I do believe that the government presents past events in ways that benefits them and their ideals in a way that may not be 100% accurate to history.

2025-10-08 14:43:50 UTC

I liked Zahria's quote she used to support her point about the manipulation of the government and how harmful it is, not only to the people, but history as well.

2025-10-08 14:44:09 UTC

I agree with Milana, our government today is altering or leaving out parts of history depending on what agenda they want to push. Zahria also has a point on the effect of propaganda and violent manipulation on the human mind, it completely destroys your conscious and brainwashes you. This causes people in the book, and even in real life to lose human feelings like empathy, sympathy, and trust.

2025-10-08 14:44:27 UTC

I agree with Danyel that digital footprint and things related to that and social media constricts our thoughts, even with freedom of speech here in America, is it really free? You can be censored on apps, videos trying to speak out against their governments get taken down from their platforms, people can get fired from their jobs or kicked out of schools. Our governments. This can also apply to what Zahria said about the government twisting our words and brainwashing us. Our algorithms on social media is heavily regulated, “planting seeds” (as Alea said), to push a certain narrative and creating social polarization.

2025-10-08 14:45:05 UTC

He would be horrified to find that 1984 had become true but I also think he wouldn’t be so surprised because he predicted that this would happen. He would be disappointed almost because people didn’t take heed of what he was trying to say in his book and instead just let the government take too much control. He would realize that his book has somewhat become reality and he’s part of his own story where he would be winston realizing the truth of the government using our modern technology and laws such as the Patriots Act of 2001 to surveil us and we as society are the proles who stayed ignorant and let the government gain too much control which is kind of horrifying to think of in his perspective.

2025-10-08 14:46:18 UTC

I agree with what Alea said that the party is solely interested in power and only power, because if they truly didn't care for power, they wouldn't be doing what they are doing to the citizens. They are gaining power from controlling their thoughts, and essentially who they are.

2025-10-08 14:46:34 UTC

I liked Morang's question on if the government causes constant divide. Danielle's take emphasizes the reason for why the government might cause constant dived to make sure as a people we don't fully unify. Which I agree, in 1984 they are split up into class systems. This separation constant separation causes divide that stop unity.

2025-10-08 14:47:18 UTC

I like danyels point that she stated earlier in the discussion on how alexa and phones are constantly listening to us. I agree with that. Sometimes siri and alexa will come on randomly.

2025-10-08 14:47:21 UTC

I think George Orwell would be shocked to see how much of 1984 connects to life today. We might not live under Big Brother, but our phones, cameras, and social media track almost everything we do. People also get judged very quickly on social media, kind of like how citizens in the book had to follow strict rules about what they said or thought.

2025-10-08 14:48:37 UTC

I agree with Patrick on how people are scared to speak out there opinion due to fear of consequences or censorship so instead of having their own individual opinions they all have the same opinion that is forced onto them

2025-10-08 14:48:54 UTC

I think Patrick has a point when he mentioned that the censorship the government had over media and articles allowed for The Party to maintain control as all citizens believed the same thing and going against them would be extremely difficult and they were terrified of the repercussions.

2025-10-08 14:50:35 UTC

I like how Alea brought in the fact of erasing people from pictures and mentioned the Hitler. This also reminds me hoe the current president is trying to erase his connections, video, and photos that he has with Epstein.

2025-10-08 14:51:00 UTC

Alea just cooked. Our modern day or being erased or vaporized is like being canceled or censored for having controversial opinions that aren’t really controversial because they out the wrong doings of people in power

2025-10-08 14:51:03 UTC

Alea has a great point with how fascism and authoritarianism gradually become worse, it doesn't immediately start as severe as it ends up.

2025-10-08 14:51:18 UTC

I agree with what Zahria & Alea mentioned that there is often not just one person who believes the opposition but you often get removed and redacted from history not for not agreeing with what everyone else thinks. A very few amount of people in history were successful in making change with a different thought process and I believe that is because of many structures of governments working to keep it that way.

2025-10-08 14:51:19 UTC

I like how Morgan said that we have our own way of thinking, and living (different religions, etc.) also with how there is a false sense of hope within Oceania

2025-10-08 14:51:38 UTC

I like the girl in the blues quote and how she supported her take with it( idk her name💔) I think he'd be horrified to see where the world has come. I like Danyels take too about the government creating the Brotherhood to create false hope because brotherhood is always watching so them making it would make alot of sense.

2025-10-08 14:52:13 UTC

Does anyone believe that George Orwell wouldn’t be horrified, like I picture him almost disappointed, but not surprised. I mean, Orwell was also exposed to totalitarian regimes and societies, it’s why he wrote 1984 and other books like that, as a warning to not continue this way into the future. Yet, I feel like some part of him maybe saw this coming, like Winston’s ending was how he saw the future. Winston was successfully brainwashed in the end, leaving behind his rebellion, yet he hoped someone out there would pick up where he left off. Do you feel like it’s possible that Orwell is trying to say the same thing about us? That we’re too far gone to do anything in the future, too brainwashed, we just have to wait for someone with enough courage to break the chain. Maybe he wouldn’t be horrified because he’s implying that we’re sitting ducks being manipulated.

2025-10-08 14:53:05 UTC

I agree with Lauren's connection to the censorship of people in media to the vaporization of people in 1984. It reiterates the subtly of the control the government has over our lives.

2025-10-08 14:53:30 UTC

I agree with Lauren that censorship is the vaporizing of our time. It is less acceptable to "vaporize" people today because lots of people are more "woke" so the government slowly tries to take away our voices.

