Book Review: 1984 by George Orwell

Not only is this book a gripping read through it's language and characterisation, but it also serves as a real-life warning against the dangers of dystopian societies powered by relentless and blinding idealogy (Scottish Nationalist’s take note). Orwell 's novel should be read by all who live in free and democratic societies, and should also strike anyone who happens to praise communism as a form of benevolant ruling clueless. What is even more remakable is that Orwell latched on to the unspeakable evil of Stalin and his pathetic ideology long before anyone else in thw world. Orwell was rightly disgusted that Stalin was held in high regards among the intelligentsia of wartime Britain (his other work, Animal Farm, was refused publication several times). Yet in the final years of his distinguished life, he was able to produce this mastery of political literature, which to be understood completely, must be read in conjuction with the political happenings of the time. The context/background of this work is the key to Orwell's themes. Re-reading this again about 20 odds years after I first picked it up when I was about 19, the strength and power of this novel surprised me all over again. There is so much truth in here about politics, exaggerated of course this is no precise prediction of the future. However, parallels in our own society of the totalitarian world of Big Brother are all to apparent As the protagonist, Winston Smith is an unlikely hero. Thirty-nine years old, frail, and plagued by ill-health, he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian and brutalised system that represses the central tenets of man's basic freedom. His acts of rebellion appear to be rather sparse, if not pathetic. Writing in a diary, wandering through the "prole" areas, hiding away in a small alcove where Winston in unable to be seen by the telescreen - however, in the eyes of Big Brother, this is a monumental act of "thought crime". His covert affair with a fellow Party worker, Julia, and his frequent attempts to unravel the enigma that surrounds Inner Party member O'Brien come to characterise all that Winston can accomplish in terms of organised opposition to the rule of the Party. Orwell's narrative techniques and grim political satire combine to form a warning of a very real danger - a danger that was so thankfully eliminated from this Earth at the demolishing of the Berlin Wall. The story is set in London, in a nightmarish 1984 that for Orwell might well have been a possibility, writting as he was many years before that date. Or maybe, he was just trying to warn his contemporaries of the dangers of not opposing the Soviet threat, a threat that involved a new way of life that was in conflict with all that the English held dear. Orwell tried to depict a totalitarian state, where the truth didn't exist as such, but was merely what the "Big Brother" said that it was. Freedom was only total obedience to the Party (SNP thoughts come to mind again), and love an alien concept, unless it was love for the Party. The story is told from the point of view of Winston Smith, a functionary of the Ministry of Truth whose work involved the "correction" of all records each time the "Big Brother" decided that the truth had changed. The Party slogan said that "Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past", and they applied it constantly by "bringing up to date" the past so as to make it coincide with whatever the Party wanted. From Winston Smith's point of view, many things that scare us are normal. For example, the omnipresence of the "Big Brother", always watching you, and the "Thought Police" that punishes treacherous thoughts against the Party. The reader feels the inevitability of doom that pervades the book many times, in phrases like "Thought crime was not a thing that could be concealed forever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were bound to get you". Little by little, Winston begins to realize that things are not right, and that they should change. We accompany him in his attempt at subversion, and are unwilling witnesses of what that attempt brings about. This book is marked by hopelessness, but at the same time it is the kind of distressing book we all NEED to read... Why do we need to read "1984"?. In my opinion, basically for two reasons. To start with, Orwell made in this book many observations that are no more merely fiction, but already things that manage to reduce our freedom. Secondly, and closely linked to my first reason, this is a book that only gets better with the passing of time, as you can read in it more and more implications. One of Orwell's main reasons for writing this "negative utopia" might have been to warn his readers against communism, but many years after his death and the fall of communism, we can also interpret it as a caution against the excessive power of mass media, or the immoderate power of any government (even those who don't defend communism). Technological innovations should be at the service of men, and allow them to live better lives, but they can be used against them. I guess that is one of Orwell's lessons, probably the most important one. All in all, I think you can benefit from reading this book. Because of that, I highly recommend it to you :)