Whitefish Bay High School - Tower Yearbook (Milwaukee, WI)

Page 6 text:

1984: Orwell was wrong WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS TRUTH These words form the basis for George Orwell's novel 1984. a story about life in Oceania, a sterile, impersonal, regulated society in which privacy, per- sonal goals, freedom, and individuality are nonexis- tent. In 1984. the government, under the control of Big Brother and the Thought Police, dictates every facet of life, to the point of changing historical facts to meet its own needs and keeping the citizens of Oceania under constant surveillance through the use of closed-circuit television screens. The arrival of the year 1984 has prompted an on- slaught of newspaper and magazine articles, semi- nars, and books, all of which analyze Orwell's novel 1984 Whitefish Bay High School Editor: Susan O’Neil Assistant Editors: Lisa Jones Sharon Anthony Adviser: Paul Fehlhaber and attempt to answer one major question: Does the 1984 which Orwell foresaw exist in society to- day? The question is not an easy one to answer, for it involves weighing the positive benefits of modern technology against the ever-increasing impersona- lity in our society. However, we, the Tower Yearbook Staff, have endeavored to take that question one step further by asking, Does Orwell's 1984 exist in Whitefish Bay High School? In the pages that follow, we corroberate our opinion that Orwell's 1984 has not come to WFBHS, as evidenced by the school's personal environment and the degree to which stu- dents and faculty are able to express their individual- ity. Tower 2 — Introduction