George Orwell 1984

By, Kristen Franks


A brief look into “1984”

George Orwell 1984
New American Library, New York, NY, 1-128
First Printing by Signet Classic in July 1950

Winston Smith is just a run of the mill guy, a member of the ruling party in Oceania (former London). One of the party’s agenda is to create a new language, “Newspeak which omits anything odious or considered offensive to the party.”

Thought crimes equal death; Winston has opened the doorway to such a fate by writing his personal thoughts in a diary – which are forbidden. He is a low-level member of the ruling party and works in the Ministry of Truth re-inventing so-called facts to suit the party’s purpose.

One person brings sanity to Winston’s life; O’Brien a member of the Inner party whom Winston is convinced is a member of The Brotherhood (so he thought). Winston now has a beautiful woman in his life, and he is looking forward in meeting O’Brien and his hopes is that O’Brien will bring a purpose to his mundane life.

One fateful day, Winston does in fact get his chance to meet O’Brien. However, Mr. Charrinton the owner of the flat and O’Brien’s landlord, who is actually a spy for the thought police – turns him in. Needless to say, it does not look good for Winston, Julie, or O’Brien or was it good for O’Brien?

I will not give anymore of the plot away, it is an easy and great read, and I highly recommend 1984.

Themes of 1984

Totalitarianism (in 1949 Communism was still looked upon favorably ‘The Cold War’ was in its infancy).

Orwell supposed that if the West did not resist such conformity to government inclusion the scenarios he wrote in 1984 would come to reality.

Manipulation

Telescreens were in every citizen’s room, those machines aided in the support of mind control and that was a necessary tool for the party to keep the reigns on the people in Oceania. Big Brother is Always Watching You!!!

Control

It was the fear of every citizen that their own body’s involuntary reactions would give away their true intentions. A twitch of the eye and or a dismayed look could be construed as a blemish to the party’s character. Physical Jerks - a morning exercise was monitored by the telescreens. The Department of Historical Truths omits previous truths and re-submits current truths as the ultimate truth. So information is ever changing, if one tidbit of information is deemed offensive to the party it is rewritten in all types of written or visual media.

Language

The party omitted words that did not suit them. It seems that language and or the use or issue of it was a strong point in 1984. How replacing and modifying language can have long and detrimental effect for decades if not millennia to come.

Patterns

Doublethink – holding contradictory thoughts at the same time.

Urban Decay – In totalitarianism, the top only sees to their own needs, they offer very little to their constituency but demand everything. The few have much, the masses have very little.

Ideas

Big Brother – a person cannot do, say, think, go, wear, and feel without being watched by the party.

The place where there is no darkness, “a prison where the light is never turned off.”

Quote:

War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength

Who Controls the Past, Controls the Future
Who Controls the Present, Controls the Past

Genre: Negative Utopian, or dystopian fiction written in England in 1949.

One question haunted Winston. Why?
O’Brien’s answer: power for the sake of power.

SFReader.com Paul Kane review,

“The year – even the century – may have come and gone, but 1984 is about so much more than just a date. It’s about who we are, who we might be and who we definitely should not be.”

Privacilla.org (Pro-Technological Perspective)

“Orwell wrote 1984 to caution against the power of governments much more than to warn about the future of lost privacy. There is an inverse relationship between privacy and government power, of course, but it is excess government that creates lack of privacy, rather than the reverse.”