1984 #1

In the afterword of 1984, which was written by Eric Fromm, he is describing Orwell's novel as a warning for the future of his readers. The novel is a warning for what might be in the future. It is warning of what the human race is capable of and throughout the whole novel, warnings are being sent by Orwell.

In 1984, the government controls everything. They are able to watch people through the telescreens and via the thought police. Everything is rationed so every person has the same living necessities. The government is trying to control everyones thoughts and trying to determine what each person is thinking. People who act out are made example of and everyone fears that the punishment may happen to them. This allows the government to control the people via fear. This is an example of conformity and Orwell is trying to warn us about how conformity may eventually become dangerous in the future.

Another thing that Orwell is warning us about it how we deal with the past. The government tries to keep a lid on the past and has Winston write lies to modify the truth of what has happened in the past. The reality of the past is buried under so many lies that no one really knows what happened back then. The only thing that people know are what the government tell them has happened. This warning from Orwell is dead on. In today's society we don't look back at what happened, we just act upon instinct. If we would actually take the time to do some research, we can see that we just keep doing the same things. Its like a cycle that never ends and we are responsible for it.

A final warning from Orwell is to watch how society is set up. A small, exclusive party rules over the majority. The inner party has the most power, followed by the outer party, and then followed by the proles. The proles make up the majority of the population. This is much like our society today. We have the President's cabinet, next followed by the senate and house and then comes the rest of the people. The first two parties have all the power and make the rules on everything but are out of touch with what the people want because they are not part of the majority.

George Orwell's 1984, was written as a warning to what may happen to society. He was able to see how society was changing and wrote the novel to warn the people of the dangers of conformity. It also shows how we should study the past more closely so that we don't lose touch with the truth.