2026 or 1984?

“History doesn’t repeat, but it sure does rhyme.” A paraphrased quote by Mark Twain. I was not really sure what he was trying to explain, but then a few revelations came my way when I read two dystopian novels, “Anthem” and “1984.” Anthem is actually a novella, but I digress. Upon my first reading of Anthem, I found it odd that the personal pronoun “I” was abolished, but if you read the novella, you will understand the reason. I still found it uncomfortable that a person would refer to only himself as “we.” We have two arms and two legs. This was written in 1937. Now we have the plural pronoun debate as anyone can assign themselves with any pronoun. You can be “they” or “them” or “non-binary.” The character in Anthem uses plural pronouns because “they” were never taught anything about individualism. So, what is the reason now? Is it to disregard individualism? Capitalism? Reason? The novel “1984” You have the two-minute hate speech and people become “unpersoned.” People erase history record books. What do we have today? Cancel Culture. Social Media meltdowns with hatred and people spewing ignorance and fear. When students write essays, it is important for them to recognize patterns in stories like motifs and characteristics. This will help them develop themes because themes are really lessons disguised in stories. When we suffer and lose, we should at least learn the lessons. Names change but the ideas are the same. We live in patterns, but it is important to recognize the patterns, so we do not repeat the mistakes. Of course, that is wishful thinking.