1984 was George Orwell’s final novel before his death. He wrote it just as WWII was ending and as the iron curtain separated eastern Europe from the west. Communism was viewed as a threat to civilization.
I can imagine the setting of the story was the idea of what it must be like in the Soviet Union. Nobody had any freedom, the thought police existed, and people disappeared. Interestingly, this was the time when democratic socialism began to take root in western Europe. Today, a lot of people can’t distinguish between socialism and communism.
The story follows Winston Smith as he experiences the wrath of the party. He’s intelligent which makes him dangerous. He remembers past events because it’s his job to rewrite history when it suits the needs of Big Brother. This leads to his undoing at the end of the story.
He meets and falls in love with a younger woman, Julia, who shares his hatred for Big Brother and all that the party stands for. He’s caught, tortured by the Ministry of Love, and ultimately released. The party breaks him in every way possible, and he finally learns to love Big Brother.
Much of the middle part of the book explains politics in Winston’s world. The party has complete control over society. Citizens are monitored by the party every minute of every day. Food and everyday goods are always in short supply, but the party always celebrates exceeding manufacturing quotas. Everything is dirty and in disrepair. People are miserable.
The central tenets of Big Brother are War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength. In my mind, the party has conquered the world through gaslighting. Don’t trust what you see or hear; trust only what the party tells you. The only source of truth is the party. Strangely enough, it seems like it’s the inspiration of today’s Republican party.
The biggest irony that comes to mind since the first time I read this is that we have devices in our homes that are always listening to us. Ol’ George would have a heart attack at us asking our own versions of “Big Brother” to find us a pancake recipe or tell us about today’s weather. Hell, I tell mine to turn lights off and on.
This is a book everyone should read more than once. Savor it. Digest it. Take it as a warning.
