George Orwell’s 1984 is a classic that highlights a dystopian world in which Big Brother monitors society and forces people on how to think, feel, act and speak. The government also alters history in their favour and they introduce their own variation of English called Newspeak that everyone is forced to use. Even natural actions such as sex is controlled and can no longer be done for pleasure.
The narrative is told from the perspective of Winston Smith, and the book follows his struggle of abiding by Big Brother’s laws, even though he has knowledge of the past society.
Originally, I thought this book was about a rebel movement that would overthrow the government, but the book is really more of a theoretical look at how such a government would function and continue to brainwash its followers. There are times when Winston tries to rebel against the laws but he’s severely punished for his actions until the point he’s forced to submit to Big Brother’s control.
What’s striking about reading 1984, is that some of its concepts are relevant in today’s world. Some levels of control highlighted in this book are really in place on the Internet and other avenues of society.
The ending wasn’t substantial enough for my liking, and it wasn’t even the type of ambiguous ending that I’m usually okay with. Besides that, I fully understand the importance of this book and I recommend everyone read it at some point in their lifetime.
