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1984 Essay

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1984 Essay
Since the beginning of time, man has always been a control freak. He has created and destroyed nations, people and the Earth—truly demonstrating the sheer potential of the human race. It is his nature, however, to be controlling and manipulative. This human predisposition is prominent in George Orwell’s 1984 and the 2011 Arab Spring Revolutions, where authoritarian power is taken to an extreme. In both instances, the people of Oceania and the Middle East are forced upon unfair and dangerous living conditions—in which they are manipulated of their human nature through their freedom and knowledge. Liberty is a God-given right to all humans; however, different nations have different interpretations of this ideology. People are dispossessed from this in both 1984 and the Arab Spring. In Oceania, Big Brother plays the higher power and operates in a totalitarian state of control, removing all freedom from the people through manipulation of language through the “Newspeak” language. For instance, the caption: “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” (Orwell, 2), is scattered throughout London, where the plot takes place. This slogan hints that mass surveillance is widespread and thus no one is unseen or safe. To be secluded away and sheltered is a sensation of freedom—it allows for one to feel safe and secure. Since this feeling of state does not exist in this dystopia, people lack security and thus their freedom. For that matter, some people feel an urge to rebel against this leader. In this case, main character Winston writes five times in his journal, “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (Orwell, 19), expressing his feelings he has towards the freedom he is being stripped of and thus wishes to overthrow the higher power.
The 2011 Arab Spring displays this same pattern. The revolutions began when, “Not one official could ever claim to be for freedom while offering support to repression” (Karam, 1). Many of these Arabic countries operate in a state that forces citizens into submission and


Bibliography: Antioch, John D. “Spotlight on Israel:.” The Future of the Global Muslim Population. Pew Research Centre, 27 Jan. 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2013. <http://www.pewforum.org/future-of-the-global-muslim-population-regional-middle-east.aspx>. Fromm, Erich. "Afterword." 1984. Paris: Gallimard, 1950. N. pag. Print. Haqqani, Husain. “Why Muslims Always Blame the West.” NY Times, 16 Oct. 2004. Web. 9 Feb. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/15/opinion/15iht-edhaqqani.html?_r=0>. Karam, Ghassan. “Arab Totalitarianism Must End | Ya Libnan | World News Live from Lebanon.” Ya Libnan RSS. N.p., 05 May 2011. Web. 10 Feb. 2013. <http://www.yalibnan.com/2011/05/05/arab-totalitarianism-must-end/> Orwell, George. 1984;. Paris: Gallimard, 1950. Print Salman, Adel. “Agriculture in the Middle East.” Paragon House. N.p., Mar. 1990. Web. 8 Feb. 2013. <http://www.paragonhouse.com/Agriculture-in-the-Middle-East.html>.
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