Book Review: 1984 by George Orwell

For us readers the year 1984 exists in the far-flung past; but for George Orwell, it was the future.

Winston Smith knew what he should not be doing. With informants known as the 'thought police', it was frighteningly easy to get caught; 'thoughtcrime' was the worst crime one could commit. Walls had ears and doors had eyes; getting caught meant unspeakable destruction for the man who knew far too much.

"Big Brother is Watching You."

I remember shuddering at this line, running my finger over this line of the creased book. Something deep compelled me to obey, to submit to the authority of the fictional totalitarian regime’s figurehead. Winston lived both physically and mentally in exactly these constrained conditions, his sole getaway the uncertain corner of a monitored room, while the fear of being caught loomed over him incessantly.

This novel paints a scenario of a man who alone knew and felt too much, his sense of justice and humanity at odds with his upbringing and the acute awareness of unavoidable punishment. Readers are comforted by the space and privacy they are afforded now, unlike Winston, yet it shrinks away uncomfortably when they realise that they, too, might have to make the decision to either rebel or submit. In much the same way, doubts grow within our narrator as he indulges in diary-writing, having an affair, both of which not as severe as doubting but have been similarly outlawed by the totalitarian government, the Party, embodied by "Big Brother".

He questions the legitimacy. He questions the constant surveillance. He questions his freedom, or the lack of it. Within this fictional community, there is as much fear and distrust as there was in the witch hunts of the 17th century. The one person that Winston thought he could trust had turned out to be a loyal lapdog of "Big Brother", too.

When considering this element, the novel, like much of Orwell’s works, becomes more than its reputation as a political dystopian novel; it is a work that can evoke fundamental emotions, particularly with its potent portrayal of betrayal, so it could have lasting significance till today. "He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past." Between committing thoughtcrimes, our narrator goes to a work altering historical documents and experiences first-hand how the government can manipulate media and even official historical documents. Through revealing how history is malleable according to the wishes to the government, he instills an uncomfortable awareness in readers on the legitimacy of information. In retrospect when we look at any piece of writing, from an obvious political pamphlet or something as innocent as school text-books, we can go, "aha! Propaganda."

But media and news control has a much deeper psychological effect on the public, to the point that we might not even be able to detect ourselves, now. In the typical thoughtful fashion of Orwell, many anecdotes of wisdom regarding society and governance can be found in this novel, together with terms like ‘doublethink’ that have garnered modern usage. "You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane." Combining personal repression and projecting a subtle (albeit dangerous) observation of a possible totalitarian government, after reading Orwell, one is almost grateful that Fascism had not prevailed, and a future like 1984 had not manifested itself. Perhaps he is looking at a past-that-never-happened, or he could be correct in predicting what our future might look like. Orwell is a coherent writer, whose clarity of thought served his journalistic and politically-oriented essays well. With his background of writing political criticism, the distinct narrative, yet subtle commentary voice persists in his novels. I picked up 1984, and thereupon was captivated by George Orwell. His novels and his essays are all exceedingly well-written in a way that manages to report, to expose, to capture attention, without imposing his disgust on his observations. Having dedicated a substantial portion of his life to lingering with the working class for inspiration, he adopts a fairly open-minded view and approaches change by fighting in his own dignified manner.

As such, Orwell is a writer whose books deserve more recognition, a wider viewership, and more importantly discourse on his works. Even though this novel is undoubtedly the most renowned, some other notable works include: Animal Farm, Shooting an Elephant, Why I Write, and Such were the Joys. They were all enjoyable reads that are not too difficult to understand, so children and adults alike can enjoy these works.