Review on 1984 by George Orwell

SPOILER WARNING!


This is Vraj with another book review. I recently read 1984 by George Orwell. Published in 1949, George Orwell dwells on the future (or what was as the time the future), and how different the world will become in the year 1984. One of many of Orwell's classic novels, I enjoyed reading this book. Here is my review of 1984.


But first, here is a summary (once again, SPOILER WARNING!):

Winston Smith is a middle-aged man living in London, Oceania in the year 1984. Oceania is one of the big three superstates (along with Eurasia and Eastasia). The ruling party, Ingsoc (known as "The Party"), lead by the "Big Brother," is totalitarian, watching over everybody using telescreens. These telescreens allow party workers to see and hear everything happening. The Party also gets to choose what people know. Whatever The Party says is fact, it is fact, no questions asked. There are two main sections of The Party, the rich Inner Party, and the not-so-wealthy Outer Party. Winston works for the Outer Party. His job is at the Ministry of Truth, where he reads old newsletters and changes them to fit what The Party wants.


But there's a problem; Winston remembers things he shouldn't remember. He remembers things from before Oceania was created. He remembers a time when people could do what they want when they want, and how they want. This sparks hatred for The Party and Big Brother inside Winston. He keeps these thoughts to himself, as sharing them would be considered "thoughtcrime" and treason, and he could get severely punished for such behaviors.

One day, a co-worker named Julia gives Winston a small piece of paper. On it, it says, "I love you." Winston and Julia start a secret affair. Although risky, they continue this relationship. Sometime later, Winston gets a letter from a man named O'Brien. O'Brien is a member of the Inner Party, but he is supposedly working against Ingsoc. Winston and Julia go to meet him. They discuss many things, primarily ways for them to work for the people against Oceania.

A couple of weeks after they go to meet O'Brien, the Thought Police (pretty self-explanatory) come and capture Winston and Julia. It turns out O'Brien was not actually part of the group against The Party. The whole thing was a ploy to catch Winston. Winston is taken to the Ministry of Love (it's not a lovely place, more like a prison), where he stays for months. O'Brien interrogates him many times, trying to convert him into a normal, Party-abiding citizen. O'Brien finds it hard to change him, so he uses an extreme form of torture on Winston. Winston cannot bear the punishment, so he yells at O'Brien to inflict the torture onto Julia instead. O'Brien does so and Winston is set free, a completely new, Party-loving person.

When I first picked up 1984, I thought it would be one of the best books I would read. It turns out I was wrong. There are some great parts in the book, but most of it is dry and does not contribute much to the main plot. At times, I found myself skimming through said dry sections. One example of this was when Orwell talks about the Manifesto of Emmanuel Goldstein (the main man against The Party). From pages 184-217, Goldstein's Manifesto is written. It explains his motives for going against the Party, and how much better life was before Oceania was created. I read the first part of this section, but it got boring quickly, so I skimmed/skipped through the rest of it. Many other similar parts of the book did not impress me as well.

Even though there are some dull sections, I did enjoy reading 1984. The book taught me about a type of world where no common citizen has control over anything in their life. The dystopian world shocked me and made me feel grateful for living in a society different from Oceania. The suspense of Winston's life was interesting as well. His decisions were never predictable. While reading, I did not surmise that he would put Julia in harm's way to save himself.

One other thing I found interesting was Winston's turn to be on The Party's side. Orwell states:

He loved Big Brother (298).

This sentence is the last in the book, and it contradicts everything Winston was working for throughout the story. This final scene was shocking, but it brought closure to Winston's story.

I enjoyed reading 1984. Even though at times it was boring, the main storyline was interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes political dystopian fiction books.