Review of 1984

George Orwell was the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, an English writer and thinker. Along with Animal Farm, 1984 is one of his most prominent works of social criticism. Written in 1949, this book is his nightmarish prophecy of what our world could have looked like by the year 1984. Written as a reaction to the acts of Joseph Stalin, this story, a tale of what could have been our past, is still a warning of our future.

1984 was quite the read. It’s a frightening picture of what our world could be if we lose control of society and the reins of power, especially in light of how technological advances since Orwell’s time would make the Party’s job that much easier.

There are pieces of the story that I don’t agree with, however. First is the teachings in Goldstein’s book, which are excerpts from famous pieces of Russian socialist ideas. Orwell, shockingly to me, was a socialist for the majority of his life. He could not make the connection that his idea of socialism would always lead to the brutal Stalin-esque communism that prompted him to write 1984 in the first place. You can see the socialist undertones in Winston’s revelation that the lower class will be the salvation of society.

I also thought that the sudden relationship between Winston and Julia happened too quickly for it to be reasonable, but that’s a small critique that distracts from the important points of the story.

Finally, I think that Winston and Julia’s rebellion through affairs is not how a totalitarian regime would be overthrown. Winston says that it’s not love and intimacy with a person but instead the animalistic lust for pleasure that will destroy the Party, since it wishes instead to harness that energy to create fanatic followers.

I instead believe it’s the social systems, like marriage, church, and a caring community, that would topple The Party. There’s an argument for this in the book, seen in the apparent incompatibility of Winston and Julia. They don’t have the same goals in mind: Winston wants to understand everything and overthrow The Party, while Julia is content with living under its reign and having fun breaking the rules in secret.

Additionally, their care for each other falls apart under torture, so this seems to go against Orwell’s idea. Perhaps if they had formed an actual loving relationship, their resistance would have been stronger. This kind of willpower would be deadly to The Party.

Overall, I think this book is a very beneficial piece of literature if you can spot and avoid the few socialist undertones. As the famous saying goes, freedom is always only one generation away from extinction, so we have to be wary that we don’t allow the foundation for a 1984-esque society to be built.

I think the most frightening aspect of this story is the duty of the Ministry of Truth to rewrite history. Due to the digital age we live in, history can be changed in an instant, and we don’t even have to burn the original copies like The Party had to do. We’ve already seen the precursors to this in the cases of famous actors changing their gender identity. The moment they “come out” to the world, websites like Wikipedia instantly change their information to match these delusions, leaving no trace except our memories, which people like O’Brien know how to remove and manipulate.

Compared to the other dystopian novels I’ve read, like Animal Farm and Fahrenheit 451, 1984 is extremely powerful and leaves the strongest impression. Orwell’s subtle commentary is very powerful if you can catch it. He’s not just denouncing Stalin’s cruelty, but making a point on the debate over the nature of reality that he saw taking place in the West.

O’Brien is merely a figurehead of those in our world that seek to change the word “reality” to a subjective idea that can be molded and shaped to their will. We have to combat this and hold to the truth that reality exists and cannot be changed, lest we too be overcome and come to love the Big Brother of our day.