Is there anything Orwell got wrong?

[cool-story-bro]

I've found that while discussing all of Orwell's ideas and warnings in class, all we focus on is everything that Orwell has been correct about. It seems that all of his ideas are either dead on, or can be related figuratively or manipulatively. But with everything Orwell's been correct about there has to be something that he was incorrect about. My question is, what?

[cafolini]

I've found that while discussing all of Orwell's ideas and warnings in class, all we focus on is everything that Orwell has been correct about. It seems that all of his ideas are either dead on, or can be related figuratively or manipulatively. But with everything Orwell's been correct about there has to be something that he was incorrect about. My question is, what?

What has Orwell been correct about? Tell. "All" means didley.

[Cletta]

In certain aspects when you just look on the surface of the novel I believe he got a lot of things wrong. For instance, the government isn't controlling marriage, or sex, or anything like that, and children definately aren't spying on their parents. In a way though, most things do relate to our lives right now, maybe not in the exact way, but if you look deeper they do. Like the government creating propaganda with the text books, changing history. This doesn't happen on a regular basis right now, but things have been switched in history that may have had a different view when they originally happened. For example, president Ford granted president Nixon pardon for any crimes he may have commited in office, and the people ripped Nixon apart for him. In textboks, however, it basically states that Gerald Ford just "wanted to put things in the past" and he just wanted the people to be able to move on. This isn't at all how we felt about it though. There are a lot of similarities if you look into the novel a little more.

[DaphneFree]

I don't think Orwell got anything wrong. I also do not believe he was trying to get things right. 1984 is a work of fiction. He wasn't trying to predict the future. Like many good writers he looked at the world he lived in and imagined where it might be going. Radio was common as were moving pictures. It is not hard to imagine an author or futurist thinker to theorize moving film over radio waves. From that point you could also push further and say they could work two ways. It is simple creative writing. Yes there are lessons to be learned from any good work of literature. It is no secret that Orwell was an anti communist. That he lived through two World wars. Saw the rise and fall of Hitler, Mousolini, etc.. He perhaps wanted the book to be a warning but he wasn't predicting the future in a way that so many want to believe.

[Amorcita]

It all depends on how you look at it. Many of the warnings he asks us to heed do occur, but they do not occur at the time in which he placed them. You could argue that Orwell got about zilch correct, due to the year he set his book in, but there is no way to say for certain that Orwell was completely wrong. Personally, I believe that Orwell was dead on about a lot, such as the constant surveillance, even though that is more prevalent nowadays as opposed to in 1984. The amount Orwell succeeded in forecasting correctly is controversial. Cletta says that government doesn't control sex or marriage, but it could be argued that the government actually does, if you look at it differently. The government controls whether or not you can marry a certain person (i.e. someone of the same sex) and at what age you can be married unless you're in certain circumstances. It is definitely not to the extremes that is portrayed in 1984, but it is still some regulation. Orwell may be spot on or completely off target; the answer to that is your personal opinion.

[cafolini]

Orwell does not apply to USA, UK, and tens of other countries. In Europe, the last time Orwell applied was during the Germany of Hitler and Himmler. Race control? Sex control? Mind control?
Right now, those who find echo in orwell except in places like Iran, Korea, Venezuela, etc., etc., are simply paranoid about something that never happened since 1945, and could not happen again.

[Goku]

Orwell got alot of things right, but B.B.'s control of Oceania is more related to a totalitarian society rather than a democratic or a republic. B.B. is much like Hitler, Castro, Stalin, Lenin, etc. Because Big Borther's rule is more like that of a dictatorship, not everything he predicted was right for places like the U.S., or most of Europe. Although it wasn't all right, some was. For example, our school has several dozen video cameras from the moment you get on your bus in the morning to the first step you take into the school. This may be for the protection of the students and teachers, but the number of cameras in our school will never go down, it will only keep going up. In a way, this example can relate the constant onlook of the telescreens in Oceania.

[thefirstavenger]

I've found that while discussing all of Orwell's ideas and warnings in class, all we focus on is everything that Orwell has been correct about. It seems that all of his ideas are either dead on, or can be related figuratively or manipulatively. But with everything Orwell's been correct about there has to be something that he was incorrect about. My question is, what?

honestly i agree there wasn't much he has gotten wrong everything has been relatively close to today life

[cafolini]

It all depends on how you look at it. Many of the warnings he asks us to heed do occur, but they do not occur at the time in which he placed them. You could argue that Orwell got about zilch correct, due to the year he set his book in, but there is no way to say for certain that Orwell was completely wrong. Personally, I believe that Orwell was dead on about a lot, such as the constant surveillance, even though that is more prevalent nowadays as opposed to in 1984. The amount Orwell succeeded in forecasting correctly is controversial. Cletta says that government doesn't control sex or marriage, but it could be argued that the government actually does, if you look at it differently. The government controls whether or not you can marry a certain person (i.e. someone of the same sex) and at what age you can be married unless you're in certain circumstances. It is definitely not to the extremes that is portrayed in 1984, but it is still some regulation. Orwell may be spot on or completely off target; the answer to that is your personal opinion.

Our government in USA does not and will never use controls other than to fight crime. And there are very specific laws as to the use of controls. Many things could be argue simply because of freedom of speech. How differently are you going to look at it. If you want to apply Orwell's book, you have to go outside, and find totalitarian societies.

[Jack Fields]

...and children definately aren't spying on their parents...

The totalitarian system described in 1984 is in some aspects worse, then actual totalitarian systems were. But try to type "Pavlik Morozov" into the Google. In Soviet Union, there were a lot of kids, that had denounced their parents, "Pavlik" was the most famous case. Of course the situation was not like in 1984, but it was slowly getting there...

[cafolini]

The totalitarian system described in 1984 is in some aspects worse, then actual totalitarian systems were. But try to type "Pavlik Morozov" into the Google. In Soviet Union, there were a lot of kids, that had denounced their parents, "Pavlik" was the most famous case. Of course the situation was not like in 1984, but it was slowly getting there...

It did get there in the Germany of Hitler and Himmler. It did get there in the Argentina of Videla. The only difference was that the technology was not up to get it to go 1984. Had it been there, it would have topped it in Germany and possibly in Italy. But you are correct. It didn't get to that point even in the other totalitarian systems and it would never get there now or in the future. It's a total impossibility today, except in a paranoid express somewhere in M31 or beyond.