1984 by George Orwell

1984 by George Orwell
Publisher: Secker and Warburg (London)
First Published: 8^th June 1949
Genre: Political Fiction
Rating:  4.5 / 5

1984 is set in the state of Oceania, which is now one of the three superpowers that divides up the landmass of Earth, the other two being Eastasia and Eurasia. Set to a back-drop of Ingsoc (Newspeak for English Socialism), 1984 is the story of the totalitarian state, cult of personality and insubordination of the people under collectivism. At first the concept is slightly hard to conceive, what with words such as thoughtcrime and doublethink being used regularly as parts of the new language of Newspeak imposed by the regime, the eventual end being that the vocabulary will be significantly ‘purged’ of creative words such as ‘fantastic’. Instead doublegood would be used, or verydoublegood if the described is extraordinary. However, as with any underdog, you almost immediately find yourself willing the protagonist, Winston Smith, into rebelling against the regime in whichever way possible; although this isn’t easy with the constant surveillance of the telescreens and microphones, not to mention the Thought Police. The book takes a few unexpected twists and turns, the ultimate one being the ending (but I won’t spoil that for you), let me just say I was verydoubleshocked.

The themes of the book vary. There is the presence of positive and negative Nationalism, as well as sexual repression in the form of the Junior Anti-Sex League and it also holds a pessimistic view of the future, expressed in the following extract by O’Brien;

“There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always—do not forget this, Winston—always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.”

—Part III, Chapter III, 

It’s interesting to analyse 1984 whilst reflecting on the political views of Orwell himself. He described himself as a ‘Tory-Anarchist’, but was widely known to be a Socialist. However, the ideas of 1984 clearly show that although an advocate of Socialism, Orwell was all too aware of how easily Socialism can be led astray. This is seen further in Orwell’s essays concerning anti-Stalinism and also criticism of the censorship occurring the Britain. However, instead of abandoning Socialism in the light of Stalin’s influence Orwell simply abandoned the Soviet Union, as quoted by autobiographer John Newsinger;

“The other crucial dimension to Orwell's socialism was his recognition that the Soviet Union was not socialist. Unlike many on the left, instead of abandoning socialism once he discovered the full horror of Stalinist rule in the Soviet Union, Orwell abandoned the Soviet Union and instead remained a socialist — indeed he became more committed to the socialist cause than ever.”
 - Orwell Centenary: The Biographies

So as you can see, Orwell’s depiction of Ingsoc in 1984 was quite the opposite of criticising Socialism, much more to criticise totalitarianism and promote Social Democracy. Also intriguing is to see the influence that 1984 has had on modern day life. Concepts of Big Brother, Room 101 and even doublethink have become common phrases to condemn Totalitarianism and concepts from the book were used to fight against the US Supreme court ruling to allow GPS tracking on an individual without a warrant where Justice Breyer commented that “"If you win this case, then there is nothing to prevent the police or the government from monitoring 24 hours a day the public movement of every citizen of the United States. So if you win, you suddenly produce what sounds like 1984. . ."
 -  "Justice Breyer warns of Orwellian government". The Hill. 8 November 2011.

“Happy 1984” – Found on the Berlin Wall. (Post-1998 because of the Playstation controller)

Overall, 1984 was a book that I simply could not put down. Admittedly, I got lost a few times, for example when reading extracts from Goldstein’s book on rebellion to Ingsoc, but for the most part it was engaging and stimulating. I found that whilst willing Winston Smith on throughout the novel, I also almost wanted him to conform and fall in line as not to endanger himself. However, you soon learn that Winston is the not the only one in danger and that in fact the whole of society is.

Winston Smith: Look, I hate purity. Hate goodness. I don't want virtue to exist anywhere. I want everyone corrupt.

Julia: Well, I ought to suit you, then. I'm corrupt to the core.