2025-10-08 14:54:29 UTC

Everyone speaking about people being vaporized because of their expression and looping it back to the current censorship facilitated by the US government in media are making great connections because with our society being so chronically online, our version of vaporization really is censorship.

2025-10-08 14:55:12 UTC

The idea that the Brotherhood doesn't exist and is used as a way to bring about and then crush hope was a good one. Because as Morgan said humans are designed, by nature, to question things. So, the party encourages such behavior by creating the Brotherhood to manipulate them into getting erased and put into room 101, or used as an example during public executions

2025-10-08 14:55:54 UTC

I agree with bros take who connects language with rebellion becasue if you cant come together to talk about what you all believe in it'll never be possible to have those conversations which would possibly be a threat to power.

2025-10-08 14:57:09 UTC

I agree with Ariana said (not sure if it's spelt right) that Winston could have mistaken O'Briens look, and that O'Brien was playing Winston from the start to see if he would actually betray the party.

2025-10-08 14:57:43 UTC

I agree with what Danyel said about to correlation of higher education and politics. There is a correlation that has been shown in many studies and I believe it is being shown with the way the government is doing away with lots of imperative departments currently.

2025-10-08 14:57:57 UTC

I agree with alea and danyel that education is extremely important for being able to spot things like this and preventing the cycle from repeating. I agree with Danyel that the government is trying to keep us stupid so we're easier to control; Zahria's connection of this with Ignorance is Strength is the best description of this principle.

2025-10-08 14:58:28 UTC

I like Danyels take with talking about the lack of education. Think of the proles the lower class, that is not as educated. They all blindly follow big brother, they are ignorant, giving the party strength.

2025-10-08 14:59:02 UTC

Does anyone else think that for O’Brien to have caught Winston, he would also have to commit a ThoughtCrime of some sort? Like putting that book together to trick him into joining The Brotherhood? All the stuff he said in agreement, I just feel like it’s an example of how some people in higher power can get more chances than those below them and they don’t necessarily have to believe the ideology that they impose on others because they’re politically and socially “safe”.

2025-10-08 14:59:04 UTC

I agree with Zharia’s point about ignorance is strength because that’s the same quote i brought up when I discussed. The same three motos that they use in 1984 can be applied to society today

2025-10-08 14:59:23 UTC

I agree with what Sung said about our news even being biased, which therefore impacts those who aren't politically inclined because they believe the first thing they hear without having anything to back it with.

2025-10-08 14:59:52 UTC

I agree with Sung that often people believe the first thing they see, especially with the curation of social media. I can see how this can lead to controlling someone's mindset politically, even if they aren't a "political" person.

2025-10-08 14:59:56 UTC

Sung cooked with that. News platforms and different social media feeds really spew what they want you to believe so everything is bias so the truth is always skewed similar to how 1984 spewed their propaganaga

2025-10-08 15:00:53 UTC

I do agree with Danyel about how if we're so aware, why aren't we doing anything? This is an example of how the cycle is perpetuated.

2025-10-08 15:02:32 UTC

I agree with Zahria and Dylan that upbringing and environment influence political view because it can be hard to differ from what you grew up with, especially if you're not presented with an opportunity for proper education.

2025-10-08 15:03:38 UTC

I agree with Alea. The phenomenon she's talking about is political socialization which is the way your beliefs are curated and everything goes into that. Your morals, education, your parent's upbringing, culture, where you live. All of these things matter and there are clear lines and connections that tie back to politics

2025-10-08 15:03:53 UTC

I like how Lauren and Dylan mentioned that 1984 might have been watered down, especially since the book was banned. It’s true that we often feel like we aren’t really in control. The older generation also seems to believe they’re in charge of everything, and the policies and laws they create can make things look one way, when in reality, the law is much worse.

2025-10-08 15:04:16 UTC

Why do you think 1984 was banned?

2025-10-08 15:04:23 UTC

To add to Sung's point I just thought I'd add that a lot of news channels are all under ONE person, even those that have opposing views from each other. And one time I saw a video of like 50 news channels saying the exact same script which leaves me wondering how much influence certain people have on all the news we're fed on the daily.

2025-10-08 15:04:28 UTC

I do wonder though, if we are so educated or so aware as a generation and continue to advance as society, why do we have increasingly heinous repeats of the same cycle of fascism and violence?

2025-10-08 15:05:47 UTC

Speaking of news the nonpartisans new channel that tell new non objectively are being defunded. Stations like PBS is a public service channel funded by the government and is non partisan but the administration have defunded them.

2025-10-08 15:06:09 UTC

I agree with what Danyel said about social media being a tool used by people with higher power, it really just emphasizes that social media is like the root of all misinformation, propaganda, false news, and social strife because of how hard each individuals feed push what they want to see. and i think all of that is like in a sense corrupting society and genuinely blurring the lines from true and false information.

2025-10-08 15:09:29 UTC

We are definitely not a true democracy, we're more of an elite or representative democracy by name but it is increasingly feeling like an oligarchy.

2025-10-08 15:10:14 UTC

to answer her question I think questioning the government would lead to massacre and like chaos because I feel like soceity has tried to question the government befofe and it ends it gaslighting by the gov and riots and innocent people getting hurt.

2025-10-08 15:10:59 UTC

I agree with the statement that there’s a differences between freedom speech and hate speech but I think when people that aren’t ignorant and aren’t scared to speak their opinion use their freedom of speech it’s labeled as hate speech because people don’t like it. People don’t like the truth and would rather be ignorant to it