Book Review of 1984
by Allison D. on 2008-07-23
Written in 1947 and published a year after, George Orwell’s dystopian novel may seem a little out dated after more than 20 years after the world was supposed to degrade into a totalitarian government system. But while many elements are simply fictions (Oceana, anyone?) many of Orwell’s predictions are eerily close to our present day life. The dystopia tri-story follows the life of Winston Smith, a bureaucrat with the newly formed Ministry of Truth.
The first part introduces up to the ins and outs to new living. Oceana, Airstrip One (formerly London, England), newspeak (a shortened, simplified English), and Big Brother, the totalitarian governor who sees and knows all. We are also introduced to Winston’s fear of being arrested for insubordinations and Thought crimes by the Thought Police (similar to Nazi Germany’s Gestapo). He details his daily life; compulsory, regimented exercise, Big Brother propaganda, re-writing and re-printing newspaper articles and books to re-write history and erase previous history from the collective memory.
The second part details the relationship between Winston and a young woman named Julia, an employee in the Fiction Department. Julia is an especially zealous propagandist for several Big Brother Party organizations, such as the Junior Anti-Sex League and the Party’s Two Minutes Hate, but this behavior is simply a cover up for her sexually-promiscuous rebellion. In addition to this, she is also a secret supporter of Emmanuel Goldstein, a Party co-founder who claims that the revolution was betrayed by Big Brother, and ergo denounced by The Party. Winston and Julia engage in a sexual relationship to which they are almost certain they will get caught and punished as sex criminals, and begin meeting with Emmanuel Goldstein to discus the Revolution, to which they will be punished for Thought crimes.
The third and final part to 1984 begins with Winston being apprehended by the Thought Police as he and Julia have been under surveillance for quite sometime. Both are taken to the Ministry of Love where opponents of The Party are interrogated, tortured, and usually executed. While in captivity, Winston is told that Julia has confessed to all their wrongdoings and has been completely cured via extensive interrogation and torture. Winston chooses not to believe this, and is subject to re-education himself. Reprogramming consists of torturing dissidents with their worst fear. Winston is extremely frightened of rats, and so a cage of hungry rats is placed above his head. Out of fear he shouts “Do it to Julia” and thus the Ministry of Love believes their brainwashing has worked.
After Winston is released, he and Julia meet in a park by accident. They both remember “bad” feelings about each other and that they both admit to betraying each other. They leave feeling apathetic to the whole situation and both now feel love and acceptance of Big Brother and The Party.
A sad tale, 1984 engages our emotions on Nationalism, sexuality, and acceptance of societal norms, while serving as a warning against the sheep-like nature of our present society. While many feel that 1984 is nothing more than fiction from a paranoid post-WW2 author, it can be said that because his predictions were formed out of historical events (German National Socialism). Can it not be argued that several themes in 1984 are commonplace today? Themes such as Intoxication of Power, Ambition, Total War, and the Global Village are all linchpins of 21st century society in North America, as well as across the globe. Fortunately for us, Orwell himself said it best:
"The intellectuals who hope to see it Russianised or Germanised will be disappointed. The gentleness, the hypocrisy, the thoughtlessness, the reverence for law and the hatred of uniforms will remain, along with the suet puddings and the misty skies. It needs some very great disaster, such as prolonged subjugation by a foreign enemy, to destroy a national culture. The Stock Exchange will be pulled down, the horse plough will give way to the tractor, the country houses will be turned into children's holiday camps, the Eton and Harrow match will be forgotten, but England will still be England, an everlasting animal stretching into the future and the past, and, like all living things, having the power to change out of recognition and yet remain the same."
The first part introduces up to the ins and outs to new living. Oceana, Airstrip One (formerly London, England), newspeak (a shortened, simplified English), and Big Brother, the totalitarian governor who sees and knows all. We are also introduced to Winston’s fear of being arrested for insubordinations and Thought crimes by the Thought Police (similar to Nazi Germany’s Gestapo). He details his daily life; compulsory, regimented exercise, Big Brother propaganda, re-writing and re-printing newspaper articles and books to re-write history and erase previous history from the collective memory.
The second part details the relationship between Winston and a young woman named Julia, an employee in the Fiction Department. Julia is an especially zealous propagandist for several Big Brother Party organizations, such as the Junior Anti-Sex League and the Party’s Two Minutes Hate, but this behavior is simply a cover up for her sexually-promiscuous rebellion. In addition to this, she is also a secret supporter of Emmanuel Goldstein, a Party co-founder who claims that the revolution was betrayed by Big Brother, and ergo denounced by The Party. Winston and Julia engage in a sexual relationship to which they are almost certain they will get caught and punished as sex criminals, and begin meeting with Emmanuel Goldstein to discus the Revolution, to which they will be punished for Thought crimes.
The third and final part to 1984 begins with Winston being apprehended by the Thought Police as he and Julia have been under surveillance for quite sometime. Both are taken to the Ministry of Love where opponents of The Party are interrogated, tortured, and usually executed. While in captivity, Winston is told that Julia has confessed to all their wrongdoings and has been completely cured via extensive interrogation and torture. Winston chooses not to believe this, and is subject to re-education himself. Reprogramming consists of torturing dissidents with their worst fear. Winston is extremely frightened of rats, and so a cage of hungry rats is placed above his head. Out of fear he shouts “Do it to Julia” and thus the Ministry of Love believes their brainwashing has worked.
After Winston is released, he and Julia meet in a park by accident. They both remember “bad” feelings about each other and that they both admit to betraying each other. They leave feeling apathetic to the whole situation and both now feel love and acceptance of Big Brother and The Party.
A sad tale, 1984 engages our emotions on Nationalism, sexuality, and acceptance of societal norms, while serving as a warning against the sheep-like nature of our present society. While many feel that 1984 is nothing more than fiction from a paranoid post-WW2 author, it can be said that because his predictions were formed out of historical events (German National Socialism). Can it not be argued that several themes in 1984 are commonplace today? Themes such as Intoxication of Power, Ambition, Total War, and the Global Village are all linchpins of 21st century society in North America, as well as across the globe. Fortunately for us, Orwell himself said it best:
"The intellectuals who hope to see it Russianised or Germanised will be disappointed. The gentleness, the hypocrisy, the thoughtlessness, the reverence for law and the hatred of uniforms will remain, along with the suet puddings and the misty skies. It needs some very great disaster, such as prolonged subjugation by a foreign enemy, to destroy a national culture. The Stock Exchange will be pulled down, the horse plough will give way to the tractor, the country houses will be turned into children's holiday camps, the Eton and Harrow match will be forgotten, but England will still be England, an everlasting animal stretching into the future and the past, and, like all living things, having the power to change out of recognition and yet remain the same."
About The Author: This review was provided by Allison D, who enjoys love quotes, family quotes, and books to read before you die.