Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell

Rating: ✫✫✫✫✫

"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."

This is obviously a classic book, and looking back, I'm amazed it took me so long to get round to reading it. It is such an interesting concept, and is one of those rare stories that gets more relevant the more time passes. It's very difficult not to be mindful of dictatorships in history, as this is obviously what caused a major inspiration for Orwell; propaganda, censorship, and the Thought Police instil fear in the population, and, as we know from the past, this was a very real possibility at the time the novel was published.

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Nineteen Eighty-Four is a different world, where society is controlled by The Party, a totalitarian ideology from which nobody can escape. Big Brother is always watching, and the Thought Police will catch anybody who opposes The Party, even if only in their mind.

Winston works for the Ministry of Truth, just one cog in a huge machine of people plugging out propaganda. Most employees think nothing of their everyday role - but Winston is different. He sees what The Party don't want him to see, and he begins to question the society in which he lives. Then Winston meets Julia, and he realises life could be so much more than the mundane existence that he has grown used to. But the Thought Police are watching, and Winston may find that their methods of manipulation can be very persuasive...

*spoiler alert*

The Story

The world that Orwell has created is intriguing. It is all entirely fictional, with The Party, the Thought Police, the Ministries of Truth, and Love, etc. However, what is most intriguing is that it isn‘t really made up at all. Orwell has taken elements of dictatorships from history and embellished them to create a world that is terrifying; even more so because this world is not so far from the truth of Orwell’s time. Published in 1949, WWII would have been fresh in Orwell’s mind when his story was shared with the public. The constant threat of war, continuous propaganda, and heavy censorship were all parts of everyday life, and it’s not difficult to see where Orwell’s inspiration originated. The truth of the Nazi dictatorship in Germany is represented in Orwell’s novel through The Party, and what makes the story so significant (and scary) is that it is based so much on reality.

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Despite knowing vaguely what Nineteen Eighty-Four was about, I had no idea what to expect when I picked up the book. I was immediately impressed by the sheer imagination that Orwell had put into manipulating this world. The bare bones of the story are based on reality, but the embellishments are what take the book to the next level. The way Orwell has exaggerated reality really adds to the atmosphere of the novel; the constant erasing of the truth from the public right before their very eyes, the disappearance of so many people in such an effortless fashion, and, most incredibly, the introduction of a new language. Newspeak.

“It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.”

I am very glad there was an appendix in the back to explain Newspeak, because it was very confusing initially. The appendix was a little longer than may have been necessary, but it was very useful, and it really helped to explain the importance of this language. The introduction of Newspeak in itself isn’t anything particularly noteworthy, but the reasons behind this new language in the story are significant. Newspeak condenses common language down so there are only words of absolute necessity, meaning people are unable to convey dissent through their words. If this was to become the way citizens thought, in Newspeak, then it would go even further and stop oppositional thoughts. The very foundation of this language is to encourage the public to curb any thoughts that go against the Party. This is a society where people are punished for even thinking divergent thoughts, and so The Party push Newspeak, a language that eradicates any way of doing so. What I find so impressive about this is that this additional language does not add anything to the main plot. The story could have been just as well told without this detail. However, Orwell’s creativity adds an extra depth to the fearful atmosphere in which Winston lives, and highlights the fictional nature of the story.

Another noticeable exaggeration is in the way information can be erased so easily, retracted from print as if it never existed. Winston works for the Ministry of Truth, in which he retracts information every day, putting alternative stories in its place and so changing history. The most obvious example of this being done by The Party is in the way war is represented to the public. Winston is alone in the realisation that the country repeatedly change the enemy between Eastasia and Eurasia, with apparently no notice taken by the rest of the public. The Ministry of Truth is essentially in the business of lies, erasing people from existence when they have been vaporized, and displaying The Party as all-knowing.

“It was therefore necessary to rewrite a paragraph of Big Brother’s speech, in such a way as to make him predict the thing that had actually happened.”

The society that Orwell created is based largely on reality, and yet it’s these exaggerations that emphasise the level of fiction in the story, and remind you that this is a heightened version of a potential truth. Big Brother is now a huge part of popular culture, and it started from Orwell’s idea that the system was always watching every individual closely. We make light of it now, but Orwell’s vision in this context is very scary.

“There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.”

What makes Winston such a likeable character is that he is so shrewd amongst all this. He sees the wrong in this society, and he refuses to let his own mind be compromised by the propaganda that he has a hand in creating. He remembers what has come before, and he recognises how that simple memory makes him a danger to The Party. Winston can also see the dangers for other people:

“One of these days, thought Winston with sudden deep conviction, Syme will be vaporized. He is too intelligent. He sees too clearly and speaks too plainly. The Party does not like such people. One day he will disappear. It is written in his face.”

