Book Review: 1984 by George Orwell

A review of George Orwell's novel '1984.'

1984 by George Orwell

• Book title: 1984 (Nineteen Eighty-Four)
• Author: George Orwell
• Language: English
• Genre(s): Classic, Dystopia, Socio-political thriller, Fiction
• Year of Release: 1949
• Format that I read the book in: E-book
• Publisher: www.planetebook.com
• Book length: 393 pages

Synopsis:

Among the seminal texts of the 20th century, Nineteen Eighty-Four is a rare work that grows more haunting as its futuristic purgatory becomes more real. Published in 1949, the book offers political satirist George Orwell's nightmare vision of a totalitarian, bureaucratic world and one poor stiff's attempt to find individuality. The brilliance of the novel is Orwell's prescience of modern life - the ubiquity of television, the distortion of the language - and his ability to construct such a thorough version of hell. Required reading for students since it was published, it ranks among the most terrifying novels ever written.

Key characters:

• Winston Smith: Member of the Outer Party working in the Records department of the Ministry of Truth. (Lead protagonist)
• Julia: Member of the Outer Party working in the Fiction department of the Ministry of Truth and an active member of the Junior Anti-Sex League.
• O'Brien: Member of the Inner Party.
• Big Brother: Face of the Party that rules Oceania.
• Emmanuel Goldstein: Defected Party member and leader of a secret resistance movement called 'Brotherhood'.

Story Background (WITHOUT SPOILERS):

Don't worry, I am not giving away any spoilers here, but this story belongs to a somewhat complicated genre so I need to briefly familiarise you with the scenario that the main story is set in. I haven't revealed the actual plot; this is just a gist of the background which serves as the base for the main story.

SETTING OF THE PLOT

The year is ostensibly 1984, and the book begins on a 'bright cold day in April.' The story is set primarily in Airstrip One (formerly London) which is a province of the superstate of Oceania. There are three superstates in the world - Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia - all of which have totalitarian regimes. They are perpetually at war with each other over a few unconquered territories on the globe and they keep changing their alignments often. The 'Party' seized power in Oceania after the civil war ended in Britain circa mid-1950s, an event which is known as the Revolution. Its face is the Big Brother, the inaccessible leader whose posters adorn every corner of Oceania with the slogan 'Big Brother is watching you.' The Party follows the ideology of English Socialism, or INGSOC (in NEWSPEAK, the language of Oceania.)


SOCIAL HIERARCHY

The society is divided into three classes - Inner Party (High class), Outer Party (Middle class), and the Proles or the Proletariat (Low class.) The members of the Inner Party enjoy ultimate power and various other privileges. On the contrary, the Outer Party members are under constant surveillance through two-way telescreens and are under the scrutiny of the Thought Police (appointed to nab rebels and thought-criminals.) The Proles represent the uneducated working class of Oceania. They are not monitored through telescreen surveillance.

GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES

The Government of Oceania has four ministries - Ministry of Truth which concerns itself with the manipulation of all historical records and works of literature, Ministry of Plenty which concerns itself with the creation of famine through the reduction of ration supplies, Ministry of Peace which concerns itself with the establishment of a continuous state of warfare, and Ministry of Love which concerns itself with the torture and brainwashing of thought-criminals and Party rebels. They are known in Newspeak as MINITRUE, MINIPLENTY, MINIPAX, and MINILUV respectively.


PARTY PROPAGANDA

The Party tries to restrict individual freedom and thinking by means of round-the-clock telescreen surveillance, deployment of the Thought Police, the fanaticism of the Junior Anti-Sex League, introduction of the NEWSPEAK language, the concept of DOUBLETHINK (which means to believe in contradictory ideas at the same time), prohibition of pleasurable sex (unless it is to procreate), inducing lack of love and emotions in familial ties, continuous alteration of historical records, limited rations, and provocation of hatred for the enemy. It wants to stay in power to maintain the order of social hierarchy that has existed through the ages.

What is the story about?

The plot revolves around Winston Smith, a worker of MINITRUE - a middle-aged man who secretly hates the Party and is guilty of thought-crime. He believes that he shall get captured by the Thought Police and be vaporised (his existence wiped out of the face of this planet) soon because of that. The book has been divided into three parts. In Part One, Winston tries to come to terms with all the seditious thoughts in his head. He tries to get a grip over his memories to verify if the situation of the country was better or worse before the Party took over - however this is exceedingly difficult since no authentic proof of the past is ever preserved and memories are constantly manipulated. Part Two focusses on his subterranean activities against the Party. And Part Three explains how exactly the Party uses inhuman tactics in order to maintain a permanent stronghold over Oceania.

