A review by sayvilahsiav
1984 by George Orwell

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 Review: 1984 – George Orwell

Contents
Why I picked it up?
Review
Final Words

Why I picked it Up?

One of my most favourite genres is Dystopia. A classic dystopia? Yes, please! I have heard a lot about 1984 by George Orwell but not too much. Now I don't really like politics so I was not very enthusiastic about it and I told myself I would read it sometime later in life. But then why did I still pick it up now? It's because I own a copy of 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami and I heard that it is kinda related to 1984 by George Orwell. So I wanted to first read 1984 so I can relate well when I read 1Q84 (review coming *not* soon 'cause that book be thicc!)

Published in the summer of 1949, George Orwell’s 1984 is one of the most definitive texts of modern literature. Set in Oceania, one of the three inter-continental superstate that divided the world among themselves after a global war, Orwell’s masterful critique of the political structures of the time, works itself out through the story of Winston Smith, a man caught in the webs of a dystopian future, and his clandestine love affair with Julia, a young woman he meets during the course of his work for the government. As much as it is an entertaining read, 1984 is also a brilliant, and more importantly, a timeless satirical attack on the social and political structures of the world.

- 1984 - George Orwell - Back Cover

Review

1984 starts with an introduction to Winston's life, who he is, where he is, what he does, where he comes from. There are so many little details in the book I pay keen attention to, thinking they'd all come around a full circle and explain how Winston will win over The Party. That's what we all expect from Dystopian's, right? A hero emerges from the crowd, creates or joins a cult of rebels, fights the system and wins over them. A happy ending.

*SPOILER ALERT*

If you haven't guessed already, 1984 is not our regular dystopia. At least not like the ones I have read (which are quite a few unfortunately for now but let's not digress!). 1984 does not have a happy ending. It has a rather gruesome ending. It's totally baffling...

Winston doesn't have a plan but sorta has an idea for one. He (and me), believes O'Brien (and lovely Julia from Back Cover) will help him take over The Party. Chapter after Chapter, I keep waiting for some real action where Winston finally joins the cult and start planning to go against the party. Finally, when he does, I am almost disappointed by the specifics of it. But that's only the beginning of my disappointment. (Disappointed as in the reality of 1984's universe and not the book.)

When they tell Winston what it means to be a part of the rebellion, I already start sensing that something is off. Not nearly exactly what but I already sense that we won't be getting a happy ending. Yet I stay hopefully, thinking I've understood the mind of the author. Big Mistake.

Winston gets caught. That what we feared has happened! But goodness, I have to totally appreciate Orwell here because, for the most part of his getting caught scene, I keep thinking that it's in his dream... Because it's just so unbelievable the how part of his getting caught! I keep wishing for it to be a nightmare but it goes on and on and on until it's too late! He's caught, they're caught and yet I have hope, beyond logic! For a whole long moment of possibly many minutes, I just sit there book in my hand, wondering what just happened.

1984 by George Orwell takes Totalitarianism to another level. It makes the Nazis, Stalin etc. look like child's play. The Party is eternal and the Big Brother is the face of it. They play on the family distinctions to have people relate to and empathise with Big Brother, i.e. The Party so people would think like them and do things according to them. They use War as a prop to infiltrate patriotism and hatred for everywhere else except Oceania, one of the countries/super-states on the planet.

Everything is controlled and watched. The Party rules over not just the public but also the private life of the people, especially the members of The Party. They have even developed their own language, Newspeak the only one whose vocabulary decreases with every new edition. Why so?

In Part I, we are introduced to the entire world of 1984. By the end of Part I, we are introduced to the glitch in the system - Julia. Before Julia, Winston's life was just his varicose ulcer, victory gin and his notebook/journal. Julia changes everything for him. He becomes more of himself, showing more of how he doesn't agree with the party and desperately wishes to be part of some revolution that overthrows the party. He has high hopes (all of which are crashed by the end of the book).

At first, Julia seems like just a spice, a middle-aged man's fantasy coming true but this romance actually serves the plot. Meeting Julia gives Winston hope that there are people in The Party breaking rules. But the poor person doesn't see that breaking rules don't always mean a revolution.

Julia is such a well-written character. She breaks the rule but not because she is against The Party, but because she likes breaking rules. Winston takes her as a fellow rebel but at her core, she is just as hollow as other The Party members. She's not a snitch however and that's what I kept suspecting for half of the book. I always thought it'd be her in the end who would betray Winston to save her own skin and not...

Final Words

1984 has a bland start for my taste. It doesn't intrigue me that much. But as I progress through the book, I go from wanting to do nothing about Winston to wanting to know what happens next to Winston and why and how and where and who and when!! With every next page, it got more and more uncomfortable and intense, yet I was hooked. Winston goes a full circle in his character. He goes from being The Party's puppet to completely against them and being back to The Party's puppet, even more religiously so though. Orwell's vision of the future is too grim for the faint-hearted. Yet this totalitarian nightmare is an eye-opener. The world as it seems now, who can say Big Brother doesn't exist?

Maybe it just has a different name, a different skin. All that then is left to be said and remembered someday is:

WAR IS PEACE.
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY.
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.

Do you think Big Brother exists? What are your thoughts on Orwell's 1984? Comment down below to share your ideas with me.

Buy 1984 from this link if you like what I write: https://amzn.to/2XvAzxZ