1984 By George Orwell - Book Review

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"War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength"

I stumbled on this book due to its repeated recommendation on my youTube and Instagram feed. 1984 written by George Orwell is a politically charged dystopian novel written as a warning against totalitarian society and Stalin's oppressive rule in soviet union.

Synopsis (From Amazon): Published in the summer of 1949, George Orwell's nineteen Eighty-Four 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, nineteen Eighty-Four is also a brilliant, and more importantly, a timeless satirical attack on the social and political structures of the world.

Review

Initially, when I started reading this book , It took me a little time to get accustomed to the unsettling world of oceania. Oceania is a one of the three totalitarian superstates along with Eurasia and Eastasia, in the  dystopian world of 1984. Our protagonist, Winston Smith lives in Oceania ruled by the omnipresent 'Big Brother', the symbolic figurehead of the party. Winston Smith, works in the  'Ministry of Truth' whose job is to rewrite historical records to align with the Party’s constantly shifting narrative and their version of reality. The idea that the department where the truth itself  is being manipulated is named as 'Ministry of Truth'  was both ironical and fascinating, it makes me wonder whether this was done by orwell intentionally because not only this  Ministry of truth but there is another department called 'Ministry of Love' and  it serves as prison and interrogation centre for those who has committed thoughtcrime (individuals who harbour unauthorized ideas or dissent against the Party). These people are not only imprisoned and interrogated but also tortured psychologically as well as with the use of drugs and beating to the point where they can't hold any negative thoughts against the party or the 'Big Brother'. This line from the book explains this better.

"We are not content with negative obedience, nor even with the most abject submission. When finally you surrender to us, it must be of your own free will."

Winston seeing cracks in the system, starts journaling and collecting evidence of how the big brother is manipulating the whole state of Oceania. He longs for genuine connection and independent thought, this longing leads him towards his own destruction.  The most frightening parts of the novel are the method of control used in it,  which includes surveillance inside and outside the home through telescreens, cameras  and microphones to controlling what and how people think by introducing new language called 'Newspeak' which intentionally had very less words and the words like 'justice and 'freedom' were no where to be found. I think this linguistic method of controlling people's thought was simply too genius and outrageous. 

However,  I rejoiced in the hope that our protagonist would be able to bring a large-scale rebellion and tumble this government over but the exact opposite happens, Winston was arrested and taken to the department of 'Ministry of Love' to be interrogated and tortured. In the end, he psychologically and spiritually surrenders saying 'He loved Big Brother' . I  thought of why wasn't he publicly executed to set an example  for the other people  and then I realised 'The Party' never aimed  to create martyrs, they wanted to control the thoughts and minds of people and make them love the system before they were finally killed (or "vaporized"). 

George Orwell

George Orwell’s writings are straightforward and hauntingly real. The manipulation of media and the documents by the government, inciting violence among two groups or religion to hide their ugly corruptions and rewriting books to suit their narrative is something which is not just true in the utopian world of the George Orwell but also today's government all across the nation. I like how he doesn't rely on heavy ornamentation of words but presents the truth as is direct and hard-hitting. His stories and words linger for a long time even after finishing the book and it is not because they are poetic but mostly because they are frighteningly familiar.

This book '1984' was like an awakening to me. Watching Winston, once full of quite defiance surrender and accept 'The party' was shocking. It is truly sad that how a few people hold so much power over billions of people. This book was page turner and hard to put down. I highly recommend this book.