REVIEW:

My take on the book:

I must admit that '1984' belongs to a genre (dystopia) that I had never read before, and it is slightly outside my comfort zone as a reader. But I do take a keen interest in national (Indian) and world politics in real life so that was reason enough to draw me to this book. Besides, it is a very popular classic and I had also heard a lot of praise about its author George Orwell.

Now, 1984 may be a socio-political thriller but it is nothing short of a horror novel! It aptly portrays the terrors of a totalitarian government through the Party's despotic regime in the fictitious superstate of Oceania. The character of Winston Smith shows us what it is like to be a rebel in such a horrid atmosphere, where one has no liberty to express their feelings, no recollection of the past, no freedom of thought, no choice as to what to eat, or to roam about at random places as per one's will.

There are no constitutional laws to protect citizens. People betraying even the slightest amount of opposition to the Government are captured. Hating the government and its leader, the Big Brother, is not even an option. One is constantly in denial. You must blindly accept everything that the Party says without ever doubting the veracity of facts - if they say that 2+2=5 then that is the universal truth, you thinking the answer to be 4 is simply an illusion. Insanity is considered to be normal while intelligence is believed to be madness.

The book is far ahead of its time. Orwell has made some accurate predictions, like how the advancement of technology could be used by autocratic or dictatorial governments to control and monitor citizens. For instance, the telescreen device mentioned in the story is CCTV, television, radio, and video chat - all-in-one. The story successfully creates a strong element of fear and immerses the reader so much so that even he or she surrenders to it like an ordinary citizen of Oceania would!

Kudos to Orwell for including NEWSPEAK in the book - it was simply ingenious (the language is awful but the idea behind it is equally brilliant.) It is a variant of English itself, but with a narrowed-down vocabulary. So there are no different synonyms for one word, antonyms are constructed by just adding the suffix 'un-' to any word (e.g. the opposite of GOOD is UNGOOD and not bad), the degrees of comparison are created by adding -er and -est for all adjectives (e.g. It is GOOD-GOODER-GOODEST and not good-better-best), a particular word cannot have multiple connotations, and so on. These grammar rules ensure that people are incapable of creative thinking and devoid of any kind of expression. This makes it easier for the Party to control them. Evil raised to infinity, right?

Winston, who is the main protagonist of 1984, shows great character development as the novel progresses. Initially he struggles to put his rebellious thoughts into action while simultaneously trying to suppress them because he fears for his life. Walking through his shoes albeit virtually gives the reader the chills.

For me one of the highlights of the book is the mystery surrounding Winston's fellow Party worker Julia, whom he suspects of working undercover for the Thought Police. I am not going to delve deeper into this subject - you'll know what I'm talking about when you read the book yourself because it is quite interesting to find out what Winston discovers about her. Also, I really liked the character of Julia, who is a character pivotal to the storyline. She has a balanced personality since she's both practical and emotional at the same time.

Though the tone is serious (as should be expected from a book like 1984), the language used by the author is really simple, the writing style is fluid, and hence the story is not difficult to follow even for other readers like me who may be novices to this genre. The number of characters is limited so that avoids confusion. I guess I have started enjoying books where a great story is woven around just a handful of characters - it's got to be an art to accomplish this feat.

There were some sections of the book which I didn't enjoy because they read more like an essay than a fictional story. The theoretical information that has been provided in them is useful enough to understand the whole political system of Oceania, however I feel the author should have incorporated it a bit more naturally in the story.

The conclusion was quite depressing and it scared me out of my wits. It is shocking how in spite of being fiction the novel seems hauntingly real. This book will teach readers to appreciate the true meaning of democracy and the fortune of actually living in one. There is a lot to learn from 1984 which is why I'd recommend this book to everyone.

Will I read it again?

Depends. 1984 was not an easy-breezy read for me but it has certainly made me more knowledgeable. I can't say if the genre it belongs to is particularly my favourite. However, I am glad to have read it at least once. It is a book that leaves you ruminating over it long after you've finished it. I am now super curious about George Orwell's other dystopian political novel 'Animal Farm' which is also quite well-known. I'll try to lay my hands on it soon. 😄

Reasons to read this book:

1. If politics interests you in general (Pro tip: You all must be aware of what is happening around you even if the subject doesn't appeal to you!)
2. If you want to gain an insight into the totalitarian system of governance.
3. If you like reading thrillers.
4. If you want to explore the dystopian genre.
5. If you are a realist.
6. If you are someone who usually prefers non-fiction over fiction. (I suggest this is the kind of book you get started with because in spite of being fiction it is very informative.)

Reasons to not read this book:

1. Some sections of the book seem too theoretical so it feels like you are reading study material.

2. If you have a utopian heart that always expects happy endings.

3. If politics bores you to death. (Sad!)

Final Verdict: ✪✪✪.5 / 5

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