George Orwell’s Novel “1984” Sees New Popularity in Trump’s America

By ADELINE TAO

George Orwell’s novel, “1984,” has seen a large surge in sales in bookstores all over the country in January as President Trump entered office. Many speculate that the increase in sales is due to the recent political atmosphere with Trump and his administration’s speeches and new policies. At one point, the novel even made it to the #1 spot on Amazon’s best-seller list.

“1984” is a classic American novel that has been read many times over by people since its publication in 1949. The story is basically about the protagonist named Winston Smith and his experience with the tyrannical government that rules him, called English Socialism, which is shortened to IngSoc. The ultimate ruler is called Big Brother, but no one sees its real face, yet according to the story, “Big Brother is always watching.”

The government creates many other ambiguous phrases and ideas, and forces its people to believe them. From sayings like “War is peace” to a department named “The Ministry of Truth” that concocts lies, the government in “1984” is one that is extremely authoritarian, controlling and manipulative. To these authoritarian ideas, some are drawing parallels to the current Trump Administration.

Karlito Almeda, a senior of Ramapo College, is one of many students who has read this revolutionary novel. “A key characteristic of the book is that there is shortening or the combination of many words to remove or alienate the original meanings in minds of people,” he said. “That’s an important part in which the government controls the entirety of information that goes against some of the founding principles of say, the United States, which there is the freedom of the press.”

“If the press does not operate freely,” he continued, “then the flow of information would be monopolized by the government, and they can control what you understand and think.”

According to the New York Times, a specific period of time when the Penguin publishing company’s publicity director Craig Burke saw a spike in sales came after the interview of one of Trump’s advisors,  Kellyanne Conway,  on “Meet the Press.” There, she defended White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s false claim that the inauguration had the largest audience ever by saying he gave “alternative facts.”

Edward Shannon, a literature professor at Ramapo College, found that Conway’s comment reminded him of what the IngSoc government in “1984” said to its people in the book. “I think a deeper understanding of why the book is so important is that Orwell was really canny, really on target about how language can be bent under the weight of political ambition and political power.”

He continued, “I think people responded to some of the things people have heard in the recent press briefings. Kellyanne Conway coining the ter
m ‘alternative facts’ came under fire. Of course, in “1984,” Orwell’s imagined bureau of propaganda uses phrases like ‘war is peace,’ ‘love is hate,’ etcetera. So I think when people heard Conway say that, ‘alternative facts,’ it really reminded them of some of the warnings that are in Orwell.”

Shannon interpreted the book as a “warning” given by Orwell for future authoritative governments. “[“1984”] can warn against putting too much faith in a single individual, or warn about putting too much faith in a single ideology,” he said. “But it can also sort of warn about how language can be twisted, so that you think you’re hearing one message, but really you’re hearing a very different message.”

In terms of today’s political turmoil, Shannon said, “I believe the way people are talking about this new travel ban, is that it’s not a ban against Muslims, it’s a ban against certain countries. But it would be, some people might suggest, that’s just a rebranding.

“That whole idea of rebranding is one of the things that Orwell kind of warned against. That you stop calling a political idea one thing, start calling it another – it doesn’t change the political idea,” he added.

With many parallels seen between the dystopian novel “1984” to today’s government in 2017, many people are concerned, and are protesting and resisting the new government to avoid that oppressive government Orwell warned against.

“In the case of Donald Trump, this is lending credence to the past by saying: we’re warning you, this is what it could be…because we are moving towards a path of an autocratic government, with someone who rules through a unilateral mandate, instead of through the agencies of democracy,” Almeda said.

However, Almeda finishes with a thought of hope that Americans can still stand up for themselves against the fear of Orwell’s warning: “These books show you the little ways that we can rebel [against a tyrannical government.]”