The fact that Winston can see the danger Syme is putting himself in, even though he acively supports the Party, is terrifying. You can be supportive but your personality can still be a threat. And Winston proves to be correct in his suspicions. The way Orwell establishes this society where Big Brother is always watching, and even one rogue thought could get you vaporized, is really clever. It is based on very believable circumstances, and yet has small facts that make the society unbelievable. It takes the story just enough into fiction to be removed from the realities of real dictatorships, thus making for an intriguing story.

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Of course, the crux of the plot is when Winston meets Julia properly, and realises that he is merely existing rather than living; following Party rules and doing no more than acknowledging mentally that the system may not be fair. Winston has the option to gamble and risk his safety for happiness, or continue as normal, and forever wonder what might have been. A classic love story - or so you might think.

As full disclosure, I should confess that I really didn’t like Julia. I found her impulsive and very selfish. She isn’t interested in what Winston has to say unless it concerns her, and he just accepts this - it’s infuriating! However, these faults in their relationship do very neatly set up both Winston and Julia for their mutual betrayal later in the story.

I wasn’t surprised at all that Mr Charrington turned out to be a member of the Thought Police. I found it suspicious right from the beginning that he was so private in the new day and age of Big Brother. But it was absolutely heartbreaking to read through the entire scene where Winston and Julia are discovered. It’s in our nature as people to require some forms of freedom and privacy, and be allowed to follow our hearts, and this is exactly what Winston has always been denied. Throughout the whole novel, Orwell really plays on the reader’s human instinct, and no more so than in this scene, where the pair are captured. I can’t say I was going to miss Julia, but the whole ordeal was awful for Winston, and I couldn’t help but feel for him. It’s a cruel world where a man is punished for following his heart, and I think that key plot point really shows the inhumanity of this society.

With Winston’s capture comes a real knock to the reader’s faith that this society will reform. But the real loss of all hope comes with the revelation that O’Brien was a real member of The Party all along; that he was never actually part of any plot to overthrow Big Brother. I think this is where I really started to realise that this was the end of Winston’s hope for a better life. I had already found it a little bit one-sided that there was a severe lack of characters who opposed The Party in the same way as Winston. There are very few characters in the novel as it is, which is a clear representation of how little social interaction Winston could enjoy as part of his life. I suppose it is significant that every character, including, to some extent, Julia, turns out to have been untrustworthy. Orwell creates an overwhelming feeling of helplessness through the lack of relatable characters, and through a plot which tears away Winston’s hope at every turn. 

“History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”

I could say that this novel has a shock ending. But I don’t think it’s quite true. The shock of this ending is that it doesn’t come as a shock. Disappointing is the more appropriate word. However, this disappointment is not because the ending of the novel is bad, but because the eradication of Winston’s mind is such a disappointment to the reader. He had such potential to make a change, and this was taken by O’Brien, and taken by The Party. I found it fitting that he and Julia betrayed one another in the end. That’s what O’Brien really wanted; that’s why he kept pushing Winston in Room 101. Winston’s betrayal of Julia represented the last shred of hope he had that things could change.

It is such a clever story, and I really feel Orwell made the right call in making his ending so heartbreaking. If things had turned around and improved, I don't believe the story would have had the same impact. Winston's final declaration of love for Big Brother is powerful. It shows the dangers of a dictatorship, especially to those who wish to oppose it. It's such a powerful message, and the story stayed with me for a long time after finishing it.

The Verdict

This book is one that I truly believe everybody should read at some point in their life. It shows the dangers of this type of ruling, and warns of what might happen if history repeated itself; if the same thing should happen to a worse degree. There are some books that make you really think, and this is one of them. The plot is fairly straightforward in chronology, especially when you consider the lack of characters throughout. However, what this novel lacks in detail, it makes up for in implications and atmmosphere. The indication of how life without happiness, freedom or privacy would look; how propaganda can so easily become a part of everyday life. 

We have normalised the concepts of Big Brother and Room 101 in modern life, but I really think it's important to read this book and understand where these actually originated. It does make me feel slightly concerned that we have become so normalised to these really horrific concepts, but it goes to show that the power of Orwell's work is fantastic. Even the fact that we have held onto these details shows the way his story has integrated itself into modern life. The plot progresses well, the characters are good enough, but it's the world and the atmosphere that Orwell manufactures that is what makes this book really special. This is a really strong story that leaves you thinking for a long time after you put the book down.