1984

At the time it was written, it is the story of a time after the third world war, a future in which three equally-powerful nations (Oceania, Eastasia and Eurasia) rule the world and are constantly fighting each other for more territory. The setting is within London in one of these nations, Oceania. In Oceania as in the other two nations, a small minority (members of The Party) have absolute power over the majority (referred to as proles).

In this society, Big Brother is the personification of The Party. Most citizens are constantly under the watchful eyes of Big Brother, via hidden tape recorders or telescreens in homes that broadcast propaganda and life-controlling programs as well as pass on activities of citizens, especially party members. The English language is about to become extinct, to be replaced by an invention called Newspeak which exterminates all references to science, humanity, self-determination, individuality, etc. In this society, people (that is, Party members) are only allowed to think and act the way The Party wants them to. Any deviation is labeled a crime, punishable by extermination or labor prison, after being mentally abused through all sorts of severe torture. Love between couples is regarded as bad, kids are trained to report on their parents, marriage is arranged solely for the purpose of producing babies for the party, while sex is about to become extinct. The past is constantly being rewritten, to eliminate any references to “vaporized” persons, ensure the party’s predictions match present realities, and so on. The Party controls the past as well as the present, and reality is what The Party calls it.

It is in this society that Winston and Julia find themselves. Winston recognizes the contradictions within the society, questions the authority and righteousness of The Party. He finds an ally in Julia, a girl who loves sex for the joy of it. Secretly he’s started a diary, and gradually realizes that The Party must be destroyed for the humanity of its members to be restored. But unfortunately for him, he picks the wrong Party person for a confidant, O’Brien, a powerful thought-policeman that he should have avoided like the plague. O’Brien had been setting him up for a good seven years, so that shortly after he confided in him, he and Julia are both arrested, to be released only after a long period of mind-altering torture and manipulation. The story ends rather sadly, in the sense that the evil The Party represents appears to have the upper hand.

February 22, 2015. Review initially written in 2001. Novel first published in 1949. Picture source: Yahoo (Images).