Love for Life

Orwell Today
Comparing the world George Orwell described in "1984"
with the world we are living in today, 2001/2/3/4/5/6/7 2008

~ created by Jackie Jura, an independent researcher
monitoring local, national & international events ~
email: orwelltoday @ yahoo.ca

Welcome To ORWELL TODAY - HOW TO USE THIS SITE

Orwell Today is a work in progress and will have additional features as time goes by. You are invited to visit regularly to read news stories, articles and commentary posted under the heading "Today's Orwell". The postings are chosen for their similarity to concepts presented in "1984".

I've divided "1984" into the 45 themes listed down the left-hand side of the HOME PAGE and to which each posting is linked. I arrived at the themes by reading through the book and separating Orwell's words into concept piles (themes). In one pile I put Orwell's references to BIG BROTHER. In another pile I put Orwell's references to THOUGHT POLICE and so on and so on. I then placed the themes as much as possible into the order they appeared in the novel.

The themes comprise what I believe to be the essence of "1984" but do not contain the whole book. For that a person still needs to read the entire novel. Versions of the novel vary somewhat. The one I used was the Penquin edition printed in Great Britain in 1966.

The themes provide an overview for people who haven't yet read the book or a review for people who read it "years ago". The words in bold and underline emphasize what I consider to be key points.

A person reading the themes from top to bottom (the ideal way) experiences the story unfolding as Orwell told it. Or, a person can go directly to a theme that catches their interest and read all at once most of Orwell's references on that particular concept. The themes thus provide a solid base of knowledge to help people recognize for themselves the amazing similarities between "1984" and present day.

BIO OF JACKIE JURA

ABOUT JACKIE JURA

(author of Orwell Today website)

Firstly and foremostly I would describe myself as a self-educated woman. Everything I know about the world I learned through reading and travel, and this continues to this day. I consider myself an expert in two areas - George Orwell and John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Further information about myself follows:

In 1991 I attended a social-work type college program where I came up against political correctness to such an extreme degree that I was instantly reminded of Orwell's 1984. This resulted in my creating Orwell Today in 2001. Anyway, in one of those infamous college classes the instructor assigned us to draw a picture encapsulating our individual essence, ie what makes us tick, and then stand in front of the class and explain it. He wanted us to focus on our positive attributes, not our negative. I believe that the picture I drew then, and which is on the wall in my office today, is a good description of me to this very day. Therefore, for readers who have emailed wanting to know more about Jackie Jura, the creator of Orwell Today, I'll describe the images and captions of my picture, going from left to right in a clockwise direction.

BIO PICTURE

Firstly I drew a hummingbird sucking nectar from a flower; a baby bear climbing a tree; a deer drinking water; a dolphin swimming and an elephant walking. I captioned it: LOVE ANIMALS AND CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Secondly I drew my face and head with a book covering everything except my ears and eyes. The left side of my head is lifting open and question marks are floating out of it toward spiral galaxies in the distance. I captioned it: OPEN MINDED, CURIOUS, FULL OF WONDER, QUESTIONING, WELL-READ, INFORMED

Thirdly I drew myself with a telephone receiver to my ear and captioned it: LIKE TO KEEP IN TOUCH

Fourthly I drew my house and front yard with my husband and two sons waving from the window. Smoke is puffing out the chimney. In the grass between the trees and flower beds sit my dog and cat. Above the carport there's a basketball hoop and in the driveway a bike, skateboard, football and soccer ball. I've captioned this: BLESSED AND AESTHETIC

Fifthly I drew a big round circle into which I placed a tree with branches leaning over a child holding its mother's hand and an old person leaning on a cane. I captioned this: "PRO-LIFE" RESPECT ALL STAGES OF LIFE

Sixthly I drew a couch, coffee table and two chairs, upon which sit my husband, myself and two friends, all holding drinking glasses. I captioned this: SOCIABLE

Seventhly I drew a globe showing the western hemisphere. I captioned this: WELL TRAVELLED

Eighthly I drew a treble cleff and notes on a musical scale. I captioned this: APPRECIATE CLASSIC ROCK & ROLL

That's all there was on my picture, which I've reduced and scanned for people to see:

As things stand now there's only one thing I'd change. I'd remove the SOCIABLE drawing and replace it with a drawing of me swimming laps in a pool. The caption would say: LIKE TO KEEP MY BODY TONED

I hope that answers peoples' main questions about myself. For more technical details I'll say that as I write this in December 2003 I am fifty-three years old and although I've worked in various fields such as secretarial, administration, education, sales and real estate, I am presently self-employed as a writer.

I derive most of my inspiration through reading history and biographies by and about great people like President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and other people I admire. From their example I derive strength. The driving force behind my motivation is best described by JFK:

"For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that
we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air.
We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."
~ JFK, June 10, 1963

"With a good conscience our only sure reward,
with history the final judge of our deeds,
let us go forth to lead the land we love,
asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that
here on earth God's work must truly be our own."
~ JFK, January 20, 1961

"The definition of happiness is
the full use of your powers along lines of excellence."
~ JFK, October 31, 1963

INDEX

WHY ORWELL WROTE "1984"
HOW TO USE THIS SITE
BIO OF JACKIE JURA
READERS' EMAIL

1. Winston's Diary
2. Big Brother
3. Surveillance
4. Old World Destruction
5. Pyramidal New World Order
6. Super-States
7. Systems Of Thought
8. Classes Of People
9. Keeping Masses Down
10. The Rulers
11. Ministry Of Plenty
12. Ministry Of Peace
13. Weapons
14. Scientific Experimentation
15. Life In Oceania
16. Ministry Of Truth
17. Falsification Of Past
18. Newspeak
19. Goldstein Two Minutes Hate
20. Thought Police & Snitches
21. Crimestop
22. Doublethink
23. The Proles
24. The Lottery
25. Prolefeed
26. Julia & Rebellion
27. Goodthink
28. Reality Control
29. Risking Renting Room
30. Love Instinct and Family
31. Love Nest
32. Enemies Of The Party
33. Contact
34. Ministry Of Love
35. Big Brother's Brotherhood
36. Hate Week Volunteerism
37. We Are The Dead
38. Cellars
39. Interrogation And Torture
40. Electric Shock Brainwashing
41. Big Brother Tells "How"
42. Big Brother Tells "Why"
43. Winston Talks In Sleep
44. Room 101
45. Chestnut Tree Cafe

"COMMENTARY & ESSAYS"

"JFK TRUTHS & LIES"

"JFK & RFK ASSASSINATIONS"

"STAGED EVENTS" or
"ORDER OUT OF CHAOS"

"CONSPIRACY THEORIES"

"ANIMAL FARM"

"ORWELL'S OTHER BOOKS"

"ORWELL'S WAR WRITINGS"

"ORWELL BIOS RECOMMENDED"

"UNBRAVE NEW WORLD"

"GULLIVER'S TRAVEL TRUTHS"

"ALL ABOUT ORWELL

"PRINCESS'S PLACES"

"HOMAGE TO ORWELL"

"PILGRIMAGE TO ORWELL"

"DESTINATION RWANDA"

"A WANDER IN RWANDA"

"BEYOND ORWELL"

"SYMBOLISM"

"MOVIE & TV REVIEWS"

"POEMS & SONGS"

"FAIRY TALES & JOKES"

ARCHIVED STORIES

Link to this website: http://www.orwelltoday.com