Orwell has written a few different documents that address
this.
First of all, Orwell set the book on purpose in
Oceania. Oceania is made up of England, North America, and many places that have
demoncratic regimes. He did this to prove that totalitarianism could happen anywhere.
Our job as a reading audience is to take that warning to heart and heed it's caution. We
need to constantly question our governments because even the greatest societies can
choose to hurt their people.
When asked if his view in 1949
should have been viewed as prophesy for the world in 1984, Orwell
wrote:
I do
not believe that the kind of society I describe necessarily WILL, but I believe
(allowing of course for the fact that the book is a satire) that something resembling it
COULD arrive. I believe also that totalitarian ideas have taken root in the minds of
intellectuals everywhere, and I have tried to draw these ideas out to their logical
consequences.
Orwell wrote to
clarify his purpose.
Furthermore, Orwell used 1984 to show
that (especially in book 3) governments have a desire for more power and
will often go after it at the expense of the people. When a leader gains
power, there is a tremendous rush that comes with that. Orwell knew after watching
several different vaccuums of power that someone will fill that void, often with great
passion... for the good or bad, well, that is often up for a people to eventually find
out.
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